News from Education & Early Development

Last Call! Promoting Child Development over the Summer Months

DEED is offering five weekly seminars to discuss a child’s development in the months before kindergarten, and natural activities families may engage in with children to promote this development over the summer.

• June 9^th1:00-2:00pm - Cognition & General Knowledge
• June 16^th1:00-2:00pm - Physical Well-being, Health, and Motor Development

NEW! DEED Releases Restart and Reentry Framework Guidance for K-12 Schools

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, released the Alaska Smart Start 2020 framework guidance for the reentry and reopening of K-12 schools for the 2020-2021 school year.

NEW! State Board to Hold Quarterly Meeting on June 10-11

The Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development will hold a regular quarterly meeting on June 10-11, 2020, via audio conference. To help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, public participation for the meeting will be through the Legislative Information Office (LIO) live streaming.

Documenting the Impact of COVID-19 on life in Alaska

The Alaska State Libraries, Archives, and Museums Division is documenting the impact of COVID-19 on life in Alaska. You can help by sharing documents, images, journals, audio recordings, videos, and other digital or tangible items relating to COVID-19 in Alaska.

Bond Reimbursement and Grant Review Committee Meeting June 16

The BR&GR Committee will meet via teleconference on Tuesday, June 16, at 1:30pm.  The primary topics of the meeting include revisions to the publications DEED CostFormat, Guide for School Facility Condition Surveys, and Alaska School Facilities Preventive Maintenance Handbook; and to hear subcommittee reports on cost-effective school construction standards.

Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program FY 21 Request for Applications

DEED is seeking applicants for the competitive Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program (McKinney-Vento Act) funding that would begin providing activities in the fall of the 20-21 school year. The purpose is to provide a free, appropriate public education for all homeless children and youth by removing barriers to their enrollment and attendance in school and supporting their educational success. Applications are due June 23.  For questions, please contact Cecilia Miller at 907-465-8703.

BrainPOP Subscription

Many of you know that Alaska has a statewide license to BrainPOP, but did you know that your teachers can unlock additional features through individual accounts that can only be set up at the school level? At no additional charge to you?

• For students to access BrainPop: click the LOG IN tab (not ENTER CODE)
• For teachers to whose schools are set up to use BrainPop Educator: use the ENTER CODE

If you have the username and password for DEED’s statewide subscription, please only share it in a way that no one on the internet besides your patrons or students can access the username/password. (i.e. direct e-mail ok, posting to your social media/website/blog is NOT.) If you don’t have the current SLED database credentials, visit the SLED Password Request form and fill it out completely. Expect a response within one business day. The SLED usernames and passwords are good for nearly all the SLED Databases and resources. One request will empower you to help with just about anything SLED related. Contact Martha Ketsdever, BrainPOP Account Manager for Alaska State Libraries, for more information.

Seeking Public Review and Comment on State Content Standards

DEED is seeking review and comment on state content standards. We encourage parents, educators, and communities to take a few minutes to provide input on Alaska's current English Language Arts and Mathematics standards adopted in 2012.