Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
03/21/2018 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SCR5 | |
| HCR21 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HCR 21 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SCR 5 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HCR 21-MARCH 27, 2018:AK EDUCATION & SHARING DAY
8:23:16 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the final order of business would
be HCR 21, "Proclaiming March 27, 2018, as Alaska Education and
Sharing Day."
8:23:35 AM
JOHNANNA SCHULTZ, Staff, Representative Harriet Drummond, Alaska
State Legislature, introduced HCR 21 and noted that it proclaims
March 27, 2018 as Alaska Education and Sharing Day. This
resolution focuses on the importance and recognition of values,
ethics, and character development, as part of a student's
education so they become engaged, caring, and responsible
citizens. She advised that this is a companion resolution to
SCR 15, sponsored by Senator Shelley Hughes, which is scheduled
for a floor vote this morning. She said that HCR 21 is aligned
with national proclamations that have occurred since 1978, when
Congress set aside the anniversary of the birth of Rabbi
Menachem Schneerson as Education and Sharing Day U.S.A. Rabbi
Schneerson dedicated his life to the promotion of education as a
cornerstone of humanity and held that, in addition to academics,
the discussion of morals should not be neglected. Through the
establishment of educational and social service institutions
across the country and world, Rabbi Schneerson thought to
empower young people and inspire individuals of all ages. Rabbi
Schneerson's legacy was encouraging Americans to teach and share
with the next generation the values that make good citizens, a
strong nation, and a better world. She noted that for 40 years,
every United States President, regardless of political stripes
or religious affiliation, has honored this vision by proclaiming
National Education and Sharing Day. Education for Alaskan
students occurs here at home and it is a privilege to honor this
vision in Alaska. She requested the committee's support of HCR
21, in setting aside March 2, as Education and Sharing Day to
celebrate hard work, service, and commitment to learning, as
cornerstones of a bright future for the youth in Alaska.
8:26:27 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked Ms. Schultz to recite for the
committee the seven Noahide laws [Seven Laws of Noah].
MS. SCHULTZ explained that the Noahide laws are similar to the
Ten Commandments, they are a basis of fundamental rights, but
she could not list the laws. [Not to worship idols, Not to
curse God, To establish courts of justice, Not to commit murder,
Not to commit adultery, Not to steal, Not to eat flesh torn from
a living animal.]
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP noted that he is familiar with the story of
Noah who was a good and righteous man. It is his belief that it
is important to highlight those laws because they are part of
this resolution, he said.
CHAIR DRUMMOND noted she looks forward to hearing the Noahide
laws from upcoming witnesses.
8:27:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ referred to the March 27, 2018 date
proposed in HCR 21, and asked why that date was chosen over the
April 7 date listed in the 3/28/17 Proclamation, together with
the dates in the past depicted "in the sort of history we have."
MS. SCHULTZ responded that the date of Rabbi Menachem
Schneerson's birth was on the 11th day of the Hebrew month of
Nisan, and the United States uses a different calendar so it
changes every year.
8:28:47 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND related that she grew up in a Jewish neighborhood
in the Bronx and the Jewish calendar is quite different from the
"Western calendar." The Jewish calendar does go along with the
Greek Orthodox calendar, and Greek Easter always follows
Passover; however, Greek Easter does not always follow Western
Easter, sometimes it is on the same Sunday, sometimes it is
seven days later, and in every fourth or fifth year, it is one
month later. Yet, Passover and Orthodox Easter are on the same
calendar because whenever Passover moves, Greek Easter moves.
She described that it is fascinating how these ancient cultures
operate on a different calendar than the nation currently.
Growing up in a Jewish neighborhood, her school was 95 percent
local Jewish students and they took Jewish holidays off, and 95
percent of the students were at shul because education was
incredibly important to the Jewish communities all over the
world. Children did not simply stay home and watch television,
they went to shul and studied their religion and their Jewish
language, she explained.
8:31:01 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND opened public testimony on HCR 21.
8:31:16 AM
RABBI YOSEF GREENBURG, Alaska Jewish Campus and the Lubavitch
Jewish Center of Alaska, pointed out that the shootings that
took place in Florida, Maryland, and across America, are
confusing to children. There is no doubt America is going
through something and that Americans are looking for answers.
