Anchorage School District - Educating All Students for Success in Life |
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Message from our Superintendent |
Dear ASD Community,
Unexpectedly, we’ve had a short first week of December due to a record snowfall. I understand the difficulty and strain any weather closure puts on our students, staff, and families. Keeping our students and staff safe is my top priority in situations like this. I will not put them at risk and that is why I closed school for a third day in a row. As a result, my team has started researching options for how we will address making up the days missed and how it will impact the remainder of the 2022-2023 school calendar.
In other news, we enter the last month of the first semester on a positive note, with a return to full bus service for all eligible students. I’d like to thank the community for your patience and willingness to step in to get students to school this semester.
The District will continue working through long-term strategies to uncover route efficiencies and find innovative ways to keep our bus drivers engaged with ASD throughout the summer months to avoid the attrition we saw this year.
The second group I would like to thank would be the ASD community for your robust feedback over the past month regarding our FY24 budget planning. The School Board, Administration, and I are listening, and we have some difficult choices ahead. I am thankful for the input that will help guide us in the right direction.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the legislators and assembly members who attended our annual Legislative Luncheon this month at King Tech High School.
The pathway to achieving the Anchorage School Board’s goals requires close collaboration and partnership with the Alaska State Legislature. Our 2023 priorities are our three B’s: Base Student Allocation, Bussing (transportation funding), and Bond Debt Reimbursement.
Our elected officials play a major role in shaping education across the state, and without some sort of change I anticipate more difficult conversations will occur every year across Alaska.
Learn more about the 2023 Legislative Update here. I encourage you to tell your locally elected officials about public education and how to fully fund it.
I am thankful for this community, your passion for your schools, and desire for all students to achieve academic success. I wish you a wonderful holiday season and winter break.
Best,
Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.
Superintendent
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Community answers call to get students to school safely |
In the video below, Elizabeth Grant talks about why she felt the need to help The Anchorage School District and became a bus driver. |
After months of hard work from our Transportation Department, the District has returned to full bus service.
While there have been some changes to routes and times, bus stop locations will not change back to pre-August locations.
ASD arrived at its plan to end the cohort model by successfully hiring more than 70 new bus drivers since August and reimagining transportation services. The new process combines routes with low ridership. With fuller buses and less buses on the road, this will improve our pick-up and drop-off schedule, improve maintenance expenses, and use less fuel in the long run.
The District continues to redesign and future-proof efficiencies to ensure ASD provides full service and a better overall experience for student riders and families. This will be accomplished through:
- Better pay for bus drivers and attendants: the recent increase in wages will pay transportation staff more competitively for the important work they do and will help with driver retention.
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A new software system is expected to launch in February 2023. This new software finds efficiencies by predicting actual ridership in real time and makes easy shifts to condense routes quicker.
- Working with our Special Education Department to reconfigure transportation based on inclusivity.
Please check your Q ParentConnection account to find the most up to date route information for your student.
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Fiscal Year 2024 budget planning update |
During the Dec. 5 Anchorage School Board work session the Administration presented financial projections and budget guidance for FY23-24. The proforma is presented to the Board during the first school board meeting each December.
The full proforma report is available on BoardDocs, under the Dec. 5 work session.
Findings from the report include the following savings for FY24:
· Increased overall FY23 revenue: $3.1 million
· Reduced overall FY23 expenses: $7.1 million
· Remaining ESSER funds available for FY24: $9 million
This means the total changes can be applied to reduce the FY24 deficit by $19.1 million, bringing the adjusted deficit for FY24 from the original projection of $68 million down to $48.2 million.
Community Feedback
The District thanks the thousands of community members who completed the two FY24 budget planning surveys, attended town halls, wrote to the Board, and testified during School Board meetings. Community feedback is imperative as we face this education funding crisis.
Since 2017, ASD has received an increase of .5% from the State of Alaska (SOA) through the BSA formula. For more than seven years, inflation has reduced purchasing power to a level of approximately $80 million less than what the District could afford in 2017 in real dollars. This, coupled with declining student enrollment in our city, continues to negatively impact ASD’s ability to maintain smaller class sizes to better address student learning.
