- Cama-i, quyana tailuci!
- (Central Yup’ik)
- "Greetings, thank you for coming!"
Last Call, New, Reminder
Last Call:
UAS ED593 Coaching/Mentoring New Teachers Virtual Course - Spring 2022
If you are mentoring an intern/student teacher or an early-career teacher, this course is for you! This course will provide you with collegial support and opportunities to explore and apply effective coaching/mentoring practices including: creating coaching plans, using effective language stems for coaching conversations, and direct practice in coaching experiences. You’ll engage in reflection and resource sharing with colleagues from across the state as well as deepen your confidence and capacity as a mentor and a coach. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE REVIEW THE ATTACHED FLYER or contact either Lisa Richardson lrichardson3@alaska.edu or Beth Hartley eahartley@alaska.edu.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE 1/13/2022.
New:
NOMINATE A CHAMPION OF ARTS IN EDUCATION
The Alaska Arts Education Consortium (AAEC) Champions of Arts in Education Award formally recognizes and honors Alaskan individuals or organizations who “champion” the arts in education. These Champions carry the torch for arts education through high-caliber instruction, arts support, and ongoing arts promotion. Nominations open through January 31.
Learn more here: https://akartsed.org/champions/nominate/
For more information please contact: bshort@akartsed.org
2022 RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference
Join educators across Alaska to re-energize and learn more about what is working this year to deliver effective instruction in any setting. The 11th annual Conference is online for the second year in a row! Be inspired, informed, and recharged -- without travel delays and Covid concerns. We have an energizing group of nationally recognized educators to explore the latest research on what works now –- delivered in accessible and practical format. Learn more here.
Reminder:
Healthy Futures Elementary Challenge now open for Spring 2022
Alaska elementary schools can sign up online for the Spring 2022 Healthy Futures Challenge at https://database.healthyfuturesak.org/. This fall, 92 schools participated. Our goal is to exceed 100 schools this spring. Participation remains free for your school and students. The spring challenge will run February through April, and organizers will award prizes to K-6th grade students who record their physical activity each month. Signing up for the challenge takes just a minute. Healthy Futures will give a hooded sweatshirt to 5 teachers whose names are randomly picked from a list of the first 50 registered schools. Schools that haven’t participated before can definitely sign up this year. More information is available at https://healthyfuturesak.org/the-challenge/elementary-schools/. The state’s Play Every Day campaign partners with Healthy Futures to support the challenge. If you have questions, please contact Kayla Williamson with Healthy Futures at kayla@healthyfuturesak.org or Ann Potempa with Play Every Day at ann.potempa@alaska.gov. Thank you for helping to keep Alaska kids active!
39th Annual Statewide Creative Writing Contest Offering Over $800 in Cash Prizes
The submission period for entries for the 39th Annual Statewide Creative Writing Contest is open now through February 15, 2022. More than 400 entries were submitted for the 2020-2021 contest from writers aged 6 to 83 from classrooms and communities across Alaska. All entries must be submitted electronically. Teachers can assist students with posting submissions if needed, though permissions and student contact information must be provided. Published authors, librarians, creative writing instructors serve as volunteer judges for the contest. Find the rules and more info here.
Fairbanks Arts Association Accepting Entries for 27th Statewide Poetry Contest
Fairbanks Arts is excited to announce the 27th Statewide Poetry Contest and invites participation from writers of all ages--elementary school and up. As a celebration of literary artistry, this contest aims to encourage, publicize, and reward the writing of high-quality poetry in Alaska. Fairbanks Arts will accept entries through the end of Friday, February 11, 2021. Winners of the contest will receive an invitation to share their poetry in a reading in April, which is National Poetry Month. For more information and to view eligibility requirements, please visit fairbanksarts.org.
