Association of Alaska School Boards
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 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
Alaska Public Entity Insurance Co. <http://www.akpei.com>
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AASB E-News
August 30, 2007
--EDUCATION SECRETARY TOURS REMOTE ALASKA SCHOOLS
--STATE TEST SHOWS GAP BETWEEN POOR STUDENTS, OTHERS
--DISTRICT ADDS JEWISH, MUSLIM HOLIDAYS
--INITIATIVE AIMS TO DETERMINE CAREER READINESS
--PHI DELTA KAPPA/GALLUP POLL ON PUBLIC EDUCATION
--SCHOOL WELLNESS INSTITUTE SLATED FOR SEPT. 19-21
--MAGNA AWARDS DEADLINE APPROACHING
EDUCATION SECRETARY TOURS
REMOTE ALASKA SCHOOLS
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings tour schools in
two remote Alaska towns Wednesday as part of a Bush administration campaign to
tout the successes of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which is up for
reauthorization this year. See full story here:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/9264175p-9179049c.html
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STATE TEST SHOWS GAP BETWEEN
POOR STUDENTS, OTHERS
While 68 to 80 percent of Juneau students passed the most
recent state achievement test, one area continues to stand out: Poor students
are more likely to fail the test. Only 36 percent of low-income ninth-graders passed
the math portion of the Alaska Standards Based Assessment test, while 72
percent of those who werenÕt low-income passed, according to the Alaska
Department of Education & Early Development. See full story here (may
require registration):
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/083007/sta_20070830019.shtml
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DISTRICT ADDS JEWISH, MUSLIM
HOLIDAYS
The Anchorage School District on Monday approved a new list
of official religious holidays and directed that, starting with the winter
session, no after-school activities be scheduled to conflict with them. See
full story here:
http://www.adn.com/news/education/story/9261125p-9176126c.html
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INITIATIVE AIMS TO DETERMINE
CAREER READINESS
Gov. Sarah Palin unveiled a new proposed education initiative
on Monday aimed at making Alaska high school students more prepared to enter
the work force after graduation. Under the proposal, all students in Alaska
would take a series of standardized tests in the sixth, eighth and 11th
grades to determine their skill level in math, reading and analyzing
information. See full story here:
http://newsminer.com/2007/08/28/8622
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39TH ANNUAL PHI
DELTA KAPPA/GALLUP POLL ON EDUCATION
This venerable public opinion survey on attitudes toward
public education in America looks at NCLB, standardized testing, changing
public schools, vouchers, and many other issues. Here are the results:
http://www.pdkmembers.org/e-GALLUP/kpoll_pdfs/pdkpoll39_2007.pdf
NSBA REACTS TO PDK/GALLUP
POLL
The National School Boards Association sees a growing divide
between the public and policymakers on NCLB. Here is a statement from Executive Director Anne Bryant:
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc.asp?TRACKID=&VID=2&CID=90&DID=41502
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SCHOOL WELLNESS INSTITUTE
SLATED FOR SEPT. 19-21
Sign up now for the Alaska School
Wellness Institute on September 19-21, 2007, to be held at the BP Energy Center
in Anchorage.
The institute will provide information about school wellness topics including
school nutrition and physical activity, tobacco prevention policy and programs,
school employee wellness, and others.
There will be an array of presenters including hands-on training provided by
the Rocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education.
This yearÕs institute will feature Dr. Margo Wootan, Director of Nutrition
Policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, who will speak about
getting junk food out of schools.
The institute is designed for school district teams including school board
members, administrators, teachers, PTA/PTO members, school nurses and others.
It is sponsored by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, U.S.
Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services, and the Alaska
Department of Education & Early Development.
Professional development credits will be offered. There is no cost for
attending the institute but space is limited. Register at www.signup4.com/swi07
<http://www.signup4.com/swi07>
A limited number of travel scholarships are available.
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MAGNA
AWARDS DEADLINE APPROACHING
There's still time to spotlight your school district. The
deadline for entering the 2008 Magna program is October 1. Presented by
American School Board Journal, with the generous support of Sodexho School
Services, Magna 2008 recognizes school boards that are taking bold and creative
steps to advance student learning through programs developed or actively
supported by the school board.
A distinguished panel
of independent judges will select up to two dozen honorees from three
enrollment categories: under 5,000; 5,000-20,000; and over 20,000.
Nomination forms are
available online at http://www.asbj.com/magna <http://www.magnetmail1.net/ls.cfm?r=40370250&sid=2677318&m=351530&u=NSBA_ASBJ&s=http://www.asbj.com/magna> . But remember: All nominations must be made by October 1.
Questions?
Please contact Margaret
Suslick at msuslick@nsba.org <mailto:msuslick@nsba.org> or at
703-838-7639.
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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