We started our discussion by asking a simple question: “What helped you succeed in school?”

The annual STEPS AK gathering is an opportunity to learn from and inspire each other.

Our STEPS partners are doing amazing work in their communities to support students and families in meaningful ways. We appreciate your willingness to share, align, and move forward our work together. AASB is looking forward to hosting this two-day in person meeting.

Each year the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals (AASSP) sponsors regional and statewide Principal of The Year recognition awards to honor the educational leaders who play such a pivotal role in student success. Here are the 2022 winners. For more information visit the AASSP website.

Haida carver TJ Young (Sgwaayaans) is hard at work creating the first 360-degree totem pole to be raised in Alaska. The three-sided pole represents three groups of Indigenous Southeast Alaska people Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. Young is carving the pole with assistance from his brother, Joe Young and guest carvers David R. Boxley, who is Tsimshian, and Rob Mills, who is Tlingit. He also worked with apprentices Greg Frisby and Andrea Cook, who are both Haida. After nearly eight months of carving, the project is set to be complete by late April. The pole will stand guard over Heritage Square at the center of the new Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus in downtown Juneau.

A Free AND Ordered Space: Censure of School Board Members.

Allen Clendaniel of Sedor, Wendlandt, Evans & Filippi, LLC

Developed for all school staff, this training describes professional boundaries, boundary invasions, and how preventing boundary invasions can prevent grooming and sexual abuse. We recommend all school staff receive this training upon hire and annually thereafter.

Four 90-minute training opportunities are available in May. Click on a link below to register for a webinar at a date and time that works for you.

To set up a training specifically for your school district,

contact Carleen Mitchell at cmitchell@akpei.com or 907-523-9430.

Alaska’s House of Representatives has passed an operating budget investing heavily in the state’s education system, plus funds for essential services and to help residents recover from inflation and high energy prices.

House Bill 281, which passed on a vote of 25-14, includes a $1,300 energy relief check in addition to the $1,250 Permanent Fund Dividend. The legislation now goes to the Alaska Senate, which has already been working on its own version of the state budget.

Nathaniel Herz, Anchorage Daily News

Boosters of the Alaska Legislature’s biggest education overhaul in a decade are pushing to get the bill passed into law in their final weeks in Juneau, and warn that inaction could jeopardize a long-sought boost to classroom spending.

The wide-ranging measure, a version of which has passed the state Senate, is a sort of grand bargain, with elements aimed at satisfying both progressive and conservative reformers.

A way expand opportunities for high school students to go into apprenticeships is getting renewed attention in the Legislature.

House Bill 132, sponsored by Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, would require the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to work with public school districts to develop programs to allow students to complete high school credits and apprenticeships at the same time. Right now, most public school districts offer career and technical education classes such as construction and welding, but this would expand that into apprenticeships in real work environments.

The Alaska House of Representatives passed a bill with a 23-9 vote on Thursday that would protect the state’s college scholarship fund. The $410 million Higher Education Investment Fund has been used to pay college scholarships for more than 5,000 Alaska students each year. It was drained last year due to a failed procedural vote by the Legislature needed to keep it full.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman sided with Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration in February, saying its legal interpretation was valid to drain the fund, but that ruling has been appealed. Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, introduced a bill that would effectively remove the scholarship fund from the state treasury so that it couldn’t be emptied again by another failed procedural vote. He said that would provide certainty for thousands of Alaska college students.

Graduating debt-free is the gold standard for any student and these days, there are numerous choices for Alaskan students to pay for school. For parents like Michelle Rizk, saving money for college was a priority, and she began saving when her two sons were 3 and 5 years old.

The Alaska Senate passed its version of a bill that would clear the way for the state and tribes to begin work on education compacting. In tribal education compacting, tribes can tailor their students’ education to their own needs and hopefully address low rates of graduation and attendance in Alaska Native students. The Senate’s bill has been updated to give tribes more time to plan out pilot projects and will now head to the House.

A bill that would pave the way for improved and equitable high-speed internet in rural Alaska passed out of its final House committee. Next, the bill will head to the House floor for a vote. Its Senate counterpart is still in committee.

