- Cama-i, quyana tailuci!
- (Central Yup’ik)
- "Greetings, thank you for coming!"
Last Call, New, Reminder
NEW! Leading Meaningful Race Conversations in your Alaska Classroom
Registration is open for Leading Meaningful Conversations About Race in Your Alaska Classroom with Matthew Kay, author of Not Light, but Fire, and guest speaker Yaari Walker. Participants will learn about how to start and lead conversations about race with their students, and create a classroom environment where their students feel comfortable and safe. This workshop series is open to anyone working with students or within the education field in Alaska. The series will begin during the week of 5/25 and end the week of 6/17. On Tuesdays the group will meet with Matthew Kay from 3:30pm-6pm, and on Thursdays with Yaari Walker from 3:30pm-5pm AKST. All workshops will take place on Zoom. Participants also have the option to receive 1 credit through UAA for participating in this workshop series. Both the workshop series and the 1 credit optional course are offered at no-cost to participants.
Find out more here or register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/workshopwMK by Friday, May 21st. Reach out to Helen John at hjohn@akhf.org if you have any questions.
NEW! Educator Cross-Cultural Immersion Program accepting applications
The Educator Cross-Cultural Immersion Program is accepting applications through May 23. Anyone working with K-12 students in urban Alaska is eligible for this program that ultimately works to help educators better serve their Alaska Native students, and all students by extension. The program includes five days of travel to a culture camp in rural Alaska, reflection work to unpack participants' own personal and professional cultures, and three PD credits. All costs are covered by the program, including travel costs. Apply here, and contact Emily Lucy at elucy@akhf.org with any questions.
REL Northwest Educator Retention and Turnover: 2021 Update
Updated data show that teacher turnover in Alaska has remained steady but high, while principal turnover in the state decreased this academic year. A new infographic, compiled by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest as a follow-up to their 2019 report, illustrates how rural schools continue to be hardest hit by turnover. Additionally, it suggests strategies for improving teacher and principal recruitment and retention.
Field Investigations with Project WILD, Project WET, and Project Learning Tree
K-8 Teachers- earn your continuing education credit with this upcoming blended virtual course, offered through the Anchorage School District's Summer Academy. Learn how you can integrate field investigations with Water, Trees and Wildlife into your lessons in this one day synchronous session with Project WET, WILD and Learning Tree. Then, to complete the course, choose which ‘Project’ online professional development course to complete asynchronously. All participants will receive activity guides from each Project and Alaska specific materials will also be explored. K-8.
June 1, 2021, 8:00am-4:00pm, synchronous zoom session
June 2, 2021, self-paced online course, asynchronous session
Creating Cultural Competence (C3) program is in search of a Curriculum Developer
The Alaska Humanities Forum (AKHF) is looking for someone who can develop 20 lesson plans this Summer to be used by C3 teachers in the Northwest Arctic and North Slope regions of Alaska. The attached RFP contains all the information regarding this work, but in short, the lessons should be grounded in the Alaska state geography and cultural standards, connect directly to place, incorporate Inupiaq cultural values, and include Alaska-based literature.
To learn more about AKHF and the C3 program, please visit our website: https://www.akhf.org/
Please email questions and completed applications to Kirstie Willean @: kwillean@akhf.org.
FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit Outreach Toolkit
Teachers - If you have students who need broadband at home, the Emergency Broadband Benefit Outreach Toolkit provides infographics, twitter and facebook posts, flyers, posters and handouts to help you tell students and parents about this program to help households struggling to afford internet service during the pandemic. As of May 12, 2021, eligible households will be able to enroll in the program to receive a monthly discount off the cost of broadband service from an approved provider.
ACSA hiring Public Information Officer
If you believe in the transformative power of education and are a strong communicator looking for a dynamic career with big impact, we invite you to explore the Alaska Council of School Administrators! The Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA) is looking for a Public Information Officer (PIO) to join their team based in Juneau, Alaska.
Enhanced Learning Maps Project helps students personalize path the student success
Enhanced Learning Maps provide standards-focused materials that foster the conditions for improving student achievement, including online tools deliberately designed to support and inform personalized learning.
These tools encourage interactions that elicit evidence of student thinking, leading to conversations that engage students and teachers in formative assessment processes.
UAF K-12 Outreach statewide survey
The K-12 Outreach Department houses education programs at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that serve statewide. They are conducting a survey to advance their educational support for our state. Your help in completing this survey is greatly appreciated, it will take less than 5 mins.
