- Cama-i, quyana tailuci!
- (Central Yup’ik)
- "Greetings, thank you for coming!"
Information Exchange: Vol. 45 No. 9
Inside This Edition:
- Alaska Teacher of the Year Nominations are Open
- Recorded WebEx on the Alaska Developmental Profile is Available
- UAF to Host Informational Event About its Programs and Majors
- Applications for the BRIGHT Girls Summer Academy are Open
- Students Have Free Admission at Alaska State Museum in Juneau
- Scholarship Available for Student Pursuing a Degree in Education
- School Business Officials Offer Two Scholarships
- South Anchorage High Students Earn Remote Pilot Airman Certificates
- Two Leadership Events set for Anchorage this Spring
- Alaska State Library Seeks Ideas for its Five-Year Plan to Use Federal Funds
- Moccasins are Artifact of the Month at Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka
- Alaska Digital Library’s Big Library Read of Art of the Pie starts March 16
- Historical Society Offers Two Travel Awards to Annual Meeting
- Postsecondary Commission Reaches Rural Students with Distance Technology
- All Ages Welcome to Submit Designs for Alaska License Plates
- Summer Food Service Program Looking for Local Sites
- Department Recruits for Child Nutrition Position
- Alaska CAN-Together Conference Set for March 23-24
- Department Recruiting for a Director of Student Learning
- Attend an AAEC Summer Arts Institute
Contact Us
- Eric Fry: (907) 465-2851
Subscription
Alaska Teacher of the Year Nominations are Open
The Alaska Teacher of the Year 2018 nomination process is open. Alaska has many outstanding teachers who are worthy of the award. The Alaska Teacher of the Year Program gives us an opportunity to identify Alaska’s best teachers. Any interested Alaskan may nominate a teacher for the award. Teacher of the Year is an excellent way to acknowledge the expertise, skills, accomplishments, and professionalism of teachers in your school. Contact: Cecilia Miller at AlaskaTOY@alaska.gov or 907-465-8703. For additional information: .
Recorded WebEx on the Alaska Developmental Profile is Available
The Department of Education and Early Development’s Early Learning team held a WebEx on February 27 to announce the new Alaska Developmental Profile results. View the results. Also, view the recorded WebEx explaining the ADP.
UAF to Host Informational Event About its Programs and Majors
The University of Alaska Fairbanks will host its annual Major Mania event on March 10, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Wood Center on the Fairbanks campus. The event offers the chance to learn about the programs and majors UAF offers. Staff, faculty members, and students will discuss topics like current employment trends, research opportunities, and internships. Attendees will be eligible to win a free online class from UAF eLearning and Distance Education. Contact the UAF Academic Advising Center at 907-474-6396 or visit www.uaf.edu/advising/.
Applications for the BRIGHT Girls Summer Academy are Open
BRIGHT Girls offers two-week, free, day-only academies in Fairbanks (July 10-21) and Juneau (July 24-August 4) for high school girls. Participants explore the biology and habitat of salmon (in Fairbanks) or harbor seals (in Juneau). Expect to go boating, take pictures, use science tools and technology, take measurements in the field and the lab, and explore the outdoors with new friends. Visit brightgirlsak.org to learn more and submit an application by April 1. For more information, contact Laura Oxtoby at leoxtoby@alaska.edu, 907-474-5396.
Students Have Free Admission at Alaska State Museum in Juneau
Young Alaskans through age 18 have free entry at the Alaska State Museum at 395 Whittier Street. If your school is travelling to Juneau, stop by and see outstanding educational displays about Alaskan history and natural history. If a school group comes to the museum, teachers and chaperones also have free entry. See http://museums.alaska.gov/.
Scholarship Available for Student Pursuing a Degree in Education
The University of Alaska Change Force (http://drivechangeak.org) is accepting applications for a $12,000 scholarship for an Alaska high school student who plans to pursue a degree in education. Applications are due April 3. See https://uaptw.typeform.com/to/MBs2Sc.
School Business Officials Offer Two Scholarships
The Alaska Association of School Business Officials (ALASBO) is accepting applications for the Mack Easton Memorial Scholarships. Two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to graduating high school seniors. Applications are due March 31. See www.alasbo.org/grants-scholarships/. The ALASBO Awards Committee, chaired by Liz Hayes of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, will make the selections. Mr. Easton was a school business official from Fairbanks North Star Borough School District who died tragically in a car accident in 1988.
