ASD Connect November 2022

Anchorage School District - Educating All Students for Success in Life

Call Us At: 907-742-4000

Message from the Superintendent

Dear ASD Families,

Happy November and happy winter! Despite the dip into single digit temps, it has already been a fast moving and productive month.

November is Alaska Native, Native American Heritage Month. This month we bring awareness to and celebrate Alaska's First Peoples. Follow us on social media for photos of District celebrations all November long.

Collectively, we are working through several difficult challenges and making progress, specifically in the area of budget, bussing, and bonds.

Discussion continues around FY24 budget solutions. For context, 92% of the District's budget goes towards the activities located in a school building, to include direct instruction and special programs for students, and yet the district is faced with a budget reduction of approximately 13%. Without changes to school funding and greater student enrollment, the path to right sizing will be incredibly challenging for our community.

The District has faced insufficient funding from the State since 2017. When you don’t increase education funding, you are cutting education funding. Nonetheless, we are required by State statute to pass a balanced budget. While we continue to explore efficiencies that will have a minimal impact on the student experience, we must also continue to gather community input to inform our best path forward to address this grave reality.

I would like to thank the community members who came out to the Birchwood ABC and Northwood town halls. Due process is critical to gather community feedback and help inform the school board in decision making. Please read through this newsletter for information on upcoming in-person and changes to the virtual town halls.

I’m excited to share some great news in the area of transportation. The board approved the agreement between the District and the bus driver and bus attendant bargaining unit, which will result in a significant pay increase for our bus drivers and attendants. I consider this a huge milestone as we work towards long term solutions to our bus driver shortage. We cannot afford to not get our students to school. We must pay bus drivers and attendants what they need to thrive in the roles that we desperately need them in. By offering a competitive wage to our drivers, I am optimistic we can extend the promise of consistent transportation.

There are currently 199 active routes out of 228. We continue to gain momentum in hiring and are reinstating more and more permanent routes each week. See a full update in this month's newsletter.

During the Nov. 1 meeting the School Board unanimously approved a bond proposal for the spring of 2023. The amount is approximately $38 million and will focus only on the most pressing needs: roof replacements and improvements, security improvements, deferred requirements and building life extension, and safety improvements.

November will be a busy month as we make progress towards future planning to best serve students. I’d like to close by acknowledging Veterans’ Day is Nov. 11. If you are a veteran, are currently serving, or have family members who serve, I’d like to take this moment to thank you for your bravery and sacrifice for our country.

Best,

Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Town Hall Changes

The virtual town hall schedule has been changed to allow all in-person town halls to be completed first. The new virtual dates are Tuesday, November 29^th and Wednesday, November 30^th from 6pm-8pm. These town hall discussions will be about all six schools collectively and held on the ZOOM platform. More to come.

The revised schedule is as follows:

In-person: 6pm-7pm

November 14^th

Nunaka Valley

November 16^th:

Klatt

November 21^st:

Abbott Loop

November 22^nd:

Wonder Park

Virtual: 6pm-8pm

November 29^th:

ZOOM

November 30^th:

ZOOM

ASD has held two town halls. You can watch here.

A final campus closure decision won’t be determined by the School Board until December. The board is scheduled to meet on December 5^th and December 19^th.

For more information about the town halls, click here.

To provide your feedback on budget solutions, click here.

Fiscal year '24 budget solutions update, second survey available

The District is facing a $68 million budget shortfall in FY24 (the start of next school year). ASD's primary funding source is the State of Alaska (SOA) Foundational Formula, which is not inflation-proofed. The State's base student allocation (BSA) is mainly based on enrollment numbers. 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 a declining student enrollment in our city has led us to the 68 million dollar shortfall. In the past the District has used one-time funding and Federal COVID-19 relief dollars to band-aid the budget while the deficit continued to build.

The second community survey regarding FY24 budget solutions is now available on our hot topics page, along with results from the first survey. It is important to hear from all stakeholders in order to make an informed decision.

By city charter ASD has to pass a balanced budget by the month of February. Over the last several months ASD has been researching all areas of spending and placing the greatest value on areas with biggest impact on our students.

