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Information Exchange: Vol. 45 No. 12
Inside This Edition:
- Alaska Teacher of the Year Nominations are Open
- Students Invited to Design Poster for the Choose Respect Initiative
- Artistic License Call Open to All Ages
- Department Seeks Educators to Help Establish New Test’s Achievement Levels
- The Working Models: Sculptures by Robert Murray at the Alaska State Museum
- Maritime Courses for High School Students Available in June at AVTEC
- Alaska Sesquicentennial Materials Protected at State Library, Archives and Museum
- Homer Public Library Included in Ideabook: Libraries for Families
- Alaska State System of Support Seeks Experienced Alaska Teachers as Coaches
- State Board to Meet March 27-29 in Juneau
- Help Develop the ESSA State Application
- Anchorage School District Opens Alaska Middle College School
- Nominations Open for Superintendent of the Year
- Arts Training for Teachers Working with Special Education Students
- Coeur Alaska Donates $40,000 for Environmental Science Award at UAS
- Recorded WebEx on the Alaska Developmental Profile is Available
- School Leadership Institute Set for May 22-24
- Summer Food Service Program Looking for Local Sites
- 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 through May 1. 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: http://education.alaska.gov/RecognitionPrograms/TOY/.
Students Invited to Design Poster for the Choose Respect Initiative
Alaska students K-12 are invited to create a positive message about respect and healthy relationships by participating in this year’s Choose Respect: Alaskans Pulling Together for Each Other poster contest. Posters must be received electronically or via mail by April 14. Contest details can be found here: https://gov.alaska.gov/administration-focus/safer-alaska/poster-contest/. Questions can be directed to Karen.Obermann@alaska.gov or call 907-269-7450.
Artistic License Call Open to All Ages
Alaska is holding its first license plate design competition, and submissions from all ages are welcome. A secret celebrity panel of Alaska judges will choose finalists, and then a statewide vote by Alaskans will decide the winning design. The new plate will be available for all Alaskans as an official DMV-issued license plate for the next four years. For complete information, guidelines, and submission instructions visit http://alaskaartisticlicense.org. The call is open to April 24.
Department Seeks Educators to Help Establish New Test’s Achievement Levels
he Department of Education and Early Development is recruiting educators to participate in standards setting to establish the achievement levels of Alaska’s new statewide grade 3-10 assessment in English language arts and math, which is called the Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS). Panelists must have experience in teaching math and/or English language arts in the specified grade levels, be knowledgeable about the Alaska standards, and work well as part of a team. Apply by March 27. For more about PEAKS, see https://education.alaska.gov/tls/assessments/PEAKS.html. Questions? Contact Margaret MacKinnon, Director of Assessment & Accountability, at Margaret.mackinnon@alaska.gov
The Working Models: Sculptures by Robert Murray at the Alaska State Museum
The Alaska State Museum in Juneau will open The Working Models: Sculptures by Robert Murray on March 24 and hold a reception and lecture with the artist and author Jonathan Lippincott at 6 p.m. on March 31. Robert Murray’s large abstract sculptures begin with a model. Murray builds the models in his workshop before creating the larger works, which require an industrial process involving welders, metal fabricators, and painters. The exhibit highlights eight working models, including the one Murray made for Nimbus in 1977.
Jonathan Lippincott who authored the book Large Scale: Fabricating Sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s, which explores the history of sculptures made at Lippincott, Inc., where Nimbus was fabricated, will discuss Murray’s relationship with Lippincott’s metal fabrication company. This exhibit is sponsored in part by the Friends of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives, and Museum, and Alaska Airlines.
Winter hours at the museum are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Discounted winter admission is $5, with those age 18 and under admitted free. An annual pass that allows unlimited visits to the Alaska State Museum and the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka is available for $25. Please contact visitor services at 907-465 2901 before the visit to arrange for assistance for visitors with special needs.
Maritime Courses for High School Students Available in June at AVTEC
Interested in fast-tracking a rewarding career in the maritime industry? Have you already earned sea time on a pleasure, sport or commercial vessel? If so, there is valuable training available to you. Funding for tuition, supplies, and room and board is available for eligible high school students and their high school instructors in career and technical education.
