Homer High School Vice Principal Katie Bynagle organized a pancake breakfast on Tuesday, March 25, to encourage and feed students as they began state testing last week.

Teacher Winter Marshall-Allen said she appreciates the vice principal organizing this opportunity to engage with students. She said the positive reinforcement further activates engagement in the testing.

“We all know that there’s a lot of anxiety that goes along with this time frame, both for the students and for educators,” Marshall-Allen said in a message March 25. “I think that Miss Bynagle organizing this opportunity is a fantastic way to show that testing is more than a number. It is about a relationship with our students and connecting with them in a humanistic way to intentionally support them, not just their academic achievements, but the nourishment of their body and mind.”

Ninth grade students took the AK STAR: Alaska System of Academic Readiness assessment, and students with intellectual disabilities took the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Alternate Assessment. Both assessments are computer-based.

Teacher Lucus Parsley and counselor Sue Reynolds man the gluten-free pancake table on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in the Homer High School commons. (Photo courtesy of Winter Marshall-Allen)

Counselor Paul Story flips pancakes for a student on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in the Homer High School commons. (Photo courtesy of Winter Marshall-Allen)

Teacher Winter Marshall-Allen flips pancakes for students on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in the Homer High School commons. (Photo courtesy of Winter Marshall-Allen)