Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
03/01/2021 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Delegating Duties under as 24.08.060(a) | |
| SB8 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 8 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 8-PRE-K/ELEM ED PROGRAMS/FUNDING; READING
9:09:29 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 8
"An Act relating to early education programs provided by school
districts; relating to school age eligibility; relating to
funding for early education programs; establishing early
education programs and a voluntary parent program; relating to
the duties of the Department of Education and Early Development;
relating to certification of teachers; establishing a reading
intervention program for public school students enrolled in
grades kindergarten through three; establishing a reading
program in the Department of Education and Early Development;
establishing a teacher retention working group; and providing
for an effective date."
He stated his intent to hear invited and public testimony and to
hold the bill in committee. He invited bill sponsor Senator
Begich to the table.
9:10:05 AM
SENATOR BEGICH stated that SB 8 deals with three components of
education to help build successful citizens for the state: 1)
high-quality voluntary early education, 2) high-quality reading,
and 3) substantive support from DEED to ensure that teachers are
prepped and ready. He said these elements are critically
intertwined, and in combination provide the chance of moving
education and policy forward.
SENATOR BEGICH referenced the massive alcohol bill that Senate
President [Senator Micciche] has shepherded for nearly a decade.
He said one common attribute between that bill and SB 8 is they
both build on the previous work. Whether it is this version of
SB 8 or a modified version SB 42, whatever bill comes from this
committee must be the product of hundreds of hours already
invested in this process by the administration, professionals in
the field, parents, and teachers, all of whom have been working
on the bill. The role of this policy committee is to set
policies in statute that are necessary to achieve success. The
ability to do that and establish a legacy for education is
something the committee has struggled with. If the committee
does less than that as a policy committee, it is doing less than
it could for kids and parents. Members can dispute the fiscal
issues around the bill, but their job is not to worry about the
cost now but about the policy and whether it will or will not
succeed. Whether it is SB 8 or SB 42 or a committee substitute
for either, what matters is that the policy the committee
produces is one that parents, teachers, or superintendents can
stand up and say, that is going to change things. The state is
in last place [on the National Assessment of Educational
Progress] and cannot stay in last place. It is not fair to the
children or parents or professionals. He won't agree with
everything the committee will hear today from the testifiers,
but it takes a group who actually have to get their fingers
dirty in this work to make good policy.
9:14:51 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND began invited testimony.
9:15:10 AM
TOM KLAAMEYER, President, National Education Association of
Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, thanked Senator Begich and Governor
Dunleavy for focusing their efforts on the fundamental skill of
reading, which began last legislative season. He noted that
Senator Stevens and Senator Hughes have also been leaders
focused on reading. He recognized DEED Commissioner Johnson for
his continued engagement. SB 8 represents the input and
collaboration of hundreds if not thousands of Alaskans working
together, he said. From the perspective of educators, this bill
represents the best of what is possible when legislators, the
department, and stakeholders all work together to craft
evidence-based policy that puts students and student learning
first.
MR. KLAAMEYER said that as a social studies teacher and former
Air Force member, it pleases him that this is a model of civic
engagement. He wanted to frame the conversation and convey how
extensive this process has been. It began before work on the
bill with Commissioner Johnson's leadership in convening the
Alaska Education Challenge (AEC). According to long-time
education policy observes, the AEC was the largest, most
effective convening of stakeholders, parents, educators,
administrators, and policy makers. Members of this committee
members were part of the AEC. For the first time in many years,
all hands were on deck focused on improving student outcomes. SB
8 arguably addresses all five priorities from AEC and at least
three of these directly:
• Close the achievement gap by ensuring equitable educational
rigor and resources;
• Improve the safety and well-being of students through school
partnerships with families, communities, and tribes; and
• Support all students to read at grade level by the end of third
grade
9:18:25 AM
MR. KLAAMEYER quoted the following excerpt from the AEC
document: "Research suggests that school readiness at an early
age is one critical strategy for improving future student
outcomes and closing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic achievement
gaps." If the state is serious about improving reading
proficiency by third grade, it must increase access to
voluntary, prekindergarten education by making it available to
students who need it most. The collaborative effort of the AEC
crystallized into legislation last year. Many from all across
Alaska worked together to craft policy language that puts
students first. This was a collective and deliberative effort,
and the policies detailed in SB 8 represent that collective
effort. Educators felt they were heard, respected, and consulted
in the policy-making process. A quality reading program is a
good start. Sound pedagogy and best practices in reading
instruction is essential and appropriate interventions and
support for students is also necessary. These are all included
in the bill. Alaska educators know any effort to improve reading
and student outcomes must begin with enhanced early learning
opportunities. Alaska is one of only a handful of states that
does not offer statewide, voluntary pre-K education. In
comparison, states that have been cited as reading successes
such as Florida and Mississippi, do offer voluntary, early
childhood education programs.