Earlier this year, the U.S. passed a federal infrastructure bill that set aside $65 billion for broadband projects in the U.S. It prioritizes unserved and underserved communities. This state bill sets up systems that would make Alaska eligible for that funding.

The problems are wide-ranging. They include limited options for Alaskans seeking treatment for eating disorders, fewer beds for psychiatric care and long waitlists for counselors and therapists, especially for those specializing in the treatment of young people.

20 Alaskan schools earned the designation of Alaska Purple Star School for their support of military-connected students and families during a ceremony at Lathrop High School in Fairbanks.

To be recognized as a Purple Star School, schools must maintain a dedicated page on its website with resources for military families, have an Active Youth Sponsorship Club (Welcoming Committee) and have a Military Family Point of Contact. In addition to these three requirements, schools must conduct at least one additional activity that demonstrates support of military children and families. This school year, more than 9,400 Alaskan students have a parent who is Active Duty.

Patti was was born in Vancouver, B.C. and came to Petersburg in December with her parents Loyla and Earl Ohmer. She married Arvid Ernst Norheim in 1950 and they had three children, Susan, Sally and Kraig.

A few years later Patti and Arvid divorced and she found herself a single mother of three. She went to work juggling part time jobs until landing a full time job as teletype and marine radio operator at Alaska Communications System, where she worked for 10 years.

Getting the first swimming pool built in Petersburg prompted Patti to run for school board in 1970. She continued to serve for 27 years. The new High school and auditorium were big projects she lobbied for. She formed many special friendships during those years with parties at her house and times at the Teacher's cabin. Governor Hickel appointed her to the state Board of Education. For those four years she traveled to all corners of Alaska.

Former AASB Associate Executive Director Sharon Young remembers Patti's longstanding commitment to public education. "Patti was on the Petersburg school board from 1970-1997! She also served on the State Board with June Nelson. What a couple of characters!!"

Petersburg School District Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter described Patti's dedication to the local community and schools: "She was such an amazing woman! ❤️ She was off the board when I first moved here in early 2001, but she would often stop by the school or talk to me around town, and was very interested in what was going on at the schools, and always supportive out in the community."

A Memorial Service was was held on April 7 at the Petersburg Lutheran Church.

The Board of Education for the Chugach School District is pleased to announce their choice for a new Chief School Administrator, Ty Mase, beginning on July 1, 2022. The Board wishes to express their sincere thanks to everyone who participated and supported the Superintendent search process.

Mr. Mase was the 2021 Alaska State Superintendent of the Year having served as Superintendent of Lake and Peninsula School District from 2008-2021. Prior to that he was Curriculum Director at Lake and Peninsula School District; Program Director at Chugach School District; and Teacher/Athletic Director at Bristol Bay Borough School District. Mase holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Mansfield University,

Master of Education in Informational Technology from Mansfield University, and Alaska Administrative Credentials from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

“After 15 wonderful years working with the Lake and Peninsula School District, the plan was to retire. However, when the Chugach School District position opened up, these plans quickly changed," said Mase. "Chugach and their Standards Based System hold a special place in my heart and the opportunity to once again work with CSD was appealing. I am very excited to return and work with the students, staff, communities and the board to accomplish great things for CSD students,” he said.

The Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB) contracted to conduct and facilitate the search for the Superintendent.

The rural Southeast Alaska school district that serves students in Klukwan, Angoon, Gustavus and Tenakee Springs has named a new top administrator.

Ralph Watkins is the principal of the Meade River School in Atqasuk in the North Slope School District. He’s served in teaching, principal and superintendent roles in Alaska schools for the past eight years – including in the Bering Strait, Valdez, and Hoonah School Districts. Prior to Alaska, Watkins taught in schools in Oregon, Wyoming and Nevada, and coached gymnastics in Southern California for 17 years. But he says he’s long considered Southeast Alaska home.

“I spent five years in Hoonah, and so I have a real connection with Chatham (School District) as Angoon is Hoonah’s sister community,” he said. “And it’s a Tlingit community. And that’s my adopted community. And I just am really, I feel blessed to be going back home.”

