- Cama-i, quyana tailuci!
- (Central Yup’ik)
- "Greetings, thank you for coming!"
Information Exchange: Vol. 45 No. 5
Inside This Edition:
- Highland Tech Wins the Alaska Real World Design Challenge
- Announced: Alaska Students Academically Eligible for Presidential Scholars
- State Archives Seeks Two Journeymen Archivists for Temporary Positions
- Postsecondary Commission Supports the Transfer of Credits Among Alaska Institutions
- University of the North Offers Family Programs on Moose
- SERRC Partners with the Innovative Student Loan Service
- Alaska Students Going on to FIRST Lego League Championships
- State Board Sets Dates for Meetings
- State Board Opens Survey About Education Reform
- Sheldon Jackson Museum Features Block of Whale Baleen
- Course on Climate Change and Your Community Set for June in Fairbanks
- Homer Youth Librarian to Teaching Media Mentorship Class
- Short Course Available in California on AP Government and Politics Courses
- UAF to Screen Film about Alaska World War II Veteran
- Curriculum Combines Science and Inupiat Culture
- Nominations Open for Principal Awards
- Mt. Edgecumbe is Seeking an Administrative Assistant
- Bond Reimbursement and Grant Review Committee to Meet on February 28
- New UAS Scholarship for Students Who Have Overcome Challenges
- 2017 Alaska PLAAY SUMMIT Set for February 24-25
- Request for Proposals to Operate a Gift and Book Store at APK Building in Juneau
- UAF Presents Summer Research Academy for Middle and High School Students
- Alaska Court System and Bar Offer Art Contest for Grades K-8
Contact Us
- Eric Fry: (907) 465-2851
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Highland Tech Wins the Alaska Real World Design Challenge
The team from Highland Tech in the Anchorage School District has won the state competition for the Real World Design Challenge. The team is composed of Alex Metzger-Jacobs, Victoria Rahm, Sterling Jenkins, Logan Murdock, Matthew Masterson, and coach Meghan Mahoney.
The competition provides high school students the opportunity to work on real-world engineering challenges in a team environment. Each year, student teams address a challenge that confronts our nation’s leading industries. Students use professional engineering software to develop their solutions and they generate presentations that convincingly demonstrate the value of their solutions.
Highland Tech’s challenge was to design an unmanned aircraft system (including at a minimum an appropriate payload, air vehicle element, and ground control station) capable of being a multipurpose tool for a farmer. For the state challenge, Highland Tech targeted musk ox farming for qiviut. The team will go to the nationals in April. See www.realworlddesignchallenge.org.
Announced: Alaska Students Academically Eligible for Presidential Scholars
The United States Presidential Scholars Commission has released the names of Alaska students who are eligible, on the basis of SAT or ACT scores, to apply for the prestigious program. Approximately 4,000 students are eligible on this basis nationwide. Interested students must complete by February 28 an application that includes essays and transcripts. Ultimately, 161 students will be named presidential scholars. The program includes 20 students selected for their artistic ability and 20 students for their accomplishments in career and technical education. Presidential scholars spend a week in Washington, D.C. meeting with government officials and receiving a medallion at the White House. See www.ed.gov/psp.
State Archives Seeks Two Journeymen Archivists for Temporary Positions
The Alaska State Historical Records Advisory Board/Alaska State Archives is seeking applicants interested in two temporary six-week positions for work in Alaska. Journeyman Archivists will travel to an organization in Alaska and provide professional archival services and work, primarily processing collections. See: http://archives.alaska.gov/pdfs/press_releases/20170201_job_bulletin.pdf.
Postsecondary Commission Supports the Transfer of Credits Among Alaska Institutions
At its January 12 meeting, the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education voted to approve a resolution that supports the development of credit transfer pathways between the University of Alaska system and the other accredited institutions in the state.
As part of its mission to promote student access to and success in education beyond high school, the commission is concerned that Alaska has one of the lowest rates of college completion in the United States. Alaska also experiences high rates of student transfers. Credit transfer pathways may expand a student’s ability to graduate on time and to reduce barriers to student success. The commission noted the significant work already done within the University of Alaska system to streamline the transfer credit policies.