Prince William Sound College announces summer ‘for Teachers’ events
Each of these professional development courses awards you three 500-level credits and your cost to attend, including tuition, housing, and some travel, is paid for through grant funding. Each course will mix content instruction with discussions on the Alaska teaching standards, the Alaska Cultural standards, thematic lesson planning, place-based learning, and the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge/Indigenous Science in the curriculum. Each course includes outdoor activities as part of the learning process. Learn more: https://pwsc.alaska.edu/4teachers/
Resilient Educators Retreat: A Team Approach for Building a Web of Support School
July 27-28, 2021 at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood
No one person can support the social-emotional health of your students and staff! Wellbeing for a school is about creating a system of support that consists of all staff and students. A customized systemic approach to resilience is within your reach and a necessity! Brightways Learning's Resilient Educators facilitation team will provide you with new tools, expertise, and opportunities to work together to launch a Full-Color Web of Support school and/or district. Be ready to reflect on what you’re already doing - such as understanding neuroscience, trauma-responsiveness, character development, quality relationships, etc. Then, using what you know and exploring new perspectives, you’ll strategically re-design your practices to improve student and staff engagement. You’ll leave looking at your school through a new lens and with an actionable plan for creating a Web of Support school. Bringing a team is highly encouraged and team discounts are available!
Project Learning Tree and Science Standards of Alaska Place-Based Educator Workshop
Professional Development Event at Alaska Geographic's Murie Science and Learning Center Field Camp in Denali National Park on the Teklanika River.
June 26-29 (Full. Contact courses@alaskageographic if you know someone in the course and want to join them).
July 26-29 (Full. Contact courses@alaskageographic if you know someone in the course and want to join them).
August 2-5 (JUST ADDED!)
$125
For course details and registration, see Teacher Opportunities on Alaska Geographic's Field Institute website.
Thanks to a generous grant from Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Project Learning Tree (PLT), and support from Alaska Geographic, this in person workshop is offered to educators for just $125 for 2 full days of instruction, plus an extra free night's stay at the Teklanika field camp after the workshop has commenced and a road pass to drive their private vehicle to the site. Participants will receive Project Learning Tree's brand new Environmental Education guide, Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide, which highlights outdoor learning, STEM skills, NGSS correlations, cross-curricular lessons, has ready made student pages, and much more.
Optional CEU credit through UAA is available for an extra fee.
For more information, contact Molly Gillespie, Alaska PLT coordinator: alaskaplt.molly@gmail.com
Alaska Arts Education Consortium offering 4 invigorating opportunities to learn and earn credits
There will be 4 Arts/Culture Institutes this summer and they will all be remotely held. They are:
Kenai Social Emotional Learning and the Arts, June 1-5, 2 credits
Kodiak Science, Literacy and the Arts, June 7-12, 2 credits
Fairbanks Multicultural Arts Institute, June 14-18, 2 credits
Juneau Arts & Culture Institute, July 26-August 5, 3 credits
The Kodiak Institute is partially supported by a grant from DEED and is aimed largely at TSI/CSI designated schools.
More information at our website: www.akartsed.org
2021 Alaska School Leadership Institute conference registration open
Educators navigated major challenges this year. As we move to a post-pandemic phase, the time is right to start preparing for the fall. Gather a team together to gain a head start on organizing and simplifying the workplace changes that may take place. Reflect on what worked this year, and plan for transitions that minimize the loss of instructional time and support accelerated learning next year.
The Alaska School Leadership Institute (ASLI) 2021 will focus on the question: How should we plan for opening school next fall — and where do students begin?
Applications for summer computer science PD for middle and high school teachers now available
The Alaska Staff Development Network is excited to announce the dates for the 5-day professional learning opportunities available to Grade 6-12 teachers this summer.
- Apply to attend Computer Science Discoveries professional learning. You must be a classroom teacher who can teach this curriculum next year to apply.
* June 14-18 (virtual) with yearlong support as you teach the curriculum SY 21/22
* July 26-30 (tentatively in-person in Anchorage) with yearlong support as you teach the curriculum SY 21/22 - Apply to attend Computer Science Principles professional learning
* June 14-18 (virtual) with yearlong support as you teach the curriculum SY 21/22
Lee Waters, Ed.D. with the Anchorage School District in collaboration with the UAA Center for Human Development LEND Without Walls has created a manual to assist all those involved with the education of students with disabilities. This manual is designed to be a helpful resource for anyone involved with the transitional needs of students with disabilities from secondary to postsecondary education. The manual is available through ASD’s website: https://www.asdk12.org/PostsecondaryTransitionManual.
Young Alaskans pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree or program in music at an accredited institution are encouraged to apply for the 2021 Ted Stevens Young Alaska Artist Award. Winners receive a substantial monetary award and are presented in a full-length solo recital. The deadline is May 28, 2021. The application may be downloaded at www.anchoragefestivalofmusic.org.
For questions, please contact Juliana Osinchuk, Young Alaskan Artist Award Director, 907-351-6392, dawsinchuk@gmail.com or Laura Koenig, Artistic Director, Anchorage Festival of Music, 907-227-2010
anchoragefestivalofmusic@gmail.com.
FDA Releases New Agricultural Biotechnology Curriculum for Middle and High School Students
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of Science and Our Food Supply: Exploring Food Agriculture and Biotechnology, a new, free and online supplemental curriculum for middle and high school students on the science behind genetically engineered plants. This curriculum is the latest release of the FDA’s award-winning supplemental curriculum series Science and Our Food Supply. Through labs, activities, and interactive discussions, the curriculum aims to help teachers instruct middle and high school students about traditional and modern agricultural methods, with a focus on genetic engineering and genome editing techniques that are used to produce foods commonly called “GMOs.”