This may be the ultimate answer (audio difficulties) spiritual
giant of our time and our nation who was a great advocate for
education, he offered. Rabbi Schneerson believed that it was
not enough to educate children to be ready for the Creator, but
that it is important to make sure they are ready to be good
citizens. He explained that the Noahide laws are similar to the
Ten Commandments, such as, Thou shalt not murder, and Thou shall
not steal. Those universal values, he explained, talk about
respect for humanity, human life, animals' pain, law, and all of
humanitarian laws given by God (audio difficulties), and given
to Adam and Eve. A person will realize when reading the Bible
in Genesis, where the (indisc.) are hiding, he noted that some
are clear and some are hiding between the lines, where the basic
universal laws offer society goodness and kindness.
8:33:47 AM
RABBI GREENBURG explained that the Jewish calendar goes by the
moon cycle of the year, and the secular calendar follows the sun
cycle. He explained that they are both ancient calendars and
"the Jewish calendar had this leap year where once in four years
to add another month to make sure the Passover should not go
away more than one month." Rabbi Schneerson's birthday is
always three days before Passover on the Jewish calendar, and in
the secular calendar that could move around between March and
April, and back and forth. He reiterated that both the Jewish
calendar and the calendar America uses today, are ancient
calendars and "we combine them both together in the Jewish
calendar."
8:35:18 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND asked the year of the current Jewish calendar.
RABBI GREENBURG answered that the Jewish calendar is 5778.
CHAIR DRUMMOND commented "I've always observed, I believe that
the Last Supper that is celebrated before Easter was a Passover
Seder."
RABBI GREENBURG responded that is what is in some stories and
that is what he heard, but he is not an expert.
8:36:27 AM
RABBI ROBIN MENDY GREENBURG, Alaska Jewish Campus, related that
he echoes his father's testimony because Americans see what is
taking place in their country. This resolution depicts the
importance of this concept wherein one day a year should be
dedicated to focus on a gateway of an entire year for parents
and educators to truly think about the meaning and purpose of
education. Our children could be great readers and great
intellectuals with great academic knowledge. He stressed
that a little more than 70-years ago, the Holocaust took place,
and not by third-world country but by a progressive and up-and-
coming country of doctors, scientists, and the fathers of the
minds of the modern world, and yet, it somehow made sense to
inflict such terrible crimes on humanity. These atrocities to
humanity point out how important it is and crucial that, with
all of our intellect and our academic studies, to have a
foundation in charity for our children. A custom in the Jewish
tradition, and what Rabbi Schneerson encouraged, is that every
person has their own charity box, and that every child has their
own charity box with their name on it. The idea, he offered, is
not to raise a lot of money, but to actually educate children
and people to be giving and charitable. Each day, by giving
just one penny and one minute to charity, it becomes part of our
nature and thinking about others, thinking about a greater cause
and not just about ourselves, but about our obligations to
society.
8:39:34 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND, after ascertaining no one wished to testify,
closed public testimony on HCR 21.
8:39:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP spoke in support of HCR 21, "it makes the
profound statement that education is so much more than
knowledge," and lays a foundational character in a person's
life, ethical values, moral truths, upon which a person builds
their own life. He related that it is beautiful to make a
connection with our Jewish community because Judaism has done
more for the life of the mind in connecting faith and reason in
modern society than any other faith group, by far. He noted
that Raoul Wallenberg [Swedish diplomat in Nazi-occupied Hungary
saved the lives of nearly 100,000 Hungarian Jews] is the sole
recipient in the Guinness Book of World Records of having saved
the most human beings, single-handedly, in history. Mr.
Wallenberg was passionate about saving lives and possessed a
master intellect, it was not just that he loved the Jewish
people, but that he had been educated in Israel at a Jewish
Center and knew that the life of the minds of our future
civilization was literally at stake. He added that there more
was being done in that community to connect faith, reason,
natural law, and moral law. Mr. Wallenberg literally believed
that the future of humanity depended upon every life that he
saved. Representative Kopp related that he is proud to put his
name on this resolution.