“Helping students stay on track to graduation benefits the students in keeping their costs as low as possible and increasing their readiness for expanded employment opportunities, and the state also benefits when we maximize the options for our Alaska students to earn career and college credentials,” said Commission Chair Becky Huggins. See www.acpe.alaska.gov.
University of the North Offers Family Programs on Moose
The University of Alaska Museum of the North is exploring moose in hands-on programs during February. At Family Day: Moose on February 11, from noon to 4 p.m., visitors can talk with experts and explore the role of moose in Alaskan cultures. There is no admission fee for children 14 and under at Family Days. The museum will offer a Moose Fun program at the Noel Wien Library on February 26, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. See www.uaf.edu/museum.
SERRC Partners with the Innovative Student Loan Service
SERRC partners with the Innovative Student Loan Service to provide loan forgiveness to full-time school district, public sector, and government employees with federal student loan debt. To see if the program makes sense for you, visit http://SERRC.myisls.com. Enter registration code SERRC.
Alaska Students Going on to FIRST Lego League Championships
In January, the Juneau Economic Development Council held two FIRST Lego League championships in Alaska: an Invitational in Anchorage and an open event in Fairbanks. The two teams representing Alaska at the FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas, on April 19-22 will be the Brickmasters from Anchorage and the Illuminati from Barnette Magnet School in Fairbanks.
The Mooseketeers from Bethel were the 2nd-place Champion's Award winners at the Invitational Championship and will compete at the Open Championship at LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad, California, on May 19-21. This is the first time a team from Bethel has been awarded a Champion's Award to advance to a competition down south.
State Board Sets Dates for Meetings
The State Board of Education and Early Development, meeting by audio conference on January 27, adopted new dates for its regular spring meeting and for several work sessions. The board will meet in Juneau on March 27-29. The board will hold audio conference work sessions on March 1, May 3, and May 24. All meetings are open to the public. The board approved the operating and capital budgets for the Department of Education and Early Development. The packet for the January 27 meeting is at https://education.alaska.gov/State_Board/pdf/17-January-Packet.pdf
Alaskans are encouraged to express their priorities for public education reform in a new online survey at https://gov.alaska.gov/education-challenge. The survey is the first step in the State Board of Education’s participatory process to meet Governor Bill Walker’s Alaska Education Challenge: to establish an efficient, sustainable, and comprehensive system that will provide an excellent education for every student every day. On January 18, 2017, in his State of the State address, Governor Walker stated, “We must do a better job of preparing our youth for the challenges of the future. To meet this challenge, we need to rethink our entire system of public education. Alaskans must be at the heart of this effort.” The ultimate goal is to graduate students ready for career training and college, whether in the workforce, the military, apprenticeships, technical education courses, or associate degree and bachelor’s degree programs. “Alaska faces obstacles to student achievement unlike those that exist in any other state in the nation. Alaska’s Education Challenge is to address our student achievement gaps and increase our graduation rate by making sure every student across our state has an equal opportunity to learn and succeed,” said Dr. Michael Johnson, Alaska Commissioner of Education. “Our students, their families, and teachers deserve a focused effort to support the public education system through reform. Though many students in our state are getting a very good education, a large and tragic achievement gap exists.” The State Board of Education will lead a process of listening, gathering input, and reporting information that will shape recommendations to improve Alaska’s public schools. The board will present its final report to the Governor and Legislature by December 29, 2017. Commissioner Johnson will establish five committees to gather input from a broad range of Alaskans regarding: 1) student learning, 2) educator excellence, 3) modernization and finance, 4) tribal and community ownership, and 5) safety and well-being. Students, parents, educators, business leaders, tribal representatives, community leaders, and legislators will be invited to serve on the committees, co-chaired by members of the State Board of Education. The public will be able to follow the process and participate through the Alaska Education Challenge website. All meetings will be open to the public, and meeting documents will be made available online. “There have been well-meaning efforts in the past to improve our schools,” said James Fields, chair of the State Board of Education. “What will distinguish the Alaska Education Challenge is its comprehensive analysis, well-publicized opportunities for public participation, and strong support from the Governor.” The February Artifact of the