High School Basic Training, June 5-9 at AVTEC in Seward. Students will earn four U.S. Coast Guard certifications upon successful completion of this training and a basic training endorsement that is a required and highly valued credential for entry-level employment in the maritime industry. This course also satisfies part one of the three-part AMAP Tier 1 training requirements for students who might be interested in applying for this apprenticeship after they graduate from high school and turn 18. Course info and online registration: http://www.avtec.edu/HSBT.
High School Basic Shipboard Culinary Training, June 12-16 at AVTEC in Seward. This culinary course is geared toward those who want to acquire the basic safe food preparation skills for alternative cooking environments other than a commercial kitchen. Its focus is on cooking techniques used in ships’ galleys or in other remote areas without compromising good sanitation practices and nutritional cooking. This course also satisfies part two of the three-part AMAP Tier 1 training requirements for students who might be interested in applying for this apprenticeship after they graduate from high school and turn 18. Course info and online registration: http://www.avtec.edu/HSBSCT. This class is already filling up. Do not delay, if you are interested.
Alaska Sesquicentennial Materials Protected at State Library, Archives and Museum
The Juneau Empire recently featured the work of guest paper conservator Seth Irwin in preserving documents from the time of America’s purchase of Russian interests in Alaska in 1867. View the full story.
Homer Public Library Included in Ideabook: Libraries for Families
The Homer Public Library is included in the new Public Library Association publication Ideabook: Libraries for Families. The book may be downloaded for free.
Alaska State System of Support Seeks Experienced Alaska Teachers as Coache
The Department of Education and Early Development is seeking responses from qualified and experienced Alaskan educators for the State System of Support Coaching Program. Coaches will apply their education skills to increase the capacity of low-performing schools and districts to raise student achievement. Offerors must have knowledge of current research and practices in the six effective school domains of curriculum, assessment, instruction, supportive learning environment, professional development and leadership. Coaches work as independent contractors. See http://notice.alaska.gov/184945
State Board to Meet March 27-29 in Juneau
The State Board of Education and Early Development will meet on March 27-29 at the first-floor classroom in the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building at 395 Whittier Street, Juneau. The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. March 27 with a work session; at 8:30 a.m. March 28 for board professional development; and at 10:15 a.m. March 29 to continue the work session and hold the business meeting. In addition, the advisory board of the Alaska Public School Trust will hold its annual meeting at 4:15 p.m. March 27 in the same location as above, to review the trust’s finances and investments. On March 27, enter the building from its side entrance, which is next to the unpaved parking lot on Willoughby Avenue.
The board will take public comment on agenda and non-agenda items starting at approximately 1:15 p.m. March 27. Comment at this oral hearing is limited to three minutes per person and five minutes per group. Public comment can be made for this meeting, during this time only, by calling 1-844-586-9085 if you are outside of Juneau. For participation from Juneau, call 586-9085.
Oral comment also can be made by visiting your local Legislative Information Office (LIO). The following LIO’s will participate: Anchorage, Barrow, Bethel, Cordova, Delta Junction, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Glennallen, Homer, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Mat-Su, Nome, Petersburg, Seward, Sitka, Tok, Unalaska, Valdez, and Wrangell. For more information about LIO’s, call 907-465-4648.
Topics at the work session include an update on the state plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, the final school construction and major maintenance lists, an update on the legislative session and the department’s budget, a resolution to support more credit pathways at the University of Alaska, renewals of three charters (Aurora Borealis, Fireweed Academy, and Soldotna Montessori), three regulations to go out for public comment (pre-elementary, physical exams for school staff, and career and college ready assessments), adoption of a museum fee regulation, and extension of the approval of the teacher preparation program at the University of Alaska Southeast.
Topics at the business meeting include the regulations listed above, approval of Robert Williams as Director of Educator & School Excellence, standing reports from department divisions and the Commissioner, strategic planning, previous meeting minutes, the charters listed above, the resolution mentioned above, the construction and major maintenance lists, and extension of the approval of the teacher preparation program at the University of Alaska Southeast.