8:41:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PAISH moved to report HCR 21 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HCR 21 moved from the House
Education Standing Committee.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
University of Alaska Board of Regents
Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
University of Alaska Board of Regents
Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
8:44:37 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the next order of business would
be Governor Bill Walker's appointments to the Alaska Board of
Education and Early Development, and the University of Alaska
Board of Regents.
CHAIR DRUMMOND invited Steven Joey Sweet, Governor Walker's
appointee to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, Student
Representative, to testify.
8:44:48 AM
STEVEN JOEY SWEET advised that he would like to be a member of
the Board of Regents due to the current changes in the
university, such as the Strategic Pathways initiative. He
pointed to the 12/14/2016 creation of a single Alaska College of
Education administered by the University of Alaska Southeast
(UAS) as another change. It was through Strategic Pathways and
important changes to the university that he first started to pay
attention to what was taking place on campus, during his
undergraduate degree in political science. He noted that he is
currently pursuing a master's degree in Public Administration.
He pointed out that these changes are affecting students, staff,
and faculty, and that he had tried within his capacity as a
regent to do his best to understand the full impact that these
types of changes have on each of those particular groups. Prior
to his experience as a member of the Board of Regents, it was
not something he had previously given thought to in terms of how
these types of changes can affect staff and faculty.
Previously, he advised, he focused on how changes at the
university affected the students, and he has since learned
throughout his tenure on the Board of Regents, that the
university has many stakeholder groups and it should work those
groups into the decision-making process.
8:47:15 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND noted that Mr. Sweet began college at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and then moved to
Anchorage. Considering what the university is currently going
through, she asked what he could advise about his different
experiences.
MR. SWEET responded that he spent his Freshman and Sophomore
years at UAF, and made the decision to transfer to the
University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in part to be closer to his
family and in part to shake things up for himself. He related
that he did not necessarily feel connected or involved on campus
at UAF, and clarified that the reason was not on the
institutional and campus level as there were many opportunities
to be involved and engaged. The UAF maintains an active student
government, many clubs, and social events to keep a student on
campus. He noted that he had wanted to take a gap year, but his
parents did not agree so he attended college directly after high
school.
CHAIR DRUMMOND commented that the decision appears to have
worked if he is moving toward serving on the Board of Regents.
8:49:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY referred to Strategic Pathways and asked
Mr. Sweet to offer his philosophy about the access to university
opportunities at community campuses throughout rural Alaska.
She further asked how he would approach decision-making as it
relates to limited resources, and also making sure there is
equitable access throughout the state.
MR. SWEET responded that that issue is something he tries to pay
attention to because it is easy to make decisions based on the
three main campuses, and noted that he has not had a lot of
experience with community campuses at this point. One of the
Strategic Pathways phases did examine ways to try to reduce
costs and operate more effectively for the community campuses,
he advised. Although, he related, he is not familiar with what
the possible decisions were with regard to the outcomes of those
committees. He offered to follow up and provide more specific
information to Representative Zulkosky. He said that he does
want to pay attention to maintaining access and affordability at
our community campuses, especially within rural Alaska. He said
that he knows the university will be instituting a 25 percent
tuition discount for certain low technical programs housed in
community campuses, except he is not sure, off the top of his
head, whether those were statewide or just within certain major
administrative units (MAU).
8:51:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked the current most serious threats to
the university system.
MR. SWEET offered his belief that it may be low morale within
the system. For several years, the university has seen the
effects of the budget cuts, thereby making it easy for students
and faculty to be critical when programs are cut with the
decline in enrollment, and so forth. The energy of the campuses
has been declining and the feeling that the university will face
budget cuts year after year has taken its toll among students
and faculty. This issue contributes to the declines in
enrollment as students leave to attend schools in the Lower-48
because they feel their education is on the chopping block. He
pointed out that that sort of feeling is powerful and pervasive
within the system, and how people feel about their education
goes a long way toward determining whether they will finish
their education at the University of Alaska. The feeling of low
morale and a general sort of cynicism is what he considers to be
the most significant issue currently, he reiterated.
8:53:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked what Mr. Sweet would do about the
low morale if confirmed as a student regent.
