Embracing an Attitude of Continuous Improvement

Sean Dusek, ASA Past-President

“Transforming education is not easy, but the price of failure is more than we can afford, while the benefits of success are more than we can imagine.” This quote by Ken Robinson resonates in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. Over the first quarter of this school year, I have had the opportunity to visit many of our schools and speak with many different organizations. What I have found is that there is widespread support for our schools and many student successes to celebrate. But, even though there is solid support and we are seeing positive results, there is also much work to do.

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John Conwell, 2018 Superintendent of the Year, Unalaska City School District

With the launch of Alaska’s Education Challenge nearly a year ago, a diverse group of Alaskans took on the daunting task of taking a close look at the current system of public education in Alaska. Focused on five general priorities, Challenge committees are tasked with providing suggestions for transforming Alaska’s public education. Implementation of the Challenge committees’ recommendations will require superintendents and principals to provide innovative and transformative leadership for their districts and schools.

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Jerry Covey, Managing Partner, JSC Consulting, LLC

In September 2016, the Alaska State Board of Education initiated strategic action that resulted in the establishment of Alaska’s Education Challenge and led to 13 transformative recommendations for our public education system.

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Kathy Blanc, ASDN Administrator

The Alaska Staff Development Network is a professional education resource designed for Alaska's teachers and school administrators. Check  asdn.org  for a complete list of all of our courses and events.

Registration   is now open for the

2018 Alaska RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference

   

Sign up now for the best choice of sessions.

 

We hope you will join us again at the Dena’ina Center on January 26-28. Conference registration fees are the same as last year. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from nationally recognized experts without the expense of out-of-state travel!  

 

·          Michael Horn  and  Heather Staker,  the authors of  Blended , will provide the  Why  and  How  of using blended learning to improve personalization and build a more student-centered school. They will provide inspiration and practical implementation guidance for educators seeking to incorporate online learning with traditional classroom time. 

·         ​​ Doug Fisher  and  Dr. Anita Archer  will focus on using explicit instruction and lessons from  Visible Learning for Literacy  (Fisher, Frey and Hattie). 

·         ​​Math and RTI experts  Dr. Doug Clements  and  Dr. Karen Karp  will explore the latest research in the building blocks of early mathematics and how to support struggling students in Math.

·          Using Hattie’s  Visible Learning  research as a base,  Dr. Peter DeWitt and Dominique Smith  will explore the most impactful strategies for teachers and school leaders to improve school climate and teacher-student relationships. 

·         ​​ Dr. Chris Blodgett  will discuss how to move from ACES to action—what trauma‑informed practice really looks like in the classroom, based on his work in Washington State and Alaska, and how to make progress in schools and communities with limited resources.

·         ​​ Jenni Donohoo  will investigate the research behind collective teacher efficacy, Hattie’s number one factor that influences student achievement, and how to foster collective efficacy in your school and district

·         ​​ Dr. Margaret Heritage  will discuss how to build skills with formative assessment to personalize and support all students’ learning.

·         ​​Consider strategies for “Better Conversations” with  Tricia McKale Skyles.  Schools are only as good as the conversations that take place in them. Learn how to adopt the habits essential to transforming the quality of our dialogues. Skyes will also explore how video can completely change the way we “do” professional learning and improve our teaching methods.

 

For more information and to register, go to  https://www.akeffectiveinstruction.org/

   

The Power of a Hero, the Power of You

Dan Carstens, AASSP President

To me, a hero is someone who exemplifies a life, skills, or trait that we desire to possess. Oftentimes, we will read a book, watch a video, or attend a conference that may give us a path to becoming more like that person. Often, we come to find out that the more we try to emulate our heroes, the more we fail. At times, we forget how much our heroes failed before they finally figured it out.

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Deanna Beck, AAESP President, ACSA President-Elect

This year, several members of our staff are reading Teach Like a PIRATE, by Dave Burgess, while I’m reading Lead Like a PIRATE, by Shelley Burgess and Beth Houf. In both books, “PIRATE” is an acronym, with “T” representing “Transformation.” Burgess and Houf share that as school leaders we must be courageous in our willingness to take risks for growth and make a stand to make our schools better.

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Amy Lujan, ALASBO Executive Director  

Many Alaskans enjoy outdoor adventures. But have you ever thought about what you would do in the event of a serious accident? What would you be willing to do to save your own life, or that of someone else?

ALASBO members confronted this question when we had the chance to hear Aron Ralston speak at the ASBO International conference a few weeks ago. Aron’s survival story was the subject of a major motion picture, 127 Hours, starring James Franco, and Aron is almost as good looking as Franco!

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