School closure recommendations, receiving schools, and building repurposing update:

Abbott Loop Elementary School

Students/teachers would move to Kasuun and Trailside elementary schools.
The building would not be repurposed by the District. Administrators would work with the MOA for disposition.

Birchwood ABC Elementary School

Students/teachers would move to Homestead Elementary School.
The building would be repurposed for use by Eagle Academy Charter School.

Klatt Elementary School

Students/teachers would move to Campbell STEM and Ocean View elementary schools.
The building would be repurposed for Highland Academy Charter and PAIDEIA Cooperative schools.

Nunaka Valley Elementary School

Students/teachers would move to Chester Valley and Russian Jack elementary schools.
The building would be repurposed for a pre-K academy.

Northwood Elementary School

Students/teachers would move to Lake Hood Elementary School.
The building would be repurposed for a pre-K academy.

Wonder Park Elementary School

Students/teachers would move to Williwaw and Ptarmigan elementary schools.
The building would be repurposed for Alaska Native Cultural Charter School & STrEaM Academy.

Special program recommendations:

Consolidate the Adult Community Transition (ACT) Program

The learning model would increase access to the community for training opportunities.
Supports teaming model will address staff collaboration and staffing shortages.
Public transportation access allows students to be more independent and reduces District bus routes and cost.

Scale back Immersion programs

Chinese, French, and Yupik available through elementary grades
All immersion programs end at grade 8. Students will be awarded completion cords that can be worn at high school graduation and are encouraged to complete the application for the Seal of Biliteracy. Students are allowed to bring up to 2.0 world language credits to their high school transcript for college admission. At the high school level, students may participate in online or in-person AP/IB or upper level language classes. Students may also start a new language pathway, or enroll through a college program for dual credit (AMCS or another program).

Change of the IGNITE program

IGNITE students will receive their support through inclusive practices, utilizing the Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework, in order to focus on their academic needs.
Highly gifted programs will remain at Rogers Park Elementary School, Romig Middle School, and West High School.

Click to take Survey #2

Click for FY24 Budget Solutions FAQs

Bus Transportation Update: More routes permanently reinstated; Better wages for drivers, attendants

The cohort model continues this month, however more routes are being permanently reinstated each week. Cohort 1 will continue through Nov. 11, and Cohort 2 will begin Nov. 14. At a glance, the majority of the cohorts are in ridership. The average daily ridership as of the first week of November is 15,517 out of 22,000 eligible riders and 199 out of 228 routes are active. Incremental increases will continue throughout November. The District continues to make strong strides in hiring bus drivers.

This month the Anchorage School Board approved the General Teamsters Local 959 contract, covering bus drivers and bus attendants, which will establish terms and conditions of employment for individuals in this unit during the period between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025.

The new contract offers a significant pay increase for bus drivers and attendants. The District anticipates the increase in pay to attract retention and new interested persons. Additionally, Reliant Transportation is offering a $5,000 hiring bonus.

Click to apply today!

Click for Bus Transportation FAQs

ASD celebrates Alaska Native, Native American Heritage Month

November is Alaska Native, Native American Heritage Month.

Celebrate with ASD and the Indigenous Education Department throughout November as we honor and share stories about the history, traditions, and culture of our Indigenous people for Alaska Native, Native American Heritage Month!

Follow us all month long as we share more engaging family activities that bring awareness to and celebrate Alaska's First Peoples.

Out of the 574 federally recognized Native tribes and tribal groups in the United States, 231 of those are in Alaska. It is important to also acknowledge the many tribes that are not federally recognized.

Events to note this month:

Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. at Romig Middle School in the multipurpose room. There will be door prizes, fry bread, and a screening of "Walking Two Worlds", a documentary about Quannah Chasinghorse-Potts and Jody Potts.

Nov. 18 is Rock Your Mocs day. The Indigenous Education Department invites you to participate in this nationwide event. Roc Your Mocs Day is a positive opportunity to be united and celebrate tribal individuality by wearing moccasins.