MR. SWEET responded that when he has conversations with student
government leaders, he tells them that if students come to them
with particular problems, to understand that the student leaders
have resources at their disposal to address problems. For
example, it was recently noticed that student employees at UAA
they were paid $8.50 per hour, which was below the state minimum
wage of $9.84. As a federal institution, the University of
Alaska is exempt from the requirement of paying the state's
minimum wage because they can stay in line with the federal
minimum wage. These employees reached out to their student
government of which wrote resolutions about the wage disparity,
and they reached out to the Board of Regents and himself to
raise awareness about the issue. Over the course of
approximately five to six months, they brought the decision to
the attention of the statewide administration that examined the
problem and found that the university could afford to bump up
that $8.50 per hour wage to the $9.84 per hour wage, and those
wages will soon be changed. In the event those student leaders
and the student union had simply noticed the problem but decided
not to take an active step to reach out to their student
government, in all likelihood the wage would have continued at
$8.50 per hour. He related that tries to tell people that he
understands the reasons for cynicism and low morale currently,
but to not let that be their last destination, if they see a
problem to bring it forward and try to solve the problem.
8:55:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked that after speaking with his peers,
what are their main considerations as to whether they choose to
attend the University of Alaska.
MR. SWEET replied that anecdotally, it is whether they feel they
know people within their academic field. For example, biology
students want to know and have social connections with other
biology students. Speaking from personal experience as a
political science undergraduate, he noted that they had dinners
and all students in the political science program were invited,
usually on a once per semester basis at the beginning and end of
the academic year. Anecdotally, he offered, what generally
keeps students in the institution is how well connected they
feel and whether they know people within their discipline.
Research suggests that a student is happier if they have a job
on campus and meet with an advisor preferably more than once a
semester, he suggested.
8:57:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON congratulated Mr. Sweet for his activism
and leadership because as the world is transforming it is
refreshing to hear someone who understands that it is society's
responsibility to be part of that change.
8:58:36 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the next order of business would
be Governor Walker's appointee to the Alaska State Board of
Education & Early Development.
8:58:52 AM
TIFFANY SCOTT advised that she is here on behalf of our children
and their futures, and she hope to create a better future
through her work on the Alaska State Board of Education & Early
Development. She related that she has been married for eight
years, they have two children, one is in second grade and the
other child is in kindergarten at June Nelson Elementary School.
Both of her children were students at the Nikaitchuat Ilisagviat
Inupiaq Immersion School, and have since aged out and are
attending June Nelson Elementary School. Her children
participated in the 21st Century Community Learning Center
Spelling Bee this year and the Battle of the Books just ended.
Ms. Scott advised that she is a 2003 graduate of Colony High
School in Palmer, she attended both rural and urban schools, and
spent some of her elementary years at the Kotzebue Elementary
School. In a former life, she offered that she worked in
government affairs for NANA Regional Corporation and its
business arm, NANA Development Corporation, which is where she
learned to follow and analyze legislation closely, specifically
examining its impacts to the shareholders of the NANA Region.
During that period, she also served on the Matanuska-Susitna
Borough School Board where she was first appointed to a vacancy
and was subsequently elected to that position the following
year. She said that some of her duties included: working on the
district's budget; performing a curriculum review; transitioning
through different bargaining units through collective
bargaining; worked with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly
on the Joint Committee on School Issues; and networked with the
Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB), which involved
flying into Juneau and advocating for students' interests in the
district and the state. Currently, she offered, she is a
registered nurse in the emergency department where she had spent
a few years as a technician, she also provides volunteer time at
the local Alaska Technical Center within the Health Occupations
Program; and she serves as a peer-mentor to nursing students and
pre-nursing students who have demonstrated an interest in
pursuing a career in nursing.
9:03:24 AM
MS. SCOTT explained that she would like to be on the Alaska
State Board of Education & Early Development in order to support
the main themes of the Alaska Education Challenge, increasing
student success, supporting responsible and reflective learners,
as well as cultivating safety and well-being amongst Alaskan
students. She said that in working in the emergency department
she is no stranger to some of the adverse childhood experiences
some Alaskan students are unfairly subjected. Through her work
as a nurse, she is aware of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and if a
child's physical needs are not met, such as food, shelter,
clothing, and safety, they cannot progress into higher tiers of
needs, such as love, belonging, self-esteem, and self-
actualization, which Maslow describes as being at the point in
which a person knows who they are and acts on those beliefs.