The board may amend its published agenda. Agenda times are estimates only, and the board may consider agenda items out of order without amending its agenda. The board’s meeting packet is available, online, at http://education.alaska.gov/State_Board/ by clicking on the meeting date.
Help Develop the ESSA State Application
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. Join us in Anchorage on April 21 for presentations, discussions, and planning as we consider how to move forward with teaching and learning in our state. ESSA shifts much of the policymaking power from the U.S. Education Department to the states. The legislation empowers states to develop their own accountability systems that measure student progress and affords them the authority to determine how best to improve student and school performance.
Conference Purposes: To clarify what ESSA is and is not for Alaska. To learn about specific actions for complying with key elements of the plan under Title I. To provide feedback regarding the areas of standards and assessment; accountability; and support for low-performing schools. To learn about new classifications for teachers and administrators under Title I and Title II. The event is sponsored by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development in partnership with Alaska Staff Development Network/Alaska Council of School Administrators. For more information and online registration.
NOTE: On March 13, the U.S. Department of Education released a revised template for states’ plans to implement the new federal K-12 law, the Every Student Succeeds Act. In their plans, states will set out their methods of implementing standards and assessments; school, district, and state accountability systems; and school support and improvement. Although the new template for state plans no longer requires states to list their consultation and engagement with stakeholders, Alaska will continue to work with stakeholders, as it has for the past year, to create the best plan for Alaska students. Alaska will submit its state plan on September 18.
Anchorage School District Opens Alaska Middle College School
The Anchorage School District (ASD) is accepting applications for Alaska Middle College School (AMCS) for the 2017-18 school year. High school juniors and seniors who attend the school will take courses on the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Chugiak-Eagle River campus while earning high school and college credit at the same time. The opportunity to earn college credit is offered at no cost to individual ASD students. The school will offer college-level courses taught by UAA faculty. Students can simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an associate of arts degree from UAA.
Students who wish to attend AMCS must be a high school junior or senior, have at least a 2.0 grade point average, be ready for college-level English and math courses, and score college-ready on college entrance tests. AMCS applications are available at http://amcs.asdk12.org. The application deadline is April 28. Applications received after that date will be accepted as space is available.
“This school will provide strong opportunities for students as they begin preparing for life after high school,” said Dr. Deena Bishop, ASD Superintendent. “I appreciate the School Board’s desire to make this investment to provide additional rigorous school choice options for students.”
Nominations Open for Superintendent of the Year
The selection committee is seeking nominations for the 2018 Alaska Superintendent of the Year. Nominations can be made by school board members, parents, colleagues, community members, or anyone who has personal knowledge of an Alaska superintendent’s performance and qualifications. Candidates should exemplify educational effectiveness, knowledge, leadership, ethics, and commitment. Any superintendent or top leader of a school system who plans to continue in the profession may be nominated. Please email nominations to acsa@alaskaacsa.org or mail them to the ASA Executive Director, 234 Gold Street, Juneau, AK 99801 by May 1. The nomination application: SOY2018 Nomination Form.
Arts Training for Teachers Working with Special Education Students
The Alaska Arts Education Consortium is offering Arts are Exceptional one-week institutes in Unalakleet, May 22-26, and Anchorage, July 31-August 4. These special education-focused institutes are open to all K-12 educators who are interested in learning skills and techniques pertinent to special needs students, including modifications and adaptations of classroom practices through the arts. Daily sessions include theory and hands-on activity sessions—including art, music, drama, and movement. Educators will experience the diverse ways that students can access learning and gain skills, increasing the ease and likelihood of student success for all students. See http://www.akartsed.org or contact Barbara Short at barb.short@gmail.com.
Coeur Alaska Donates $40,000 for Environmental Science Award at UAS
Coeur Alaska Inc. has donated $40,000 to the UAS Coeur Alaska-Kensington Gold Mine Environmental Science Award this academic year. This brings a total donation of $126,500 to the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) since 2010, with $100,000 going to awards for students studying environmental science. For more information about UAS, visit http://www.uas.alaska.edu or call 907-796-6100.
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 here. Listen to the recorded WebEx explaining the ADP.
School Leadership Institute Set for May 22-24
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.
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.
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 http://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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