NASF Centennial School Tree Challenge Grant, Extended!
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry has extended The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) Centennial School Tree Challenge. Grants are available to schools for the purchase, shipping, and planting of trees. Trees can be planted on school grounds, or even indoors if your school has a suitable space or a greenhouse. This opportunity is first come first served and is available until funds are exhausted. NEW: Participating schools will be eligible to receive a FREE curriculum from Project Learning Tree!
COVID-19 has brought exceptional challenges to us all during the past year, and it's no surprise that educators have once again shown courage, strength, and resiliency. Plant a tree at your school in honor of your school's heroes! Create a memorial grove of trees in memory of your community members who have lost lives to COVID-19. Use this grant to create a new outdoor classroom surrounded by trees for a healthy learning environment!
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching. The Awards were established by Congress in 1983. The President may recognize up to 108 exemplary teachers each year. To read more about the program, nominate a 7-12 teacher, or view the application packet, please visit https://www.paemst.org.
Districts can Register for Alaska’s School Climate & Connectedness Survey
All school districts are invited to participate in the 2021 School Climate & Connectedness Survey (SCCS). Schools are looking quite different this year. But no matter what shape learning is happening in your district-remotely, in-person, or blended, it is essential for students, staff, and families to feel safe and connected. Taking SCCS will provide you with student, staff, and student perceptions on how they are doing now. For the 2021 school year, additional questions have been added to better understand the needs of students, staff, and families during COVID-19.
For more information and to register go to: https://aasb.org/register-now-for-sccs/ or email Jenni Lefing at jlefing@aasb.org.
The U.S. Department of Education is Seeking Education Success Stories
USED is looking to highlight education success stories and best practices. Teachers, parents, or student ambassadors are invited to draft a blog post about their successful transition to the classroom or hybrid teaching model that includes innovative or unique ways students are being educated in this new set of circumstances. The first blog in the series featuring a school teacher in New Hampshire is here. Contact Susan Falconer, USED, for more information.
The Parent’s Guide to Filling out the FAFSA Form
While the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form is the student’s application, we know that parents often play a large role in the process. With that in mind, the U.S. Department of Education wanted to provide instructions for parents who are starting the FAFSA form on behalf of their child.
U.S. Department of Education Releases Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide
The U.S. Department of Education released a new Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide, a resource to help parents and guardians understand how digital tools can provide tailored learning opportunities, engage students with course materials, encourage creative expression, and enrich the educational experience.
Are you interested in dual enrollment opportunities at the University of Alaska? Members of the University of Alaska Transition Coalition (UATC) are available to assist with curriculum alignment, dual enrollment, and other opportunities that support the transition of secondary students to continue their training and education at the postsecondary level.
Girls Who Code at Home Activities
Girls Who Code releases free computer science activities for students, educators, and parents on Mondays. Some online, some offline, of varying levels of difficulty. Each activity features a woman in tech who pioneered innovative technology.
Get Us PPE is a national nonprofit that has delivered almost 2.5 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline workers. They are launching a program to get PPE to schools free of charge by matching schools and districts with local maker communities (groups that sew, 3D print, or otherwise produce "made" PPE). Interested parties can take this survey on PPE needs.
Google Educators Group of Alaska
Google Educators Group (GEG) are independently run communities of educators who inspire and empower each other to meet the needs of students through technology both in the classroom and beyond. Via face-to-face meet-ups and online activities, GEGs provide a way for educators who are passionate about education and technology to meet like-minded people and share, learn, and collaborate together.
Awareness Materials on Family and Youth Homelessness
As a result of the pandemic, and without the usual methods of outreach and identification, many families and youth experiencing homelessness may be even more disconnected from school and early childhood programs. The SchoolHouse Connection created PSAs and a social media toolkit to help raise awareness and provide information around educational rights.
Online Story Circles for Educators and Community Members
Educator Story Circles are opportunities for small groups of people (educators and engaged community members) to gather together to listen and share thoughts and stories related to a common theme. No preparation is necessary, and each participant has the option to share or simply listen to others. Story Circles aren’t about performing. Rather, the purpose is to listen and connect. Participants who want to lead Story Circles with their own students or community members will have access to a free toolkit and will be eligible for a $200 stipend from the Alaska Humanities Forum.
Ready to Read Alaska is a statewide initiative for families and caregivers of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in Alaska. The program’s mission is to promote early literacy development in Alaska’s young children to create the foundations needed for when a child begins to learn to read. Ready to Read is posting training videos on YouTube, and literacy tips, book recommendations, crafts, and activities on Instagram.
To submit news items, please email deed.infoexchange@alaska.gov. This newsletter is available weekly and in archived form at https://education.alaska.gov/news/infoexch.
This newsletter contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the reader’s convenience. DEED does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.