AASB is pleased to announce that former superintendent Rich Carlson has joined the AASB Board Development team as the Board Support and Training Coordinator.

In this position, Rich will assist Norm Wooten, Timi Tullis, and Lon Garrison with superintendent search services, board development, and school improvement work with schools identified by the state as needing comprehensive support.

The Alaska Superintendents Association (ASA) has named Tiffany Jackson of Sand Point, Alaska as recipient of the 2019 ASA Don MacKinnon Educational Excellence and Human Recognition Award.

During the month of October AASB conducted the first-ever series of regional board training sessions.

The training sessions, facilitated by John Sedor, Timi Tullis and Lon Garrison, covered a variety of topics relevant to school board work, including running meetings, the open meetings act, working with the public, and board roles and responsibilities.

Q: When AASB produces updates on board policy who adds these to our board policy, which is online?

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According to the 2019 Student Climate and Connectedness Survey, family engagement is highly correlated to PEAKS reading scores.

For STEPS students grades 6-12, having "lots of parents come to events at my school" is the best indicator for PEAKS reading achievement, second only to PEAKS mathematics achievement.

“Are we on the record? Legal Issues with Recordings in School.”

Clinton Campion of Sedor, Wendlandt, Evans & Filippi, LLC

Part two of a series: Technology and the Law

As a trial attorney, I pay close attention when a judge announces, “we are on the record” because everything I say is being recorded. Several years ago, the Alaska Court System installed a new recording system in courtrooms across the State. The system activates a blue light when recording, so everyone knows “we are on the record.”

Counting a vote wrong is dangerous

Ann Macfarlane, Professional Parliamentarian

Counting a vote wrong can land you in big trouble. Here are the three different ways of counting a vote.

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The Inside Scoop

Each month Commentary highlights Alaska school and district news to honor student achievements, help promote local events and activities, and recognize the contributions and accomplishments of youth in your district. Add us to your school or district newsletter mailing list.

This month, a group of forest service employees along with five Wrangell High School students traveled to the Eastern Passage to collect the bones of a gray whale that unexpectedly washed up on shore earlier this year. The skeleton will provide plenty of local educational and research opportunities.

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Students in King Tech High School's aviation technology class are getting a hands-on lesson on flying safety and the importance of wing design. Over a dozen juniors and seniors from across the Anchorage School District make their way to Merrill Field five days a week to learn about aviation.

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Nome hosted Barrow, Bethel, and Kotzebue for the Big West Cross-Country Invitational on September 28 ^th . The top varsity girls’ and boys’ teams, as well as the top eight individuals, from this meet qualified for the state meet.

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The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District requested an analysis of the accuracy of statewide student testing that produced lower than expected results.

Petersburg School District is considering adopting a proposal that restricts sex offenders on campus.

The board will be considering 18 policies, which would put the district in line with the Association of the Alaska School Boards.

The American Lung Association’s new INDEPTH training program is designed to help schools fight the surging popularity of vaping among teens, emphasizing education over penalties like school suspension.

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PLEASE NOTE: Due to many district requests, AASB is adding a vaping question to the School Climate and Connectedness Survey (SCCS) this year. The question will be included in the observed risk behaviors section under drugs and alcohol.



The Sitka School Board has a new member. Paul Rioux was sworn in when the school board met recently. And it has a new president too. Elias Erickson didn’t anticipate this when he ran for office in 2017. After two years on the Sitka School Board, his fellow board members elected him the youngest chair in recent history.

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Three Alaska schools are being recognized for their academic performances and honored as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2019. A news release from the U.S. Department of Education lists Aurora Elementary School, Fred and Sarah Machetanz Elementary School and O’Malley Elementary School as the recipients.

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People learning Yup’ik now have another way to practice. A new Yup’ik language app aims to help them develop their skills outside the classroom. The goal is to revitalize the language in Bristol Bay.

The Yugtun language app has games and lessons, accompanied by pictures of local people acting out words and phrases. It was put together by Arnaq Esther Ilutsik, the director of Yup’ik studies for the Southwest Region School District.

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Following a donation of more than 6,000 pounds of silver salmon from the Kodiak Seiners Association to Kodiak’s public schools and Head Start program, the Kodiak Island Borough School District hosted a taste test of different recipes. 

The Anchorage School District is moving away from prepackaged TV-dinner-style lunches served in throw-away plastic trays in an effort launched this year to reduce trash and increase the appeal of student meals.

Instead, cafeteria workers will scoop food directly onto students’ reusable trays as they move through the lunch line, said Andy Mergens, the district’s senior director of student nutrition.

It’s a big transition for a decades-old system, Mergens said. He likened it to “going old school.”

“It’s fresher, it’s more appealing, it tastes better,” he said. “The other thing is, it’s far less waste.”

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According to Kate Janoski, the Emergency Management Technician for the Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Operations, the Great Alaska ShakeOut is part of a larger event called the Great International ShakeOut.

"Countries all over the world that are earthquake prone countries, practice in an earthquake drill," stated Janoski.

A commuter airplane carrying 42 people, including a high school swim team, to a remote Aleutian Islands fishing community went off the runway and came to a rest just short of the Bering Sea. Two passengers suffered critical injuries and 10 more were receiving medical care, the plane’s operator said.The swim team was fine after the incident, officials said.

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A boy brought a loaded handgun and knife to Fire Lake Elementary School in Eagle River on Thursday, according to the Anchorage School District and police. Students riding the bus to school in the morning saw the weapons in the boy’s backpack and reported what they saw to their teacher at the beginning of the school day, the district said in a statement.

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A male student at Wendler Middle School was arrested after making a comment to another student about carrying out a shooting at the school, Anchorage police said in an alert. According to police, the student told his peers "that he had a weapon in his bag and made a comment about shooting up the school.”

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A student in Nunapitchuk brought an airsoft pistol to school during a make-up day on Oct. 19, putting the school on lockdown. The student has since been arrested and charged with third degree assault and terroristic threatening.

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A rumor that no parent wants to hear circulated Bethel last week. The Lower Kuskokwim School District disclosed that it had received a threat of a school shooting in the same high school where, a little over 20 years ago, a shooting took the lives of a student and the school principal. The situation prompted parents to talk with their children about what to do if a shooting occurred.

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The 2019-2020 school year will be the last for Matanuska-Susitna School District Superintendent Monica Goyette. The school board voted 6-1 to approve a contract amendment at a meeting Wednesday night.

Q: How many justices are on the Alaska Supreme court?

A: 5 Justices

The Alaska Constitution originally called for three Justices, but has since been increased to five.

(Article 4, Section 5a, Alaska Constitution)

Download a Free Copy of Alaska's Constitution