Education Bulletin Fall 2016

Alaska Council of School Administrators

Education Bulletin

Volume 22 Number 4, October 2016

Alaska Superintendents Association

Alaska Staff Development Network

Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals

Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals

Alaska Association of School Business Officials

Alaska Superintendents Association

Sean Dusek, ASA President

As we work our way through the school year, it is important to have a vision to keep us on the path to success. This year, we are focusing on motivation, modernization, and personalization. It is best to start with a student-learning perspective on what these words mean.

Forget Finland, Europe Wants To Be like Alaska

Stewart McDonald, 2016 Superintendent of the Year

With Every Student Succeeds Act now in place, Alaska is looking for its vision for education. Some of Alaska schools are already becoming the standard of excellence on the world stage. An Alaska high school won in the international university level competition in the NASA World Wind Europa Challenge both in 2015 and again in 2016. This is more than a success story, it is an example how Alaska schools demonstrate excellence on the world stage.

Alaska Council of School Administrators

Change is Here - Where Are We?

Dr. Lisa Skiles Parady, ACSA/ASA/AASSP Executive Director

Today’s environment for educational leaders across Alaska is the most challenging I have seen in over 20 years. Make no mistake—from the inherent complexities in bringing every student in every school to their full potential, to coping with unprecedented threats to our fundamental foundation funding, to leading our staffs to be their best in the face of such uncertainty—we all have our hands full. Very full.

Businesses are Champions for Children!

Alaska Staff Development Network

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

2017 Alaska RTI / Effective Instruction Conference
Our 6th Annual RTI Conference will take place January 28 and 29 at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. Join educators from around the state for one of Alaska’s largest and most popular professional learning opportunities, and learn from nationally recognized experts without the time and expense of out-of-state travel. A preconference for rural school educators will take place on Friday, January 27. Registration opens October 15.

ASDN Fall Webinar Series
Join us for interactive webinars with Joanne Quinn, Catlin Tucker, Doug Fisher, and Linda Chamberlain this fall! More information and registration

Joanne Quinn, Michael Fullan’s colleague and co-author of Coherence and several other publications, will investigate student engagement and deeper learning in a series for school and teacher leaders.
Catlin Tucker will present a series on leveraging the power of technology for blended learning and personalized instruction.
Linda Chamberlain will be back with the latest information on best practices from trauma-informed schools that are succeeding with brain-based teaching and learning.
Doug Fisher will discuss the findings from his latest book: Visible Learning for Literacy (with John Hattie and Nancy Fischer), the newest book in John Hattie’s Visible Learning series.

Alaska History and Multicultural Required Courses

Alaska Alive with Father Micheal Oleksa - November 8, 11 and 12, 2016 – Anchorage, BP Energy Center with online follow up work due by December 15, 2016. This course meets the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development requirement for Alaska History for certification and recertification. Click here for more information

Communicating Across Cultures with Father Micheal Oleksa - January 12, 13, and 14, 2017 – Anchorage, BP Energy Center with online follow up work due by March 10, 2017. This course meets the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Multicultural requirement for certification and recertification. Click here for more information

Alaska Alive - Online, distance, asynchronous class, start anytime! Participants have a minimum of one month and a maximum of one year to complete the class. This is a multimedia course that meets EED certification and recertification requirements in Alaska Studies.
Click here for more information

Creating Culturally Responsive Schools - Online, distance, asynchronous class, start anytime! Participants have a minimum of one month and a maximum of one year to complete the class. This is a multimedia course that meets EED certification and recertification requirements in Multicultural Education. Click here for more informaiton

Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals

Light & Lead the Way

Mary McMahon, AASSP President

This year, the theme of our 50th Annual Alaska Principals’ Conference is “Light & Lead.” In these uncertain times, we need to remind ourselves of our highest calling and truest purpose. We need to ignite our passion and be persistent in our efforts to stay the course and get the job done. We need to light and lead our organizations forward.

Balancing Technology and Relationship Building for Effective Personalization

Dan Carstens, AASSP President-Elect

The topic of personalization has swirled around education settings for years, with many different ideas offered for a variety of delivery options. With new technologies have come myriad possibilities for increased personalization, and many postsecondary institutions are already implementing these new tools.

BP Alaska Principals Foundation

2016 Scholarship

BP has partnered with the Alaska Principals Foundation to award 25 graduating seniors across Alaska each with a one-time $4,000 scholarship. Since the BP Principals Scholarship began 30 years ago, BP has contributed over $3.5 million to support the continuing education of deserving students. Congratulations to the 2016 recipients!

Salina Alsworth,Tanalian School

Caleb Beauvais, Burchell High School

Eva Bingham, Palmer High School

Sigfred Brown, White Mountain School

Halbe Brown, Tri-Valley School

Jordyn Bruce, Eagle River High School

Nathan Carstens, Nikiski High School

Elizabeth Coggins, Bethel Regional High School

Brittany Colcord, Klawock High School

Noelle Coniglio, West Anchorage High School

Julie DuClos, A.J. Dimond High School

Miranda Eakin, Kotzebue High School

Laura Erb, Chugiak High School

Nick Gregg, PACE Correspondence School

Kacy Grundhauser, King Career Center

Catelynn Hettick, Seward High School

John Koeneman, Huston High School

Kiera O’Brien, Ketchikan High School

Kelley Olson, Thunder Mountain High School

Dakota Peterson-Tompson, Colony High School

Nathanael Salima, Grace Christian School

Mikaela Salzetti, Kenai Central High School

Taylor Vollman, Kenny Lake School

Martina Worden, Juneau Douglas High School

Autumn Young, Bartlett High School

Click Here to Register

Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals

Celebrating Change

Jennifer Schmitz, AAESP President

Other than spending time with my family, one of my favorite things about having a few weeks off in the summer is that I have time to do some reading and thinking about the year ahead. Some years I have read about leadership and management; others about relationships and strength building among organizations. Sometimes it has been more about specific new programs and initiatives. This summer, I took an extensive look at education from the national level right down to the specific classrooms in my school. I decided I needed to do some reading about change.

Collaborative Leadership

Kate LaPlaunt, Distinguished Elementary Principal of the Year

Effective leadership requires a lot of following, working with a team to create a shared vision, and then clearing a path for success. Principals who embrace this follow-to-lead style will find themselves enjoying the benefits of collaborative leadership. A collaborative leadership style develops a shared vision by involving stakeholders, valuing the individual, and motivating people to take action in a climate of transparency and trust.

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Alaska Association of School Business Officials

ALASBO Update

Mark Vink, ALASBO President

Welcome to the start of a new school year. I hope your year is shaping up to be a good one.

ALASBO held a successful summer leadership conference this past July in Kenai. We had 24 members in attendance and were led the first day by Dr. Mike Jacoby in leadership training.

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