The Chatham school district currently serves 160 students across schools in Klukwan, Angoon, Gustavus, and an independent learning center in Tenakee Springs.

An executive officer from the largest school district in Texas will serve as the new Anchorage School District superintendent. The Anchorage School Board announced it has selected Jharrett Bryantt to take over for superintendent Deena Bishop on July 1.

Bryantt, 32, currently leads the office of talent at the Houston Independent School District. He has also worked as an assistant superintendent and college advisor in that district. He was a geometry teacher for two years in Houston’s YES Prep public charter school system. The Anchorage School District picked him over two other finalists: Sitka School District superintendent Frank Hauser and Woodland Park School District superintendent Mathew Neal from Colorado.

“I’m humbled, excited, and I’m ready to lead this district toward a bright new chapter,” Bryantt said during an online news conference Thursday. “But I can’t do this alone. I can’t wait to get to Anchorage and get to personally know our families, our students, our staff and our community members and community leaders.”

Anchorage high school seniors will celebrate graduation at the Alaska Airlines Center this year while Sullivan Arena remains in use as a mass homeless shelter. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors graduated at Sullivan Arena, a tradition that went back decades. The arena has been used as a mass care homeless shelter since 2020, although city officials and others are working on a plan to transition the Sullivan away from that use this summer. The switch means students will be limited to six tickets per graduating senior.

Student attendance statistics have dropped in the Anchorage School District, according to Superintendent Deena Bishop at the latest Anchorage School Board meeting. Bishop said COVID-19 protocols contributed to that dip in numbers as both students and teachers were absent from the classroom. “By September, if you recall, we had over 800 absences. We weren’t even in school for a month, and it was killing us because of close contacts,” Bishop explained to the board. “... So some of the two major actions I took this year were specifically around changing some of the attendance and getting kids and staff back in school.” The school district had its lowest attendance rate in the last five years with an 88.6% clip this school year, the first time its been under 90% since at least the 2016-17 school year. Measured by attendance rate by grade level, high school seniors saw the biggest drop with a 4.7% decrease from last year, while charter schools saw the biggest dip for school type at 4.9%.

A large bond to overhaul and improve a number of Anchorage school buildings has failed, having been voted down by a slim majority of voters in the municipal election.

The future of the Klukwan school has been uncertain since last fall, when enrollment dropped below the threshold for state funding. But now, administrators with the regional Chatham School District say the school will stay open next year. Klukwan residents and the school community had a challenging year. In the fall of 2021, enrollment dropped below 10 students, the threshold for state funding, risking school closure. A head teacher backed out at the start of the year, so a series of substitutes filled in until the school hired a full time teacher this spring. The school bus was totaled after hitting a moose, so volunteers picked up students in the village van. Then the Chatham superintendent, Bruce Houck, died unexpectedly in December.

Money is tight at the City of Dillingham, but the council listened to school staff and parents who asked it not to reduce education funding this year. For nearly a decade, the city has provided the school district with $1.3 million dollars a year. The school asked for the same amount for the upcoming school year. However, earlier in the week, the Dillingham City Council posted that it would consider allocating just over $1 million to the school district. That’s a reduction of about $220,000 from recent years. Council members said they received a flurry of phone calls from parents and school staff who were concerned that the reduction in funding would be catastrophic for the school district.

A proposed amendment to the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s 40-year-old controversial issues policy was voted down unanimously at Tuesday’s board of education discussion. The policy update would allow teachers and students “to address the controversial topics that come up” in line with the district’s mission statement, said Chane Beam, executive director of teaching and learning.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has started a district wide accreditation process. The accreditation is being conducted by the nonprofit group Cognia, an organization which also accredits Department of Defense Education Activity schools.

When small schools and school districts join forces, good things happen. Once again the combined choirs and bands from the Denali Borough School District (DBSD) and Nenana City School competed for Top Choir and Top Band at the Aurora Music Festival in Cordova earlier this month.