South Anchorage High Students Earn Remote Pilot Airman Certificates
South Anchorage High School students are piloting a new aviation science course focusing on aerial cinematography. The course is available as part of the school’s Digital Arts/AV Career and Technical Education pathway. Recently, a South High computer lab was transformed into a temporary national aviation testing center to allow students to take their FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Knowledge Test. Sixteen students passed the exam and earned their Remote Pilot Airman Certificate. This is the first time any U.S. high school offered this federal exam.
In the aerial cinematography course students learn federal laws, flight dynamics, components and systems, airspace identification, aviation weather theory, and much more with relation to the legal, safe, and responsible commercial operation of unmanned aerial systems, commonly known as drones. Students are working under the close guidance of Alaska Aerial Media, a School Business Partner developer of this new operator's certification course. “Thanks to the partnership with Alaska Aerial Media, the Anchorage School District is leading the way on commercial UAS education to promote a safer, more professional workforce and a self-monitoring UAS flight community,” said teacher Lee Butterfield.
Two Leadership Events set for Anchorage this Spring
2017 Spring Leadership Working Conference, Building the ESSA State Application, April 21, Dena’ina Center, Anchorage. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers Alaska an opportunity to develop state policy that is responsive to Alaska’s unique educational environment. The conference includes presentations, discussions, and planning. For more information, visit the website. This event is sponsored by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development in partnership with Alaska Staff Development Network/Alaska Council of School Administrators.
Alaska School Leadership Institute 2017, Leadership to Support Instructional Excellence: Making a Positive Impact on the Culture of a School and Maximizing Student Learning, May 22-24, Hilton Hotel, Anchorage. This conference is tailored to small and rural schools and districts. Topics include: cultivating the leadership dispositions that grow a positive school culture, providing effective feedback, building and supporting a highly effective system with mathematics, and the impacts and opportunities of the new ESSA for rural school systems. More information and registration. This event is sponsored by Alaska Staff Development Network/Alaska Council of School Administrators and the Anchorage School District.
Alaska State Library Seeks Ideas for its Five-Year Plan to Use Federal Funds
Every five years the Alaska State Library works with stakeholders to write a plan for using federal library funds to advance library services in Alaska. The State Library is seeking ideas for the upcoming plan at http://alaskalibrary.collectiveinnovation.com/. Participants can contribute their own ideas and vote for others’ ideas that they support.
Moccasins are Artifact of the Month at Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka
Learn more about the artifact this month. Archive of Previous Artifacts of the Month.
Alaska Digital Library’s Big Library Read of Art of the Pie starts March 16
As part of Overdrive’s global Big Library Read, copies of Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott will be available to all users of the Alaska Digital Library with no wait from March 16-30. Ms. McDermott has taught the time-honored craft of pie-making to thousands of people. Here she shares her secrets to crusts, fillings, and living a good life. See https://adl.overdrive.com/.
Historical Society Offers Two Travel Awards to Annual Meeting
The Alaska Historical Society (AHS) offers two travel awards for its annual meeting in Anchorage on September 27 27-30. One award will be presented to a postsecondary student who is researching some aspect of Alaska history, and another to an emerging professional in the field. Awards consists of reimbursement for documented travel expenses up to $750 plus a conference registration package. The application deadline is May 19. Contact Professor Michael Hawfield, AHS Awards Committee, at: mchawfield@alaska.edu.
Postsecondary Commission Reaches Rural Students with Distance Technology
Tightening budgets are a challenge for Alaska’s public organizations – especially those trying to serve rural Alaska. Where possible, the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education is using technology to help bridge the gap. One such example is Kids2College (K2C), a partnership with the UA College Savings Plan. K2C is supported by numerous local partner entities including schools, college campuses, and local volunteers.
K2C provides teachers with a six-lesson curriculum and training to implement curriculum in late elementary classrooms. Students identify career interests, build personal learning and career plans, and learn how to prepare in middle and high school for college and career success. Community partners help organize college and career panels, featuring local professionals, to give students a chance to ask questions about career options and college life. Because it relies on local volunteers and staff to implement, K2C has been successful reaching both urban and rural communities.
To allow students in small rural communities to talk with adults representing diverse careers – ideally with ties to the region - some college and career panels are offered via video teleconference (VTC). VTC technology is allowing ACPE to connect rural students in approximately 15 schools this year to a relevant and valuable career panel experience.
“This is our largest year yet for VTC Kids2College panels” said Shelly Morgan, the program’s coordinator at ACPE. “We have so much interest from rural sites that we’ve had to expand volunteer recruitment. It’s so exciting to get Alaskans excited about their future, and to share important next steps, and college and career planning tips with students across so many communities.”