Month at the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka is a block of whale baleen, most likely from a minke whale. Minkes have 280 to 300 yellowish-white baleen plates, usually no more than 11 inches long, on each side of the upper jaw. See http://museums.alaska.gov/documents/sjm/artifacts/feb_2017.pdf A course titled Climate Change & My Community will be held June 12-16 on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and nearby field sites. The primary instructors are Dr. Elena Sparrow and Dr. Katie Villano of the UAF International Arctic Research Center. This course is for educators, youth group leaders, and community members interested in learning more about the impacts and feedbacks of a warming Arctic, braiding multiple ways of knowing and observing climate change from their elders, satellites, and their own observations, and making a difference on a climate change issue important to their community. See http://bit.ly/applyforArcticandEarthSIGNs. Applications are due April 24. If you have questions, contact Christine Keill at cekeill@alaska.edu. Claudia Haines, Youth Services Librarian at the Homer Public Library, will conduct an online course on media mentorship and family engagement in the digital age. The course is offered by the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The course will be held from March 27 to April 29. It costs $165, with a 10% discount if you register by March 13. It offers 1.8 CEUs and 18 LEUs. You will receive an email with login instructions a few days before the class begins. See https://slis.wisc.edu/continuing-education/media-mentorship/. If you work with children in a library, or manage those who do, consider joining this in-depth look at media mentorship and how to support families in the digital age. Discover innovative ways to support families with all kinds of media, discuss relevant research about digital media and children, and apply your new knowledge to your day-to-day work. Topics: Defining Media Mentorship and Family Engagement; Making the Case for Media Mentorship in the Library; Three Ways to be a Media Mentor for Children and Families; Evaluating and Finding High Quality Digital Media for Children; and Partnering and Collaborating In and Out of Libraryland: PLNs. Ms. Haines trains other librarians as media mentors and serves on local and national committees that support families and literacy. She is co-author of the book Becoming a Media Mentor (2016) and the Association for Library Service to Children white paper on media mentorship. She blogs at www.nevershushed.com. A free short course on future changes to advanced placement government and politics courses will be held February 10 in Long Beach, California. To confirm a spot in the course, register online here. Registration is requested but not required; walk-ins are welcome. Questions? Email teaching@apsanet.org. A screening of the film Last Best Hope: A True Story of Escape, Evasion, and Remembrance will be followed by a discussion with David Grosvenor, the film's producer, beginning at 7 p.m. February 10, in the Schaible Auditorium on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. The 90-minute film, completed in 2006, documents the experiences of Grosvenor's father, an American pilot, after his P-47 fighter aircraft was shot down over Brussels during World War II. Belgians hid the elder Grosvenor from Germany's Nazis for nearly 8 months until his capture in 1944. The film’s trailer can be viewed at www.alpheusmedia.com/lastbesthope/. See www.alpheusmedia.com/lastbesthope/synopsis.html. A new curriculum weaving together science concepts about the aurora borealis with Inupiat culture and language is now available for elementary and middle school teachers across Alaska. The Learning Through Cultural Connections curriculum was developed for elementary and middle schools in Iñupiaq-speaking areas of northern and western Alaska, but it is available online for teachers anywhere. The curriculum was created by staff in the outreach office at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Kits containing the elements of the curriculum -- including materials such as teacher and student guides, vocabulary cards with relevant science terminology in English and Inupiaq, and scale models of the solar system -- were distributed in early January to every elementary and middle school in the North Slope and Northwest Arctic Borough school districts, as well as to Nome Public Schools – in all, 23 schools in 20 communities. See the curriculum at http://culturalconnections.gi.alaska.edu See a video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb0WlrkcOak
The Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals and the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals are accepting nominations for yearly principal awards. Nominations can be made by anyone in the community or school. The Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals is accepting nominations for the 2017 National Distinguished Principal. Nominations are due February 24. Complete the nomination form attached and send it to Kim Bautista, AAESP Vice President, at bautista_kim@asdk12.org. The Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals is accepting nominations for regional principal and assistant principal of the year. Nominations are due February 12. For the purpose of this nomination process, a secondary school includes some or all of grades 6-12. For the nomination form, see www.surveymonkey.com/r/2018RPOY. For questions, please contact Liz Lange at 907-586-9702 or llange@alaskaacsa.org. The Department of Education and Early Development is recruiting for an Administrative Assistant I to support Mt. Edgecumbe High School in the areas of travel arrangements, purchasing/receiving freight, completing banking, procuring supplies, document filing, payroll/personnel processing, student data management, and providing backup relief for the MEHS secretary and accounting technician. The State of Alaska is an EEO/ADA employer. Individuals requiring accommodations should call 1-800-587-0430 or 465-4095 in Juneau or (907) 465-2815 (TTY). More information and the process for submitting an application can be found on Workplace Alaska at www.governmentjobs.com/careers/alaska/jobs/1642865/administrative-assistant-i-pcn-05-0306 The department’s Bond Reimbursement and Grant Review Committee will meet on February 28 in Juneau at the Michael J. Burns Building (810 W. 10th Street). The meeting will be held from 9:30 a.m.to 4:00 p.m. in the state board room on the first floor. The agenda, teleconference access information, and meeting packet will be available online at https://education.alaska.gov/Facilities/BRGR/ after February 15. Topics will include department and committee reports; review of proposed changes to, and adoption of, the FY2019 capital improvement project application; and revisions to publications relating to school facilities, including the Capital Project Administration Handbook and Project Delivery Method Handbook. The public is welcome to attend in person or via teleconference. The February 15 deadline for University of Alaska Southeast scholarships is fast approaching. New this year is the Verna Carrigan Promise Scholarship, open to high school seniors from Southeast Alaska high schools or a homeschool program. This one-time $3,000 award is geared to students who have overcome significant challenges in their education and life, and who demonstrate talent, fortitude, and the motivation to succeed. They may not have the highest grade point average or test scores, but their will to succeed is clear. See http://uas.alaska.edu/finaid. The 2017 Alaska PLAAY Summit will be held at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 4000 Ambassador Drive, in Anchorage. See http://plaay.org/plaay-summit/. The summit features experts providing teachers, parents, nurses, coaches, administrators, and other leaders of youth with ways to address the multi-factorial areas of adolescent health. PLAAY will emphasize the importance of physical activity as a means to improving teenage health. The Division of Administrative Services of the Department of Education and Early Development -- on behalf of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives & Museums -- is seeking the best vendor to operate the gift and book store at the Fr. Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building (APK), located at 395 Whittier Street in Juneau. APK is the site of the Alaska State Museum galleries, the Alaska State Library reading room, and the research center for access to the Alaska State Library historical collections and the Alaska State Archives. The building also features a 24-seat classroom, 120-seat lecture hall, café, and grand atrium. There are approximately 30 visitor parking places under the facility and spaces for up to three full-sized motor coaches (holding up to 40 passengers each) in front of the building. For more information, see http://notice.alaska.gov/184332. The Alaska Summer Research Academy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will accept applications from February 1 to April 15 for its middle and high school programs. The academy will be held each day on July 10-21. Students accepted into the summer program will spend two weeks with a small group and two instructors exploring a topic in science, engineering, math, or technology. The program is offered through the UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics. Financial aid may be available for qualified students. See www.uaf.edu/asra/. The 2017 Justice for All Art Contest, sponsored by the Alaska Court System and the Alaska Bar Association, is open to students in K-8; the entry deadline is March 15. Students should address the contest theme of fairness, diversity, and equality. For entry form, guidelines, and information on cash prizes, see http://courts.alaska.gov/outreach/#art.
###State Board Opens Survey About Education Reform
Sheldon Jackson Museum Features Block of Whale Baleen
Course on Climate Change and Your Community Set for June in Fairbanks
Homer Youth Librarian to Teaching Media Mentorship Class
Short Course Available in California on AP Government and Politics Courses
UAF to Screen Film about Alaska World War II Veteran
Curriculum Combines Science and Inupiat Culture
Nominations Open for Principal Awards
Mt. Edgecumbe is Seeking an Administrative Assistant
Bond Reimbursement and Grant Review Committee to Meet on February 28
New UAS Scholarship for Students Who Have Overcome Challenges
2017 Alaska PLAAY SUMMIT Set for February 24-25
Request for Proposals to Operate a Gift and Book Store at APK Building in Juneau
UAF Presents Summer Research Academy for Middle and High School Students
Alaska Court System and Bar Offer Art Contest for Grades K-8