The Juneau School District is preparing to shift back to the traditional National School Lunch Program starting July 1, meaning 70% or more of local students will likely be required to pay full price for lunches during the coming school year, Adrianne Schwartz, the district’s food service supervisor, stated in an email and subsequent telephone interview Thursday. But she stated she hopes to continue a universal free breakfast program that existed before the pandemic funded with assistance from community organizations and individuals.

Masks are optional for most individuals while indoors in Juneau School District facilities and on school buses. The Board of Education met in a Special Meeting to discuss the JSD Mask Policy. Board members reviewed the current policy, took public input, and made revisions. The following Mask Policy was unanimously approved:

Masks, or similar facial coverings designed to mitigate COVID-19 transmission and are well-fitted covering the mouth and nose, are optional for all persons indoors in Juneau School District facilities. The Superintendent has the authority to require face masks in certain situations, including but not limited to:

If masking is required in school settings, it will generally be implemented from individual close contacts to programs, to classrooms, to building-level based on circumstances.

The Juneau Board of Education will consider a policy protecting the use of native regalia during graduation. It was authored by School Board member Martin Stepetin, who said he was spurred to introduce the policy after introducing a resolution about the matter while attending a conference of the Association of Alaska School Boards. Also introduced in first reading will be the renaming of Riverbend Elementry after the school was gifted the Tlingit A’akw name Kax̱digoowu Héen. The name translates to “Going Back to Clear Water.”

Vaughn Dosko has been at the helm of Kenai Middle for 11 years. Before that, he was the school's assistant principal, earning him an award from the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals for his work in that role. He's from Saskatchewan, Canada and first came to the U.S. for college, earning degrees in North Dakota and Idaho and landing his first teaching job there. Then in 2000, a principal gig took him to the village of Tuluksak, near Bethel. He stayed for six years — longer than any administrator had before.

Ketchikan’s interim superintendent Melissa Johnson was recently passed over for the long-term position. But the school board is looking to keep her on in the newly-created position of assistant superintendent at her current salary.

A longtime Ketchikan educator, Johnson has led the district on a temporary basis for nearly a year following the abrupt departure of Ketchikan’s last full-time superintendent.

The Ketchikan School Board unanimously approved all items on its agenda during its meeting on Wednesday night, including the approval of $57,035 for playground equipment to replace the equipment at the older of Houghtaling Elementary School’s two playgrounds, nicknamed “Old Rusty.”

Every parent wants their children to succeed in school, but not every parent is in the same position. Getting support from a school district can be a daunting task; the Kodiak Island Borough School District’s new Family Resource Center is hoping to make it a bit easier. Superintendent Larry LeDoux says that the goal is to make the school system more accessible to parents who may only speak Spanish or Tagalog with fluency, in the interest of making it more accessible to all students. “We thought we had a good system. But I think it’s sort of in our head, we thought we had a good system that met the needs. But I think you really have to look at these things from your heart. Look at the fear when you don’t speak the language or the education system that you come from, it’s very different,” LeDoux said.

The Kodiak Island Borough School District has reached the highest student enrollment in the Native Education Program in years, according to Sabrina Sutton, who is a teacher dedicated to facilitating the resources available in that program. As of Wednesday, 445 students in the district were enrolled in the program. The Native Education Program was created through grants from the Indian Education Act and is designed to connect Indigenous students to resources that can help them excel academically and to promote education about Alutiiq culture, according to KIBSD Director of Federal Programs Damon Hargraves.

The Kodiak Island Borough School District has scaled down its masking and contact-tracing COVID protocols. Visitors will be allowed to enter school district buildings without wearing masks, Superintendent Larry LeDoux said. The district also stopped contact-tracing for COVID cases in schools and changed its requirements for close contacts.

A public safety camp in Bethel.gave students hands-on training in a range of public safety careers. They learned real-life skills that camp directors hope they can carry with them for a long time. 13 high school students came from schools across the Lower Kuskokwim School District: Tuntutuliak, Newtok, Atmautluak, Mertarvik, Nunapitchuk and Tununak. They attended a week-long camp put on by the school district and the Alaska State Troopers with a focus on public safety.

