Alaska Railroad Tour Guide Program

Dear Parent and Guardian,

If your son/daughter is looking for something totally challenging and rewarding to do this summer, you might want them to give serious consideration to apply for the Alaska Railroad Tour Guide Training Program. This opportunity involves learning about Alaska while at the same time receiving high school credit and training for summer employment in the Alaska Visitor Industry.

Each year qualified juniors and seniors from Anchorage area high schools are selected for the Alaska Railroad Tour Guide Training Program. This class is sponsored through a school-business partnership between the Alaska Railroad Corporation and the Anchorage School District. There will be an informational meeting from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m at the Alaska Railroad Depot (411 W. 1st. Avenue) on November 15th 2007. At the conclusion of the meeting applications will be made available to qualified prospective candidates as well as on the Anchorage School District Website, http://www.asdk12.org/events/AKRR.asp. Classes will meet at the King Career Center beginning on January 28th, 2008 through April 12th, 2008. This half-credit elective class will meet four days each week, Monday-Thursday, from 3:30-5:30. In addition to participation, the class focuses on the memorization of a commentary and projects that will require work/time outside of the classroom.

At the conclusion of the eleven-week class, Alaska Railroad managers and other industry professionals will interview class members for the hiring of approximately 10-20 positions as an Interpretive Tour Guide for the 2008 summer visitor season. Tour guides will travel on the Anchorage southbound train to Whittier/Seward and the northbound train to Fairbanks each morning, returning to Anchorage each evening. The remaining class members who successfully complete the course will be assisted in securing summer employment in other visitor industry related jobs in the Anchorage area.

If you can picture your child sharing information with Alaska’s growing number of summer visitors while riding the train and earning a good summer income, we certainly hope your child will consider applying for this class. Students who have taken it in the past years have really enjoyed and the experience.

See you at the informational meeting!

Sincerely,

Mike Woods
AKRR Program Instructor
742-8900

Matt Sugita
AKRR Program Instructor
742-8900

Graham Houle from the ARR program will be at Steller during lunch on Tuesday the 13th or Wednesday the 14th so students can ask questions before attending the Open House. Students can also talk to Karen Emmel. Her daughter participated in the program.

For more information or to download an application go to http://www.asdk12.org/events/AKRR.asp.

  1. Applications are to be dropped off at the King Career Center, Main Office (2650 E. Northern Lights Blvd.)
  2. All applications are due December 7, 2007 by 5:00 pm.
  3. Please check that the application is complete before it is turned in.