- Cama-i, quyana tailuci!
- (Central Yup’ik)
- "Greetings, thank you for coming!"
Information Exchange: Vol. 45 No. 21
Inside This Edition:
- State Board to Meet by Audioconference June 7-8
- Two Alaska Youths Honored for Volunteer Service
- Federal Grants for Distance Education and Training Are Available
- UAF Offers Free Summer Events
- Presentation on Lituya Bay Set for May 27
- CTE Conference Seeking Presenters
- Culturally Responsive Education Conference Set for June 1-3
- Department is Recruiting for Three Positions
- Energy Literacy Class for Teachers is Set for June 5-6
- State Library, Archives and Museum will be Closed May 29
- ASD to Honor Denali Award Recipients for Spring 2017
- Alaska Arts Council and Others Collaborate on Brochure About Native Ivory Carvers
- ALSC Releases 2017 Summer Reading Lists – Birth to 8th grade
- Listen to Meetings of Alaska’s Education Challenge Committees
- Request for the K-12 Talent Pool Nominations
- Title IIB Math & Science Partnership Grant Opportunity
- Seminar about Resilient Educators set for June in Girdwood
Contact Us
- Eric Fry: (907) 465-2851
Subscription
State Board to Meet by Audioconference June 7-8
The State Board of Education and Early Development will hold a regularly scheduled meeting by audio conference on June 7-8, originating from the first-floor board room at 801 West 10th Street, Juneau. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. June 7 with a work session and at 9:00 a.m. June 8 to continue the work session and hold the business meeting.
The board will take public comment on agenda and non-agenda items starting at approximately 9:15 a.m. June 7. 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.
This meeting will be streamed through the Legislative Information Office over http://www.alaskalegislature.tv/ (audio only) beginning at 9:00 a.m. on June 7 and at 9:00 a.m. June 8. Click on the meeting name to listen to the proceedings. When public comment is over, the meeting will continue to be broadcast at the above web site.
Oral comment also can be made by visiting your local Legislative Information Office (LIO). The following LIO’s will participate: Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Mat-Su, Nome, Seward, and Sitka. For more information about LIO’s, call 907-465-4648.
In the event there are more than two hours of public comment, the board may move to amend the agenda to extend the oral hearing to accommodate those present before 8:55 a.m. June 7 who did not have an opportunity to comment. The board reserves the right to adjourn at a later time.
The purpose of the meeting is to hold a work session and a business meeting. Topics at the work session include an update on the state plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, an update on Alaska’s Education Challenge, an update on the joint UA regents/state board committee, a discussion of the board’s procedures for self-evaluation and the board’s bylaws, updates on legislative and budget topics, three proposed regulation packages to go out for public comment (school bus standards, cut scores for statewide assessments, and the definition of vocational education), adoption of proposed regulation packages (pre-elementary, staff physical exams, and career and college readiness exams).
Topics at the business meeting include the regulations listed above, appointments to board subcommittees, selection of meeting dates and locations, selection of officers, a regularly scheduled executive session to evaluate the commissioner, standing reports on the department’s divisions, the commissioner’s report, appointments to the Mt. Edgecumbe High School advisory board, and approval of the minutes of the March 27-29 meeting and May 3 work session.
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, approximately two weeks prior to each meeting at http://education.alaska.gov/State_Board/ by clicking on the meeting date.
Persons with disabilities who need accommodations to participate should contact Shawn Sypeck at 907-465-2802 or e-mail shawn.sypeck@alaska.gov at least five days before the accommodation is needed. For more information, call 907-465-2800.
Two Alaska Youths Honored for Volunteer Service
Alaska’s top two youth volunteers of 2017 -- Adam Skelton, 17, of Anchorage and Leena Robinson, 13, of Nenana -- were honored in Washington, D.C. earlier this month during the annual presentation of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Adam and Leena each received $1,000 and congratulations from Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps at the ceremony in the National Museum of Natural History.
Adam, a graduating senior at South Anchorage High, has collected more than a ton of books over the past two years and shipped them to rural Alaska communities. He persuaded five local airlines and two bush pilots to fly boxes of books to remote villages. Leena, an eighth-grader at Nenana City Public School this year, plays a key role in a small group that works to educate local residents about the dangers of tobacco. She has spent hundreds of hours helping to plan and coordinate a variety of annual events that highlight the benefits of a tobacco-free lifestyle. See http://spirit.prudential.com.