The Nome Elementary School E.L.A. Curriculum Committee presented on a potential new elementary school reading program, titled ‘Bookworms’, for the board to review. This program, according to the committee, exposes children to full literary and informative texts, rather than just excerpts, and gives students a chance to write responses to what they have read. The point of the program, is to turn students into kids who love reading and actually want to read. The program really works, according to committee member and fourth grade teacher, Krista Marvin, who has been piloting one of the lessons with her class.

Qutan Lambert loved coming to Nikaitchuat Ilisagviat Tribal School as a child, especially when it was circle time. "My first memories were made here," Lambert said. "We got to do so many things culturally. ... We'd always have Elders come in and show and tell and tell stories." Years later, Lambert's daughter comes to the same language immersion school in Kotzebue, learning to speak Inupiaq as well as cut caribou meat, pickle herring eggs and train dogs for mushing. This is part of what all students at Nikaitchuat do every day: The school offers language classes and traditional activities, taught in accordance with the subsistence cycles of the local Inupiaq culture.

The state budget plan adopted by the House earlier this month includes an additional $263,000 in one-time funding for the Petersburg School District, an almost 5% boost from a state aid formula that has not increased since 2017. The one-time appropriation for a total of $57 million may be the political compromise to help Alaska's 54 school districts this next year as lawmakers continue to debate a change to the formula in state statute.

The school board will be discussing a new board policy and updating language for others. They’ll consider a policy allowing video surveillance of public areas on campus as a way to deter criminal activity and student misconduct such as theft, break-ins, and bullying. The Alaska Gateway School District in Tok has adopted a similar policy.

The Assembly has signaled support for funding the Sitka School District’s budget to the cap, or the maximum allowable by state law. The group voted to formally notify the school board of its funding allocation – over $8.8 million. That number includes around $7.9 million in instructional funding, and nearly $1 million in non-instructional funding such as $150,000 for maintenance of school buildings, $122,000 for the Blatchley swimming pool, and up to $60,000 to cover utilities costs for the Performing Arts Center. It also includes up to $500,000 in Secure Rural Schools funds, if the funds are reauthorized. That’s money the city gets from the federal government to pay for schools and road maintenance.

The Sitka School District has been unable to reach a new contract agreement with the union representing its teachers.

Teachers were hopeful that the bargaining impasse could be resolved, as it’s only the second time in 25 years that negotiations have failed. The details of the negotiations between the SEA and the Sitka School District are not public. However, it was clear from testimony before the school board on April 20 that the issue is salaries.

Bering Strait Cultural Program Coordinator Mary Suzzuk Huntington has been selected by the Alaska Department of Education to take up the role of Director of Mt. Edgecumbe. The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development made the announcement Tuesday.

Huntington will serve as the Director/Superintendent of Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka beginning on June 1st.

The school board approved splitting the responsibilities and pay of the activities director three ways between Superintendent Josh Coughran, Business Manager Cindy O’Daniel and Administrative Assistant Kaylie Smith for the second time. Each activities co-director will receive $15,000. The school will save the cost of the benefits a full-time employee would have received.

New Stuyahok's longtime principal, Robin Jones, is leaving the region at the end of the school year. She has accepted an elementary school principal position in Wasilla. In her nine years as principal of Chief Ivan Blunka School, Jones said that she worked hard to advocate for students in rural Alaska. In particular, she's passionate about reducing high teacher turnover rates by ensuring new teachers connect to their communities.

While Alaska's lawmakers consider increasing public school funding, the Unalaska City School District prepares for a significant decrease in revenue due to a drop in enrollment.

And with that, the district is looking to the city for about

$5 million to cover its budget for fiscal year 2023. At a recent City Council meeting, Superintendent Robbie Swint Jr. presented the Unalaska City School District's proposed budget, which is based on an estimated enrollment of 345 students. Last year, there were about 350 kids attending school on the island. That was down from 2019 when the district saw a record high enrollment of more than 420 students.