9:20:28 AM
MR. KLAAMEYER stated that there is a critical and obvious
connection between high-quality, early learning opportunities
and improved student outcomes. The research is definitive in its
findings that these students not only become more proficient
readers but because reading is such a fundamental skill for
knowledge acquisition, their success extends into other academic
areas as well. The gains persist far beyond the early years.
These students are more likely to be successful as adults and
live as more productive citizens. High-quality, culturally
responsive pre-K programs aligned with kindergarten standards
help provide a strong foundation for prereading and school
readiness skills, including academic and nonacademic. Examples
of nonacademic skills are social and emotional competency and
self-regulation. It also allows for early identification of
learning difficulties and subsequently earlier interventions for
specials-needs students, students who are struggling, and
English language learners. This helps students get on track by
third grade.
MR. KLAAMEYER reported that many students who are reading well
by third grade typically are from affluent homes with a strong
support network of parents and other adults. It has been shown
that students who are read to regularly have a million-word
reading advantage by the time they enter kindergarten compared
to those who are not read to. These children are
disproportionately from economically disadvantaged households
and are disproportionately students of color. This is why a
publicly funded, statewide early education program is so
important. According to a report from the All Alaska Pediatric
Partnership published last year, depending on where young
children live in the state, there may be few resources in their
communities to meet needs for healthcare, nutritious food,
family supports, early interventions, and early childhood
education. They may be more likely to live in poverty. He was
shocked to learn that 36 percent of young children in Alaska,
from birth to age 8, live in poverty. That means that more than
a third of young Alaskans would likely benefit most from early
childhood education.
9:23:22 AM
MR. KLAAMEYER stated that through this investment, the state
better assures that students most in need get the support they
need to live up to the promise of public education in Alaska.
The Education Commission on the States cited a study from Nobel
laureate James Heckman who followed two generations of low-
income families whose children participated in high-quality,
early learning programs. These students were more likely to
graduate from high school, they had higher IQs, experienced
better overall health, and were less likely to be incarcerated
than their peers who did not experience high-quality, early
learning programs. These results held constant across
socioeconomic status and race. All of these factors led to
society paying less for these students later in life. Heckman
calculated the rate of return on investment at 13 percent per
year for every dollar invested in learning. The Education
Commission on the States also cited a 2016 report from Duke
University that indicated the impacts of early child education
programs can be seen through fifth grade. The study showed that
students in participated in state-funded, early education
programs in North Carolina scored higher on math and literacy
tests from third to fifth grade than their peers who did not
participate in high-quality pre-K. Schools were less likely to
retain those students in third through fifth grade and they were
less likely to need special ed services.
9:25:13 AM
MR. KLAAMEYER said that an Alabama study showed gains in early
education persisted at least until seventh grade. These studies
show that gains made in the pre-K space are fundamental to
student academic success and provide students an equitable entry
into education. Additional research shows additional,
significant, and measurable effects of a voluntary, high-quality
publicly funded prekindergarten education on the economy and
crime reduction. Economist Robert G. Lynch found that investment
in high-quality prekindergarten programs generates billions of
dollars in economic benefit.
MR. KLAAMEYER said educators agree on that investments in high-
quality pre-K programs will lead to improved outcomes. The state
has an obligation to offer those opportunities to students who
need them most. Alaska school districts with pilot pre-K
programs have shown improvements in outcomes in readiness. It is
long past time to extend these opportunities to students
statewide who need the support the most. SB 8 embodies the best
ideas and best efforts of years of careful collaboration. It is
the culmination of collective efforts of the entire education
community. It is a serious and sincere policy collaboration
between the governor, the Department of Education, legislators,
and stakeholders. If the state is serious about improving
outcomes for Alaskan students, the state must start with
voluntary, high-quality pre-K opportunities. Moving forward with
a bill without providing this early robust education program
could appear shortsighted in only a few years. That would be a
missed opportunity. SB 8 can have an impact on improving reading
for Alaskan students. He offered to provide copies of the
research he cited.
SENATOR BEGICH stated that he just read that there are 170,000
words in the English language. The million-word gap that has
been mentioned comes from an Ohio State University study that
says a child who has not gone through pre-K hears 1.5 million
fewer words and as a consequence doesn't develop vocabulary.