Federal Grants for Distance Education and Training Are Available
The federal Rural Utilities Service offers competitive grants between $50,000 and $500,000 to provide education, training, and health care for rural Americans. See the notice for the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants Program in the Federal Register. Applications are due July 17.
UAF Offers Free Summer Events
University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning is hosting nearly 50 free lectures, concerts, and other events this summer. Here is what’s happening during the week ahead: For more information, visit http://www.uaf.edu/summer/events or call 907-474-7021.
Presentation on Lituya Bay Set for May 27
The Friends of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives, and Museum will host a presentation on Lituya Bay history by Philippe Fichet Delavaut, on May 27 at 2 p.m. in the APK lecture hall at 395 Whittier Street. Located on one of Alaska’s many seismic faults, Lituya Bay is regularly the site of landslide-generated giant waves—the most famous of which was the 1958 event that spawned the world’s largest recorded “mega-tsunami” that left a high water mark at the 1,791 foot level of an adjoining mountain.
The area is also steeped in human history: since ancient times, the Tlingits inhabited the area, and were on hand in 1786 to greet the members of a French expedition commanded by Captain Jean-François de Laperouse—the first contact between the Tlingits of the region and non-Natives. French maritime historian and retired cruise ship captain, Philippe Fichet Delavaut became interested in Lituya Bay after learning about the French Laperouse expedition. He eventually helped found the Juneau-based Laperouse Alaska Association, and has made many trips to the bay. The lecture, sponsored by the Friends of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museum, is presented free of charge.
CTE Conference Seeking Presenters
Interested in presenting at the Alaska ACTE Professional Development Conference, being held October 30 – November 1, 2017 at the Anchorage Downtown Marriot? Contribute your expertise to the CTE community by helping create content. Showcase your best practices, new ideas, classroom strategies, and program innovations in CTE. Organizers are looking for a variety of formats, including lectures, hands-on labs, panels, and interactive discussions. Sessions are typically 60 minutes in length and should allow 10–15 minutes for questions. The deadline for presentation proposal submissions is September 1. All presenters will be notified of acceptance by September 15.
Culturally Responsive Education Conference Set for June 1-3
Sealaska Heritage Institute is holding Our Cultural Landscape: Culturally Responsive Education Conference on June 1-3 at Juneau-Douglas High School in Juneau. It is an effort to improve the academic success of Native students by giving educators tools to effectively teach people from other cultures. The event will feature nationally known speakers, break-out sessions, a screening of the film Real Injun, and traditional dances. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott are scheduled to address the conference. Click here for more information.
Department is Recruiting for Three Positions
The Department of Education and Early Development is recruiting for three positions: Architectural Assistant (this recruitment is being extended); Education Associate II; and School Finance Specialist II.Energy Literacy Class for Teachers is Set for June 5-6
The Renewable Energy Alaska Project will present a class for K-12 educators on energy literacy for the Anchorage School District Summer Academy on June 5-6. It will be a fun class with hands-on activities from AK EnergySmart and National Energy Education Development, including some that are in the 6th-grade middle school science kits. The class will tour the Anchorage Recycling Center and the AK Waste Biodiesel plant. Participants receive 1 credit of continuing education. The only cost of the class is the University of Alaska Anchorage fee for the credit -- around $75.
State Library, Archives and Museum will be Closed May 29
The Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum, located in the Fr. Andrew P. Kashevaroff building (APK), will be closed on May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.
ASD to Honor Denali Award Recipients for Spring 2017
One Anchorage School District employee and two teams of colleagues are recipients of the Denali Award, a biannual recognition program which honors employees who have shown outstanding achievement, service, and dedication in ensuring every student has the opportunity to achieve his or her potential. The spring 2017 winners are:
Mike McCarthy, a solutions architect with the Information Technology Department, is an innovative thinker whose creative solutions have led to process improvements that benefit employees districtwide. One of his biggest projects was the districtwide staff device refresh. An enormous undertaking, this project entailed nearly 4,000 new computers distributed to schools across the district.
