Mary Downs came to Unalaska to teach the fourth grade class in 1999. Prior to her stay in Unalaska, Mary lived at Anchor Point on the Kenai Peninsula with her husband, Steve, and their dog Gerty. Mary loves the contours of the treeless mountains of the Aleutians and plans to teach for several more years. One of her curriculum priorities is making sure the visual arts are valued and taught. She attempts to integrate the arts across the curriculum in the age of NCLB and high stakes testing.

"The object of art is to give life shape"-William Shakespeare