Meet Phyllis Bowie, Anchorage’s longest-serving teacher who’s retiring after 50 years

Phyllis Bowie assists a student pinch their schoolwork astatine SAVE High School successful Anchorage connected Monday, May 13, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

It would beryllium understandable for marathon runners to suffer gait complete nan past fewer miles, but not Phyllis Bowie. On a caller morning, Bowie was a spot flustered trying to thief students scope nan decorativeness statement of graduation. 

“They’re pressured, you know. They hold till nan past minute,” Bowie said. “It’s a communal denominator pinch immoderate kids and procrastinating.”

Bowie is simply a societal studies coach astatine SAVE High School. She has touched nan lives of thousands of students complete her 50 years pinch nan Anchorage School District. On Wednesday, she’ll discontinue arsenic nan longest-serving coach successful nan district. 

Bowie’s extremity is to get struggling students to graduation, and she shows her students reliable emotion erstwhile it’s needed to get nan occupation done. 

“I’ll thief you, I’m not gonna do it for you,” Bowie said. “You’d amended clasp your own, and past we’ll get location together. But I americium not going to conscionable springiness it to you. We’ll meet, I will explicate it to you, you will fto maine cognize what you don’t understand. And together, we’ll get what we need.” 

Her students and coworkers picture her arsenic nan cornerstone of nan school, and person crowned her nan queen of replacement education. 

Phyllis Bowie stands extracurricular S.A.V.E. High School successful Anchorage connected Monday, May 13, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

In 1972, nan territory opened SAVE, an replacement schoolhouse aimed astatine getting precocious schoolhouse inferior and seniors backmost connected way to postgraduate aft falling behind. The acronym stands for Specialized Academic Vocational Education – classes are portion clip and students are required to activity astatine slightest 20 hours a week aliases enroll successful a occupation training programme specified arsenic King Tech. Bowie took nan occupation aft moving arsenic a teacher’s adjutant astatine Fairview Elementary. 

Alice Carlson is 1 of Mrs. Bowie’s students. On her first time of class, Bowie asked astir Carlson’s mother, who she besides taught. Following stints astatine different non-traditional schools, Carlson deed her stride astatine SAVE.

“She’s helping maine postgraduate and I astir apt would not person by nan extremity of this twelvemonth without her,” Carlson said. 

Bowie is nan past statement of defense erstwhile different schoolhouse situations conscionable aren’t moving for students. SAVE main Lisa Mounds-Craft consistently uses 1 connection to picture Bowie: Real. 

“She’s going to fuss astatine you if you don’t person your activity done erstwhile she asks you to. She’s going to support it existent and opportunity I’m not happy pinch that,” Mounds-Craft said. “Kids don’t want to disappoint Mrs. Bowie because they cognize that she genuinely cares and loves them for their authentic self, and you don’t find kids doing that very often for teachers. There is thing astir her that motivates them to beryllium successful, and too, they want to make her proud.” 

The tough, no-nonsense demeanor Bowie maintains successful her schoolroom is nan hallmark of her marque arsenic a teacher. Born into a subject family successful South Carolina successful 1950, Bowie began simple schoolhouse during a clip of immense alteration successful education. 

“I initially started retired successful an each segregated school,” Bowie said. “I didn’t alteration to an integrated programme until I was successful nan seventh grade, and my dada was stationed successful Massachusetts.” 

In conscionable nan past 5 decades she’s spent teaching, nan usage of exertion successful nan schoolroom has exploded. Mounds-Craft said that moreover earlier she became main astatine SAVE 3 years ago, she knew nan fable of Phyllis Bowie.

“She has mastered individualized learning,” Mounds-Craft said. “Even pinch nan invention of for illustration Google and kids conscionable being capable to get connected and conscionable looking up an answer, she motivates them to really study and publication nan matter alternatively of uncovering nan easy measurement out.”

Janet Emmsley has spent nan past 8 years moving astatine SAVE, and said students aren’t nan only ones who tin get immoderate reliable emotion from Bowie. 

“She’s go a mother fig to a batch of nan unit that’s coming in,” Emmsley said. “She takes them nether their helping and benignant of for illustration shows them nan guidelines.”

Phyllis joined her husband, Lance Bowie successful 1971 successful Tacoma, Washington. Lance said instantly aft nan ceremony, nan newlyweds moved to Anchorage wherever Lance had a school occupation lined up. Phyllis vanished her masters grade astatine nan University of Alaska Anchorage and started pinch nan Anchorage School District soon after.

Lance retired 2 years agone aft astir 5 decades arsenic a principal, mostly successful Anchorage. Together, nan Bowie’s person 99 years of acquisition successful schools. 

“Every clip we’re retired and about, it’s, it’s rare, wherever she doesn’t cognize 1 of nan kids aliases I don’t cognize 1 of nan kids,” Lance Bowie said. “We telephone them kids, but they’re adults.”

For 50 years, Mrs. Bowie has been helping students complete nan marathon of their secondary education, and moreover successful her past fewer days connected nan job, she has much to give. Lance said that his woman is location for each 1 of her students, whenever they request it.

“They needed her thief graduating this week and she was there. She ne'er misses,” Lance Bowie said. “I’ve known her to get huffy astatine kids, ne'er to springiness up connected nan kid, and you’re going to postgraduate because that’s what we’re going to do here.” 

Mounds-Craft hopes that nan territory will rename nan schoolhouse aft Bowie. On Monday, Bowie will be nan SAVE graduation 1 past clip to spot nan students she guided locomotion crossed nan shape to person their diploma. 

“Putting retired young informed kids, conscionable colour maine happy erstwhile they locomotion crossed nan stage,” Bowie said. “They understand that now it is up to them. You’ve sewage to make a difference. You’ve had an opportunity. You’ve had really a personalized education, that nan territory has been bully capable to support america going. Now what are you going to do?” 

So what’s Bowie going to do now? After inspiring truthful galore Anchorage students, she’s excited to walk much clip pinch her 3 grandkids successful retirement.