Hanshew teaching duo Katie Weidemaier and Leah Dubber, who took the initiative to start two new eighth-grade pre-AP courses at Hanshew. Working together, they wrote a course curriculum infusing AP strategies into eighth-grade language arts and social studies. The content focuses on high-level reading, writing, research, and text analysis.
The Ravenwood front office team of Debbie Weiss and Beth Kutyba are the smiling faces and friendly voices of Ravenwood Elementary School. They are described by their colleagues as efficient, organized, caring, dedicated, proactive, and the epitome of professionalism. They have the ability to console a concerned parent, ease a distraught child, and answer a teacher’s questions without skipping a beat.
Alaska Arts Council and Others Collaborate on Brochure About Native Ivory Carvers
The U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, has published a new consumer education brochure to promote the creative work of Alaska Native walrus ivory carvers and highlight the inherent cultural importance, beauty, and value of these carvings. The Alaska Native Ivory publication is produced in collaboration with the Alaska State Council on the Arts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Eskimo Walrus Commission.
“The Alaska Native Ivory brochure is intended to highlight the aesthetic, cultural, and economic importance of Alaska Native ivory carving, particularly in the Alaska Native coastal communities, and to help delineate between walrus ivory and the ban on elephant ivory,” states IACB Vice Chairperson Rose Fosdick (Nome Eskimo Community).
The brochure offers consumer tips on purchasing and transporting authentic Alaska Native ivory artwork, educational facts on ivory types and sources, and information on the Eskimo Walrus Commission. A printable version of the brochure.ALSC Releases 2017 Summer Reading Lists – Birth to 8th Grade
The Association for Library Service to Children has released its 2017 Summer Reading Lists. With titles organized into four age ranges, young booklovers are sure to find some great reads to beat the heat. Each list is available to download for free; birth-preschool, K-2nd grade, 3rd-5th grade, and 6th-8th grade. For the lists and more information.
Listen to Meetings of Alaska’s Education Challenge Committees
Audio conferenced meetings of Alaska’s Education Challenge committees will start next week. The public is encouraged to listen to a livestream of meeting audio at akl.tv. Here is the master schedule. More information, including meeting agendas, will be posted to the main webpage. The committees are developing recommendations to transform Alaska’s public schools. Governor Bill Walker introduced Alaska’s Education Challenge in his State of the State Address in January. He challenged Alaskans to establish an efficient, sustainable, and comprehensive system to provide an excellent education for every student.
Request for the K-12 Talent Pool Nominations
This is your opportunity to give something back to the educators who are of great value to your district, community, and state. The Department of Education and Early Development is seeking applications that identify exemplary K-12 teachers and principals. We are looking for educators, relatively new to the profession, who demonstrate outstanding instructional and leadership abilities that impact students, colleagues, and the community. These distinguished educators are considered for special recognition programs, statewide and national advisory boards, and task forces. A minimum of five years in education is required.
These educators may be elementary, middle, or high school teachers or administrators -- typically classroom teachers, as opposed to specialists -- and are known by peers and supervisors as unique in their field. Previous formal recognition is not required. In fact, we prefer educators who are outstanding but have not received other recognition.
The information you provide will be confidential. The application form can be found at https://education.alaska.gov/forms/ (search for talent pool). All questions must be answered, preferably typewritten. Include a resume and one-page narrative that addresses how the candidate meets the criteria mentioned in your letter. We ask that you keep this recommendation confidential and do not share it with the nominee. Complete applications are due by June 1, 2017. For questions, please contact Cecilia Miller at cecilia.miller@alaska.gov or 907-465-8703.
Title IIB Math & Science Partnership Grant Opportunity
The Department of Education and Early Development announces a federal partnership grant for teacher/administrator professional development in science and mathematics. Two grants will be awarded—one to focus on science standards, and one to focus on math practices. Both grants will highlight curriculum development and cross-curricular integration. Projects will prepare Alaska teachers and school administrators to develop strategies, units, and ways of thinking that incorporate math and science principles to further career and college readiness. Proposals are due June 16. Download a copy of the RFP. Please direct all questions to Bjørn Wolter at bjorn.wolter@alaska.gov.
Seminar about Resilient Educators set for June in Girdwood
Brightways Learning is presenting a seminar about resilient educators. It is set for June 12 & 13 at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. The registration fee is $249. One continuing education credit is available from the University of Alaska Anchorage; the fee must be paid by the participant.
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