Be Smart Partnership: Secure Storage

Providing our students and staff in the Anchorage School District (ASD) with a safe educational environment remains one of the District's top priorities. We are all aware of incidents of gun violence in our surrounding communities and across the nation.

We 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, guide to talking to your children about guns, and facts and resources on child firearm suicide, on our Security and Emergency Management webpage.

ASD launches new tool to stop bullying, bad behavior, & more

ASD has enrolled with STOPit Solutions Anonymous Reporting System. STOPit is a technology platform which will help to deter and mitigate bullying, cyber abuse, and other inappropriate behaviors.

This program allows students, parents, and staff to learn how to recognize the signs of at-risk behaviors, gather information and report, and allows administrators to assess, manage, and resolve incidents.

Specifically, the program allows participants to:

Report incidents anonymously
Submit photo or video evidence (App/Web Only)
Communicate anonymously with administrators with STOPit Messenger (App/Web Only)
Alert designated administrators to issues and risks early, before they escalate
24/7 Phone Tip Line Included in STOPit App & Web

The StopIt platform will launch later this month in ASD secondary schools. Stay tuned for more information once the platform becomes available.

Click to learn more

Take the ASD wellness survey by Nov. 8 to provide feedback to ad hoc Wellness Advisory Committee

The Anchorage School District stakeholder survey: Board Policy (BP) 5040 "Student Nutrition and Physical Activity" is open for community feedback through Nov. 8.

This survey seeks public input on proposed changes to ASD's BP 5040: Student Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Background: The Anchorage School Board's 2022 ad hoc Wellness Advisory Committee, which included Board members, administrators, AEA representation, parents/guardians, and health professionals, began the revision process by examining recommendations made by the 2019 ad hoc Wellness Committee.

The Committee hopes to use this survey to understand how students, families, staff, community members, etc. perceive the benefits and barriers that may be associated with these proposed changes to board policies and administrative regulations.

Take the survey

Click to learn more about Wellness Policy - BP 5040

Teaching Today- Inspiring stories of teachers reinventing the way they teach

Teaching Today is a new 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, Georgianna Starr, a 4th grade teacher at Alaska Native Cultural Charter School, talks about the importance of a diverse, culturally responsive workforce. "If you have a teacher who looks likes their students, it's an added element that the students see themselves reflected in the person that is teaching them."

Watch Georgianna's story

In this video, Kirk Gallagher, a collision repair instructor at King Tech High School, wanted a real-world project for students. When he noticed an ASD vehicle that had damage he asked if the students could repair the vehicle. Gallagher said the student collaboration that occurred is priceless. "That's a bigger skill....that is the vessel to create a community. It's the unconscious outcome of this."

Watch Kirk's story

School business partnership spotlight: Rilke Schule, West Berlin featured on Alaska's News Source for Octoberfest fundraiser

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Watch the story

What is Fentanyl? – what every parent & caregiver needs to know about fake pills

From the State of Alaska Department of Health and the Drug Enforcement Administration:

Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid that is being pressed into fake pills or cut into heroin, cocaine, and other street drugs to drive addiction. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin.

What are fake pills?

The Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion are making fentanyl and pressing it into fake pills. Fake pills are made to look like OxyContin®, Xanax®, Adderall®, and other pharmaceuticals. These fake pills contain no legitimate medicine. Fentanyl is also made in a rainbow of colors so it looks like candy.

Download the flyer

Dimond oceanography students participate in ocean clean-up day, study issues impacting waters

Dimond High School NOAA Ocean Guardian students participated in a "Day of Action" remote beach cleanup in October to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuary System. They collected 118 pounds of trash from Logging Camp Cove, near Whittier, Alaska. The students brought the trash back to school and have been sorting it to determine its origins. Oceanography students will spend the next quarter working on projects to raise awareness of issues impacting our oceans in order to help solve them.

Watch the Dimond "Day of Action" Remote Beach Cleanup video

Photo of the Month: Scenic Park staff Celebrate Halloween

Left to right: Scenic Park Elementary’s Cathy Echols (secretary), Katie Clausson (Nurse), Marco Christian (Principal), Tiffiny Hatcher (AA) pose for a photo in their Despicable Me Halloween costumes.