Nominations Open for LifeChanger of the Year – Prize up to $10,000
LifeChanger of the Year is a national recognition program by National Life Group and the National Life Group Foundation that honors and recognizes K-12 educators and employees. Nominations for the 2021-2022 LifeChanger of the Year are now open. Anyone can nominate eligible teachers or employees. National Life Group will donate $25 to one of five education nonprofits in the name of each nominee, and the nominee will be eligible to win one of 18 awards and cash prizes up to $10,000. Learn more and nominate here.
UAF School of Education Hiring Special Education and Elementary Assistant Professor
The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Education is hiring an Special Education and Elementary Assistant Professor. This position will teach both face-to-face and distance delivery special education courses serving both the special education and elementary licensure programs. The position is open until filled. Learn more and apply here.
Tsunami Bowl competition and Art Show Open to High School Students
The 25th annual Alaska Regional National Ocean Sciences Bowl, Tsunami Bowl, is pleased to announce our Ocean Connections Art Show open to all high school students! The Tsunami Bowl competition and Art Show will be held in Seward, February 4-6th, 2022. All student artwork will be displayed in the Alaska SeaLife Center lobby in Seward, AK late January through early February. We encourage all Sewardites and visiting Alaskans to stop by and enjoy your students' hard work!
For those unable to make it to Seward in February, a curated Art Show will be posted on the Tsunami Bowl Facebook Page.
We welcome all ocean themed artwork from any high school student in Alaska regardless of NOSB affiliation. Submissions and entry forms must be in Seward by: January 20th, 2022.
Ribbons and awards will be presented and mailed back to students along with their artwork after the Art Show.
International Dyslexia Association - Alaska Branch - Continuing Education Scholarships
Scholarships are available through the International Dyslexia Association, Alaska Branch (IDA Alaska) for professional development opportunities – good for classroom educators, advocates, or parents. Also, check out the new FREE one-year membership for teachers!
IDA branches across the nation, as well as other organizations aligned with the Science of Reading, are successfully presenting high-quality virtual conferences, webinars, certification programs, and continuing education programs. IDA Alaska compiled a list of recommended opportunities and hopes to support educators on their continuing education journey. Continuing education opportunities not on this list, if aligned with the Science of Reading, can be eligible upon approval. For more information on IDA Alaska scholarship awards (up to $500 per participant) visit: www.ak.dyslexiaida.org, or go to IDA Alaska’s 2021 Q2 Newsletter
Anonymous Reporting Systems and Wellness Programs available to districts AT NO COST
SERRC is partnering with STOPit Solutions, one of the nation’s leading experts in school safety, to bring its Anonymous Reporting System (ARS) and SEL & Compliance Training Center (SCTC) to 65,000 students across Alaska for three years at no cost. STOPit delivers their programs to over 6,000 districts nationwide and serves millions of students and staff. Their programs have helped save and change the lives of thousands. Their CEO and school teams are from Sandy Hook Promise – so they understand the needs of schools and constraints they face.
The combined programs teach and empower students, staff, and administrators to recognize and anonymously report safety, misconduct, and compliance concerns BEFORE they escalate into a crisis while also providing curriculum to educate and help prevent such concerns from ever occurring. Funding is being provided through the Stop School Violence Act – a Department of Justice grant awarded to SERRC.
If this is something your district is interested in, contact Ryan Stanley at ryans@serrc.org or (907) 433-7444.
The Academic Decathlon (HS) and Pentathlon (MS) are national scholastic competitions designed to stimulate intellectual growth, create critical thinkers and create lifelong learners. Both programs are team competitions where students match their intellects with students from other schools. High school students are tested in ten categories on a common theme and middle school students compete in five categories (2021-2022 Theme: Water - A Valuable Resource).
Next year's programs will offer college credit for both coaches (500 level) and high school students, scholarships for UAA, UAF and UAS along with scholarships that can be used at any higher education institution. Both the high school and middle school program offer medals to individual participants and trophies to the winning teams. The Alaska Academic Decathlon State Competition will take place February 17-20, 2022, on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus.
The Alaska Academic Decathlon and Pentathlon are programs of SERRC - Alaska's Educational Resource Center.
Find out more at www.akacadeca.org.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.