College and career panels already have been conducted at the Nuniwarmiut School in Mekoryuk, Joann A. Alexie Memorial School in Atmautluak, Pilot Station School in Pilot Station, Innoko River School in Shageluk, and Sand Point School in Sand Point. In-person panels are taking place in Anchorage, Mat-Su Valley, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and 20 other communities around the state. For more information or to volunteer as a panel participant, go to: www.acpe.alaska.gov/Kids2College.
All Ages Welcome to Submit Designs for Alaska License Plates
The state is opening a call to Alaskans of any age to submit designs for their ideal license plate. Submissions will be accepted to April 24. Find more info (including guidelines, examples, and templates) at http://alaskaartisticlicense.org/.
Summer Food Service Program Looking for Local Sites
Are there children in your community who will go hungry this summer? The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s Child Nutrition Programs unit is looking for school districts, parks and recreation departments, non-profit organizations, camps, and churches to operate Summer Food Service Program feeding sites for children and youth in low-income areas in Alaska.
Sponsors are reimbursed with federal funds for each eligible meal served at approved feeding sites (school, park, local café, Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, or another location). All sponsors receive training and technical assistance from Alaska Child Nutrition Programs prior to starting their Summer Food Service Program and throughout the program’s duration.
All trainings will be in person or by phone, please contact Cyde Coil at cyde.coil@alaska.gov or 907-465-4969 to register: Distance Delivery for All Sponsors: Training delivered via WebEx; April 13, 8:30 a.m.-noon New and Returning Sponsors. Schools Training: Training Delivered via WebEx; April 20, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. All School District Sponsors and Staff; Anchorage In-Person Training: Located at BP Energy Center 900 E. Benson Blvd., May 2, 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. New and Returning Sponsors and Staff.
To sponsor a program this summer, schools and organizations should contact program specialist Alicia Maryott at 907-465-4788 or alicia.maryott@alaska.gov. Applications, training and sponsor information will be sent upon inquiry. For more information please visit: https://education.alaska.gov/tls/cnp/sfsp.html.
Department Recruits for Child Nutrition Position
The Department of Education and Early Development is recruiting among Alaska residents for a project assistant in the Child Nutrition Programs. The position, in Juneau, administers the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program; coordinates residential child care institutions participating in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Afterschool Snack Program; supports the administration of the Summer Food Service Program for schools; and other duties. The recruitment closes at 5 p.m. on March 13. The State of Alaska is an EEO/ADA employer. Individuals requiring accommodations should call 1-800-587-0430 or (907) 465-4095 in Juneau or (907) 465-2815 (TTY). View the job description.
Alaska CAN-Together Conference Set for March 23-24
The Alaska CAN–Together conference will be held March 23-24 in Anchorage. The conference is sponsored by the Alaska Postsecondary Access & Completion Network, whose goal is for 65 percent of Alaskan adults to have an educational credential by 2025. See http://65by2025.org/ or www.facebook.com/65by2025. The conference includes presentations by the Kodiak Transition Age Group Coalition, the Maritime Apprenticeship Program, and ACT’s STEM report for Alaska. See the conference’s full agenda. The conference also will partner with Spirit of Youth, which will host its annual awards at an evening reception on March 23.
Department Recruiting for a Director of Student Learning
The Department of Education and Early Development is seeking a Director of Student Learning, who will be responsible, either directly or through division staff, for overseeing the work of the Deputy Director, the Rural Education Coordinator, an Education Associate, and four teams working to ensure that each student in Alaska is offered an education that meets the state standards, and has the supports necessary to achieve excellence in that education. Applications are due by 4:30 p.m. Alaska time on March 15. The State of Alaska is an EEO/ADA employer. Individuals requiring accommodations should call 1-800-587-0430 or (907) 465-4095 in Juneau or (907) 465-2815 (TTY). View the complete recruitment notice.
Attend an AAEC Summer Arts Institute
The Alaska Arts Education Consortium has announced plans for five 2017 Summer Arts Education Institutes. For institutes that are open for registration, see www.akartsed.org. May 22-26, Unalakleet Arts are Exceptional Special Education and the Arts Institute one week, 3 credits. June 5-16, Sitka Basic Arts Institute, two weeks, 4 credits. July 24-August 4, Juneau Basic & Beyond Arts Institute, two weeks with special event during the second week, 4 credits. July 31-August 4, Anchorage Arts are Exceptional Special Education and the Arts Institute one week, 3 credits. August 9-13 Sitka Cultural Arts Institute, one week, 3 credits.
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