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Dates to Note
Dec.10th School Board Saturday work session
With this new information, the School Board will head into a special work session Dec. 10th from 9 a.m. to noon, where they will have the opportunity to work conceptually to understand all options to achieve a FY24 balanced budget. This work session will be held in-person at the Education Center and is open to the public. It will also be live-streamed on our website.
Dec.19th School Board meeting
At the Dec. 19 School Board Meeting the board will be asked to present their school closure decisions for the 2022-2023 school year. This information will guide the administration in building the detailed budget for the next fiscal year
During the Dec. 5 School Board meeting, the Board postponed a vote on ASD Memorandum #024S2, moving it to the Dec. 19th board meeting agenda. Memorandum #024S2 includes $37.7 million in school bond debt reimbursement dollars. The Administration has recommended the Board first balance a budget, then use the bond debt reimbursement for flexibility where it is most needed and go toward capital project(s) which prioritize student, staff and community safety and security.
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AK STAR spring assessment scores available to parents |
Individual student results from the spring AK STAR and the Alaska Science Assessments are now available.
The Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR) and the Alaska Science Assessment are computer-based assessments administered to students in Grades 3-9 (English language arts and mathematics) and grades 5, 8 and 10 (science) each spring during the state-designated testing window. AK STAR and the Alaska Science Assessment are state-required assessments that provide students with the opportunity to show their understanding of important skills in these content areas at their grade level.
Additional support resources for Parents and Guardians, including how to access their child's scores in ParentConnect, assessment Parent Guides, and links to supplementary support documents are located on the Parent Connect Assessment Results & Interpretive Guides section of the ASD Assessment website.
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Our School Resource Officers with the Anchorage Police Department continue to respond to reports of situations involving guns. Providing our students and staff in the Anchorage School District (ASD) with a safe educational environment remains one of the District's top priorities.
No guns allowed on campus.
Securing all guns and modeling responsible behavior around guns keeps your kids and our community safe. The District recently partnered with the Be Smart campaign to help keep our schools safe.
You can learn more and download helpful resources, including a secure storage fact sheet, a guide to talking to your children about guns, and facts and resources on child firearm suicide, on our Security and Emergency Management webpage.
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Teaching Today: Flying with Dimond High School teacher Catherine Walker and the drone class |
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Teaching Today is a video series documenting how ASD teachers engage students to achieve their learning goals. These inspiring stories show how ASD teachers reinvent the way they teach to ensure students have access to engaging, hands-on content.
In the most recent video, Dimond High School Unmanned Aviation Science teacher Catherine Walker talks about the skills students learn in this class like airspace regulations and reading wether reports. Walker says the class is a pathway for those who may want to pursue being a private pilot in a manned aircraft. "A huge part of the course is exploring careers that utilize drones in their work and there are many different jobs students can do in Alaska...many companies view having a 107 license an additional bonus when hiring."
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Public input on teacher, administrator performance now open |
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ASD welcomes community input regarding our teacher and administrator employees' performance from December through April 30. This timeframe allows us to review the input received and take it into consideration during evaluations.
This input is allowed through Alaska state statute AS 14.20.149, which states that staff, students, parents, and community members have the opportunity to provide input on certified teacher and administrator performances. Per the statute, this comment period “provide[s] an opportunity for students, parents, community members, teachers, and administrators to provide information on the performance of the teacher or administrator who is the subject of the evaluation to the evaluating administrator.”
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What is the science behind the weather? |
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Alaska’s News Source Meteorologist Melissa Frey recently visited the following schools to discuss the science of weather with ASD students:
Trailside Elementary School
West High School
O’Malley Elementary School
Rabbit Creek Elementary
Aquarian Charter School
Susitna Elementary
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Statewide resources available to Alaskans seeking health insurance |
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Are you or your family in need of affordable health insurance? United Way of Anchorage has 12 “navigators” who help people across Alaska sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. |
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Join our team! Make a difference in Student Nutrition |
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You can be a cafeteria hero by joining the team that energizes students for active engagement in learning at ASD schools by providing nutritious and satiating meals.
School nutrition professionals serve a vital role in our community and enjoy great benefits, convenient work schedules, and career advancement opportunities.