In a unanimous vote, City Council members granted the Unalaska School District its full funding request of roughly $5 million for fiscal year 2023 — a 6.5% increase from last year. While Councilman Thom Bell ultimately voted in favor, he said he originally hoped for just a 3% increase. He said it sends a bad message to city employees when the city reduces internal spending, but grants full funding to other organizations who aren’t making similar cuts.

The Unalaska school board is considering switching up the district's calendar and is looking for input from the community. At a recent meeting, board members discussed three different options for future school year schedules, one of which was drafted by member Kerry Mahoney. It pushes the entire school year back and puts the first day of school on Sept. 5, about two to three weeks later than usual. "This (calendar) is proposed around what I think is great for family life," Mahoney said at the meeting. Having the entire month of August off allows families that spend their vacation on the island to have more time enjoying the short Aleutian summers, she said.

In a two-page letter to the community, Schools Superintendent Bill Burr on Friday cautioned that ongoing staffing shortages, particularly aides and substitute teachers, could push the schools into considering a move to distance learning in lieu of in-person instruction. “As we have had a number of unfilled positions over the last month, we need to continue looking at the need to move toward distance learning,” he wrote in his letter Friday. “We have worked very hard to keep our schools open during (COVID) mitigation and adversity, but without our educational staff, it will be hard to meet the true social emotional learning and needs of our students.”

Wrangell’s school district officials have set aside $20,000 to resolve federal tax issues they say are a case of crossed wires. Wrangell Public Schools’ business office manager Tammy Stromberg says that it’s a few different problems, but boils down to the fact that the district was filing paper tax returns and paying by check.

Each year, more than 2,000 students from over 50 communities across Alaska participate in the Native Youth Olympics (NYO) Games.

Today’s NYO Games Alaska carries on in this spirit by encouraging young people to strive for their personal best while helping and supporting their teammates—and even other teams. Student athletes compete in a variety of traditional events that include Alaskan High Kick, One-foot High Kick, Two-foot High Kick, One-Hand Reach, Kneel Jump, Scissor Broad Jump, Eskimo Stick Pull, Indian Stick Pull, Wrist Carry, and the Seal Hop.

The Games are open to students from all backgrounds and promotes cross-cultural understand and respect, fostering statewide relationships and connections. The 2022 statewide NYO Senior Games were held at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage April 21-23. The 2022 NYO Traditional Games hosted by Sealaska Heritage were held at Juneau's Thunder Mountain High School April 2-3.

NYO Games Alaska is thankful to announce that Kyle Worl has accepted our request to be the Keynote Speaker at the 2022 Senior NYO Games being held at the Alaska Airlines Center!

Kyle helped revitalize NYO Games in Juneau when he brought a team to Senior NYO in 2018 for the first time since 1991. Over the years, Kyle has been instrumental in the lives of NYO participants both at the junior and senior games.

Learn more about how NYO changed Kyle's life OR how he has changed the course of NYO for the better.

Watching Unalakleet’s Nick Hansen at the recent 2022 Traditional Games in Juneau one thing was certain - he is tough to catch up to. When Hansen was not competing, he was teaching, when not teaching he was socializing, when not socializing, well, there was not a time he was not in demand.

Much like the indigenous sports he excels in, his life has also blossomed. Known as the Eskimo Ninja on the athletic competition show American Ninja Warrior and a face of telecommunications company GCI, Hansen has used his success to give back to the sport and to youth across the state.

May 6–7, 2022

Evening Command Performances in Anchorage

May 26-28, 2022

at Eagle River, Service and West Anchorage High Schools

May 27-28, 2022

at Dimond High School in Anchorage

Spring sports in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Interior, Southeast Alaska and the Anchorage area are all waiting for the same thing: the snow to melt. For some areas of the state it is easier than for others.

Over 270 kids from high schools, middle schools and elementary schools around the state took over the courts at Chugiak High School to decide champions of the Alaska badminton world. Lisa Ward and Paul Knechtel of the nonprofit “Badminton Goes Viral” helped host the Alaska State Badminton School Team Championship tournament for the third time in the state, and the first one in two years due to the pandemic.