E-NEWS

...your dues at work.

A weekly digest of education news for Alaska's School Board Members.

Association of Alaska School Boards, 1111 West 9^th St., Juneau, AK 99801. Tel.

907-586-1083, Fax 907-586-2995. Carl Rose, Executive Director,

crose@aasb.org: John Greely, Editor, jgreely@aasb.org. Review past issues of

the E-News on the AASB Website at <http://www.aasb.org>. To unsubscribe send an email stating the same to jgreely@aasb.org.

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Sponsored by Alaska Public Entity Insurance Co. <http://www.akpei.com>

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AASB E-News

March 20, 2008

--THREE FINALISTS PICKED FOR EED COMMISSIONER

--SECRETARY SPELLINGS ANNOUNCES NCLB ACCOUNTABILITY PILOT

--SCHOOLS EMBRACE FINGERPRINT SCANNING

--FAIRBANKS BOARD APPROVES $20 MILLION BOND

--KODIAK BOARD ESTIMATES $887,000 DEFICIT

--NO PEEPS OF PROTEST OVER HOLIDAY CONFLICT

--SMALL SCHOOLS KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF RESOURCES

--JUNE NELSON SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING

--AASB POLICY UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

THREE FINALISTS PICKED FOR EED COMMISSIONER

(From an EED news release)

The State Board of Education & Early Development met in executive session March 20, 2008, in Anchorage and selected three finalists for the position of Commissioner of Education & Early Development.

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are Steve Atwater, John Holst, and Larry LeDoux. They will be invited to be interviewed by the board in an executive session on March 28, 2008, in Juneau. By state statute, the board’s final selection must be approved by the Governor.

The finalists were selected from a field of 14 applicants. In a statement, State Board Chair Esther Cox thanked the applicants for the time and care they put into the process. Applicants provided written statements about their core educational values and the policies and strategies that will fulfill the State Board’s mission of ensuring quality standards-based instruction to improve academic achievement for all students.

“On behalf of the State Board, I want to thank all of the applicants for their thoughtful responses. It has been a long day of very serious deliberation by the board. We wish the finalists well,” Chair Cox said.

Atwater, of King Salmon, is Superintendent of the Lake & Peninsula School District, where he also has held the positions of curriculum coordinator and teacher. He holds a master of education degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he is currently a doctoral candidate.

Holst, of Sitka, is a consultant specializing in school improvement and school district improvement. He has served as Superintendent of the Sitka School District, Principal of Ketchikan High School, administrator in other schools, and as a teacher. He holds a master of science degree in educational administration from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls.

LeDoux, of Kodiak, is Superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, where he also has held numerous administrative posts. He has served as Principal of North Star Elementary School and of Kodiak High School, and he taught at the latter school. LeDoux holds a master of arts in teaching degree in science and biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Deputy Commissioner Barbara Thompson has been serving as Interim Commissioner since August 18, 2007. She replaced Commissioner Roger Sampson, who resigned to take the post of President of the Education Commission of the States.

The Commissioner serves as chief executive officer of the Department of Education & Early Development, ex-officio secretary to the State Board of Education & Early Development, and a member of the Governor’s Cabinet.

By statute, Education Commissioners must have at least a master’s degree with at least five years of experience in education since receiving the degree, with at least three of the five years in an exclusively administrative position. Commissioners are approved by the Governor. They are appointed without regard to political affiliation. They serve at the pleasure of the State Board for no fixed term.

The Department of Education & Early Development oversees K-12 public schools, and operates Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka; the Division of Libraries, Museums and Archives; the Alaska Postsecondary Education Commission; the Professional Teaching Practices Commission; and the Alaska State Council on the Arts.

For more information: Eric Fry, Information Officer, 907-465-2851.

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SECRETARY SPELLINGS ANNOUNCES NCLB ACCOUNTABILITY PILOT

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced this week a new pilot program under No Child Left Behind aimed at helping states differentiate between underperforming schools in need of dramatic interventions and those that are closer to meeting the goals of NCLB. See news release here:

http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/03/03182008.html

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SCHOOLS EMBRACE FINGERPRINT SCANNING

The lunch lines in West Virginia’s Wood County schools move much faster than they used to. After students fill their trays with food, they approach a small machine, push their thumbs against a touch pad – and with that small movement, they’ve paid for their meal. For half the state’s school districts, as well as hundreds move across the country, the days of dealing with lost lunch cards or forgotten identification numbers are over. See full story here:

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=292262

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FAIRBANKS BOARD APPROVES $20 MILLION BOND PROPOSAL

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District voted to submit a bond proposal for the October election ballot, but the request will face challenges from the Borough Assembly. The $19.9 million request is mainly for building maintenance in the district and was originally $30 million before being trimmed down to cover what the board considered necessities. See full story here:

http://newsminer.com/news/2008/mar/19/school-board-approves-20-million-proposal-concerns/

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KODIAK BOARD ESTIMATES $887,000 DEFICIT

Projected increases in salary, health insurance and fuel are forcing the Kodiak Island Borough School Board to consider significant cuts in the budget. See full story here:

http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=5967

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NO PEEPS OF PROTEST OVER HOLIDAY CONFLICT
If you’re looking for evidence that basketball is like a religion in parts of Alaska, consider the utter lack of uproar regarding the conflict this week between the state tournament and Easter week. Officials with both the Alaska School Activities Association and the Anchorage School District say they haven’t heard a peep from players, parents or fans about the overlap. See full story here:

http://www.adn.com/sports/story/349500.html

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SMALL SCHOOLS KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF RESOURCES

When the basketball team from Russian Mission wants to shoot baseline jumpers, it packs up and leaves town. When it wants a home-court advantage, it heads to Emmonak, about 150 air miles away. It’s not that the Raiders don’t feel at home at home, It’s just that home is so tiny – a gym that measures 42 feet by 26 feet. See full story here:

http://www.adn.com/sports/story/348312.html

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JUNE NELSON SCHOLARSHIPS DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING

AASB is proud to sponsor the 17th annual award competition under the June Nelson Memorial Scholarship Program. The award is named in honor of the late June Nelson, long-time school board member from Kotzebue. This year, AASB will award ten graduating seniors each with a $1,000 scholarship to apply toward their post-secondary education, whether it’s at a college, business or a trade school. The application deadline is March 31. Applications are available here:

http://www.aasb.org/JNMS.html

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AASB POLICY UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

The most recent edition of AASB’s Policy Reference Manual Update is now available online on a subscription basis. The update has been posted on the AASB Website http://www.aasb.org/Policy/PolUpdts.html in a Word format that makes it quick and easy for you to download the instructions and policies and prepare them for your board to review, revise and adopt, according to the needs of your school district.

Currently 47 of Alaska’s 53 school districts utilize the AASB Policy System format. Knowing that all school boards want to keep their manuals current with changes in laws and regulations, each of those 47 districts will be automatically invoiced for the update and a password will be issued upon payment. Districts may access the update sooner by simply contacting Laurie Miller (lmiller@aasb.org) with a purchase order number to receive the password right away.

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Association of Alaska School Boards

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Association of Alaska School Boards

1111 West 9^th Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1510 Tel. 907-586-1083

Fax 907-586-2995 Email: aasb@aasb.org

Website: http://www.aasb.org