Association of Alaska School Boards
E-NEWS
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A weekly digest
of education news for Alaska's School Board Members.
Association of
Alaska School Boards, 1111 West 9th 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
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AASB E-News
August 9, 2007
--MORE SCHOOLS MAKE ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS
--PROGRAM AIMS TO LURE MORE MINORITY TEACHERS TO FAIRBANKS
--ANN SHORTT SAYS GOODBYE
--GEORGE TROXEL BEGINS NEW ALASKA ADVENTURE
--FAIRBANKS SETS SIGHTS ON SCHOOL DISTRICT PROJECTS
--KENAI SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS GET RAISES
--VALLEY SCHOOL AMOST READY FOR STUDENTS
--EDUCATION: THE SLEEPER ISSUE OF 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN?
--NEW IRS RULES DONÕT TAKE AFFECT UNTIL 2008
MORE SCHOOLS MAKE ADEQUATE
YEARLY PROGRESS
For the 2006-07 school year, 326 Alaska schools made adequate
yearly progress (AYP), an increase of 19 over the previous year and 34 more
than two years ago, the Department of Education & Early Development
announced today. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, nearly all
students in grades 3 through 10 take the state standards-based assessments in
reading, writing and math. Schools are held accountable for their student body
as a whole and in nine subgroups of students for language arts and math,
participation rate in taking assessments and either a graduation rate or an
attendance rate.
ÒAs Alaska educators focus
on helping each student meet academic expectations, more students are scoring
proficient on assessments and more schools are making adequate yearly progress
toward the goal of all students being proficient,Ó Commissioner Roger Sampson
said in a news release.
The department reported that
of schools that did not make AYP in 2006-07, nearly 72 percent missed only one
or two of up to 31 possible targets. In 20 of 24 state standards-based
assessments, the percentage of students scoring proficient increased, as well.
AlaskaÕs accountability
system for 2006-07 includes two new elements: a growth method of measuring
progress of students who are not proficient but who have made substantial
improvement; and a change in the ÒN size,Ó or subgroup of students, which now
is a uniform 26 for all nine subgroups.
A complete packet of
information about AYP 2007, including individual school scores, is available
here:
http://www.eed.state.ak.us/news/pk2007.html
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PROGRAM AIMS TO LURE MORE
MINORITY TEACHERS TO FAIRBANKS.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, in an
effort to recruit more minority teachers, is trying a pilot program this school
year in which three black college students from Georgia will spend four months
working as student teachers in Fairbanks schools. The school district reports
31 percent of the student body was comprised of ethnic minorities last year,
but only 13 percent of certified employees were. See full story here:
http://newsminer.com/2007/08/09/8325
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ANN SHORTT SAYS GOODBYE
Superintendent Ann Shortt has handed out a lot of gold panner
pen sets to retiring school district personnel over the past five years. She
got her own this week as she prepares to leave for retirement in Virginia. See
full story here:
http://newsminer.com/2007/08/08/8308
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GEORGE TROXEL BEGINS NEW
ALASKA ADVENTURE
George Troxel came to Alaska 25 years ago in search of
adventure. He says he and his wife, Joen, both teachers, were looking for
something different. They found it in Teller, where Joen taught and George
served three years as principal of James Isabell School. The Troxells eventually moved to
Wasilla, where George is now the superintendent for the first time. See full story here:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/9203320p-9119761c.html
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FAIRBANKS SETS SIGHTS ON
SCHOOL CAPITAL PROJECTS
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District will be
looking to fund $41.4 million worth of capital projects next year. The list now
goes to the state for placement on a list including projects from other
districts. See full story here:
http://newsminer.com/2007/08/08/8306
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KENAI SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
GET RAISES
For the first time in about 10 years, substitute school
teachers on the Kenai Peninsula will be getting a raise this year. The Board of
Education decided to bump the pay of certified and non-certified substitute
teachers from $100 to $120 per day and from $84 to $100 per day, respectively.
See full story here (may require registration):
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/080807/news_3372.shtml
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VALLEY SCHOOL ALMOST READY
FOR STUDENTS
Susitna Valley Junior Senior High School students began
registering for classes this week along with other Matanuska-Susitna Borough
students. Just a couple of months ago, it was unclear where the 185 seventh
though 12th graders would go after a fire destroyed the school. Now,
classes are set to begin at the Upper Susitna Senior Center. See full story
here:
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6895379
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EDUCATION: THE SLEEPER ISSUE
OF THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN?
(ANALYSIS)
Could it be that education will be the sleeper issue of the
2008 presidential campaign? On the face of it the question seems foolish,
competing for attention as it does with the mega-problems of Iraq, terrorism
and health care. But in a recent candidate debate, New Mexico Governor Bill
Richardson won the highest score from panels of voters when he argued that No
Child Left Behind should be repealed. See full analysis here:
http://uspolitics.einnews.com/article.php?nid=315110
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NEW IRS RULES WONÕT TAKE
EFFECT UNTIL 2008
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance on August
7th clarifying that the new deferred-compensation rules will not affect
teachers and other school employees during the upcoming school year. At
question was whether changes made in a 2004 tax law would impose an additional
20% tax on employees that elect to be paid over a 12-month period as opposed to
the actual school year. The IRS clarified that the new rules will not
apply to annualization elections for school years beginning before January 1,
2008. Therefore, school districts and teachers will have time to make any
changes that are needed.
For more information, click here:
http://www.nsba.org/site/docs/41300/41285.pdf
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Association of
Alaska School Boards
...promoting BOARD STANDARDS through...
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Association of
Alaska School Boards
1111 West 9th
Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1510 Tel. 907-586-1083
Fax 907-586-2995 Email: aasb@aasb.org
Website: http://www.aasb.org