She noted that President James R. Johnsen, University of Alaska,
advised during a recent Board of Regents meeting, "Think about
your role on this board and what you can bring to it." She
pointed out that today is "World Down Syndrome Day" and this is
an opportunity to raise public awareness for a single global
voice advocating for the rights, inclusion, and well-being of
those with Down Syndrome.
9:05:33 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND commented that Ms. Scott, as an emergency nurse,
sees the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) on her
patients. The House Education Standing Committee and the House
Health and Social Services Standing Committee held 6.5 hours of
intense testimony and presentations from the two departments
that are working hard to capture, support, and educate Alaskan
children, which included asking mothers to look into their
family history 12 months before becoming pregnant. She related
that it is critical to pull all of these efforts together
through the Alaska Board of Education and Early Development and
through the Department of Health and Social Services to provide
critical services to Alaskan communities. The intent of these
two committees was to look at what was being done for Alaska's
youngest children in an effort to get them ready to learn when
they begin school. Although, wading through ACEs, other issues,
and issues children are exposed to in the womb and as newborns,
is difficult, she remarked.
9:07:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY noted that it is no small journey to
travel all the way from Kotzebue, and she thanked Ms. Scott for
her moving testimony. She said that she appreciates Ms. Scott's
background and experience in both urban and rural school
settings, and her children will more than likely thrive in their
public school due to being enrolled in an immersion program.
Clearly, she noted, everyone knows that nursing is not for the
faint of heart with the long hours and days, and Ms. Scott is a
mother who cares about the future of Alaskan children and is
willing to step forward, she related,
9:08:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ offered that in listening to Ms.
Scott's testimony, another real element of expertise and value
that she will bring to the board is her knowledge and experience
with her children's language immersion school and program. The
importance of the role of language and the preservation of a
culture is well known, together with the importance that the
preservation of daily living our culture is in helping Alaskans
achieve some of that higher self-actualization, satisfaction,
and confidence, of which Alaska's schools have not always
supported. She stressed that this knowledge will be a real
asset to the board as legislators try to understand and
integrate language into Alaska's public school system statewide.
She said she is excited about Ms. Scott's nomination
appointment.
9:10:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON (audio difficulties) requested Ms.
Scott's perspective on the Alaska Education Challenge and
whether she plans to participate in that transformation.
MS. SCOTT responded that she worked with the two Elders who
happen to be her Godparents, who were part of the movement to
establish and create the Nikaitchuat Ilisagviat Inupiaq
Immersion School. She related that her duty and responsibility
on the board is to participate fully and make sure there are
proper consultations and collaborations with the stakeholders
who have done so much over decades to help bring the state to
this point for its students, not only in her region, but
throughout the entire state. She said she looks forward to the
tribal community ownership portion of the Alaska Education
Challenge.
9:11:45 AM'
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON requested the status of Camp Sivu.
MS. SCOTT opined that due to some trying financial times with
Nanna Regional Corporation, she does not believe Camp
Sivunniiqvik has taken place during the past few years.
Although, making up for that problem, there have been other
private and public moves throughout the school district camps to
get students, as well as those who have moved into the region,
out to culture camps. The Villages of Noatak and Kiana have
provided some camps, so while Camp Sivunniiqvik might not be a
consistent opportunity every year, others have stepped in to
help meet the needs, she explained.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON commented that she hopes something will
transpire because it is a beautiful spot.
9:13:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH advised that the House Education Standing
Committee has reviewed the qualifications of the governor's
appointees and recommends that the names: Steven Joey Sweet, as
appointee to the University of Alaska Board of Regents Student
Representative, and Tiffany Scott, as appointee to the Alaska
State Board of Education & Early Development, be forwarded to a
joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives for
consideration. This does not reflect intent by any of the
members to vote for or against these individuals during any
further sessions for the purposes of confirmation.
9:13:54 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:13 a.m.