ASD is hiring:
- Cafeteria managers
- Assistant managers
- School cafeteria assistants
- Central kitchen assistants
Benefits include:
- Competitive salaries
- No nights, weekends, or holidays
- Full-time employee benefits include health, dental, and vision
- All permanent employees are eligible for
- Paid holidays
- Leave (PTO) accrual
- PERS Retirement (Public Employee Retirement System)
- Opportunities to advance professionally
- Many of our mid and senior management team members started as front-line managers
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Hour of Code: A global learning event |
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The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science. It is a global movement introducing tens of millions of students worldwide to computer science, inspiring kids to learn more, breaking stereotypes, and leaving them feeling empowered.
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Mark your Calendar for Winter Break Dates
Happy Holidays to ASD students and families! We hope that everyone has a wonderful and restful winter break. Please note the upcoming days off for students:
Wednesday, Dec. 21- Classes end
Thursday, Dec. 22 State released grade reporting day. End of second quarter.**
Friday, Dec. 23 through Jan 6 - Winter break
Monday, Jan. 9 - Classes begin
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Countdown to Kindergarten in-person event Dec. 10
Countdown to Kindergarten and the Loussac Library are teaming together to provide school-readiness learning activities for families and their 3- to 5-year-old children! Siblings are welcome.
Please join us for the fun! Saturday morning December 10th, at 11 a.m. at Loussac Library on the 4th floor.
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Download the ASD mobile app today |
The ASD mobile app puts the information you want in the palm of your hand. Our free app is available to anyone in our community who wants to stay connected, with additional features for current ASD parents/guardians and students.
Features:
- Timely updates and notifications
- News and photos
- District and school calendars
- Lunch menus
- Access to ASD data dashboard
- Student academic performance*
- Lunch account balance information*
*These options are only available to parents/guardians of ASD students.
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Spirit of Youth nomination deadline is Dec. 31 |
Spirit of Youth knows that young people are often at the heart of good things happening in Alaska communities and since 1997 has empowered teens through a media-based recognition program and the Spirit of Youth Awards.
The organization relies on community members for nominations; adults who want youth to receive the recognition they deserve. Eight youth or youth groups and eight runners-up are selected to receive Spirit of Youth Awards including a scholarship of up to $2,000 for individuals. All Alaska youth aged 12-19 are eligible.
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The Development and Grants office at ASD supports our students, staff, and communities in their pursuit of educational excellence and success in life by providing both staff and community members with opportunities to support our students through grants and donations.
There are many opportunities to get involved with our District and we are so happy you are here to help! You can check out our “How Can I Help?” page for specific opportunities to support our schools. ASD Employees, Parents, Community Members, and Partners interested in learning more about grant writing can complete our Training Interest Survey to let us know you are interested and someone from our office will reach out to you directly to schedule a training! We look forward to meeting you soon!
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Wow! Seniors show off science to next generation |
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In this video, South High School senior Mo Narus talks about how she, Skyler Berg, Ellie Zock and Grainne Rogacki started the Huffman Science Club. |
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Join the Anchorage Police Department's School Resource Officer (SRO) Unit for Coffee with a Cop Tuesday, Dec. 20 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the ASD Education Center, located at 5530 E. Northern Lights Blvd. This event is open to the community. |
Photo of the Month: Bear Valley students donate 5,000 pounds of food to Food Bank of Alaska |
The school has collected donations going on 20 years, this year's contribution was one of the most ever donated! Peanut butter was an essential food item this year and the school collected cases upon cases of it. Donations support the entire state of Alaska. Way to go, Bear Valley!
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Margo Bellamy, President
Carl Jacobs, Vice President
Kelly Lessens, Treasurer
Dora Wilson, Clerk
Dave Donley
Pat Higgins
Andy Holleman
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Sat. Dec. 10
Board work session
Wed. Dec. 14
School Board Finance Committee meeting
Mon. Dec. 19
School Board meeting
Wed. Dec. 21
Classes end
Thurs. Dec. 22
State released grade reporting day. End of second quarter
Communications Committee meeting
Governance Committee meeting
Fri. Dec 23
Winter break begins
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5530 E Northern Lights Blvd.
Anchorage, AK 99504
907-742-4000
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