MR. KLAAMEYER thanked Senator Begich for citing the source. That
is what he meant. Those students have heard a million more words
in a structured way as a result of being read to.
9:29:03 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked him to send the chair the citations for
the data he referenced.
MR. KLAAMEYER agreed to do so.
9:29:52 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if his personal reading experience was in
pre-K.
MR. KLAAMEYER replied that he was an Air Force brat who moved a
lot, and both his parents worked. He attended early learning
programs part of his pre-K years, but his parents read to him
every day. When his father was stationed in Thailand at the end
of the Vietnam War, his dad recorded himself reading children's
books from Thailand.
9:31:31 AM
SENATOR HUGHES said a lot of the studies are looking at children
who go to preschool but haven't necessarily gone through a great
literacy program. She would agree with those studies that the
kids who had the advantage of pre-K did better, but many studies
show kids catch up regardless. If there is a fantastic literacy
program in a district, she asked how kids who did and did not go
to preschool would compare. That is where the research is
lacking. Those in the committee must consider the state's fiscal
picture. In the past, every child learned to read without pre-K.
Schools were strict about teaching children to read. She asked
if there are studies that look at fantastic literacy programs
and compare children who did and did not go to pre-K.
9:33:44 AM
SENATOR BEGICH said that a number of studies talk about the
integration of the two. The seminal work of the Heckman Perry
Preschool study identifies the relationship between
prekindergarten and a strong literacy program. A Tennessee study
shows a strong reading program without a strong pre-K did not
get a lot of success. When a universal pre-K program was
combined with a strong reading program, it worked. Oklahoma is
another example of that process. In Alaska, many urban and rural
students come to school as second language learners. State data
shows that the pre-K advantage has contributed to kids being
able to read in first grade. The pre-K boost gives them a better
ability to comprehend. Without a strong literacy program, a
number of studies have shown that the gains are lost; the two
work in tandem. Kids are prepped so they are able to learn. His
district has the largest minority population in an urban
district in Alaska. It is one of the most diversified districts
in the nation. In rural districts, the second language learners
need that pre-K preparation to succeed. The data demonstrates
this. He noted this data was in the committee packet.
9:36:13 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND recalled a Tennessee study of an $85 million a
year plan covering 18,000 students that showed that all the pre-
K advances were lost at the end of the first kindergarten year.
SENATOR HUGHES highlighted that Finland, Denmark, Sweden,
Singapore, and South Africa and some parts of Australia have
delayed starts and these older children learn readily when they
begin to read. She opined that this could be as much an
advantage as pre-K with no cost factor.
SENATOR BEGICH replied that Sweden, Finland, and Denmark also
have rates of 90 percent or more for early learning. He said the
Tennessee study caused that state to combine the two, which is
precisely why the bill was written the way it is. If high-
quality education is done without literacy, the gains are not
retained. If kids are not prepped to access high-quality
literacy education, they don't get the gains. He and others
spent literally hundreds of hours trying to develop what will
work for Alaska and its unique situations. There are first and
second language learners. There are kids in rural, urban, and
semiurban environments. The state must find the mix that works.
The AEC was not done to feel good but to do good. SB 8 builds on
all of that work. If the committee wants additional information
about what scientists have said about the impacts of early
education, he has additional research he can provide. He hopes
the committee has time to look at all of it. The most recent
study he has is a 2017 study on the impacts of early childhood
education on medium and long term educational outcomes. They
want to know if these things are retained over time. The entire
bill has been built on the available research. It includes not
just the Heckman study, which is ongoing and multigenerational,
but also the most recent research.
9:40:26 AM
KERRY BOYD, President, Alaska Superintendents Association,
Fairbanks, Alaska, said she has been the superintendent of the
Yukon Koyukuk School District for the last 14 years. The Alaska
Superintendents Association (ASA) has been closely reviewing and
studying SB 8 since last year, when it was SB 6. ASA members
have provided extensive feedback to the bill sponsor and the
commissioner of Education, including countless discussions that
led to improvements in the bill, which is widely accepted and
endorsed in the education community. ASA formally voted to
support SB 8. The extensive transparent and thorough vetting
process resulted in a good, nonpartisan bill with broad support.
The Alaska Reads Act provides districts with a solid reading
plan, continuity for areas of the state that have such a high
turnover, and clear expectations about what is expected of
reading programs. It is critical to expand access to high-
quality pre-K programs to all children and combining that with
an evidence-based reading program and intensive intervention for
struggling students provides the best opportunity to ensure
improved reading outcomes for Alaska students.
MS. BOYD said the support and resources from DEED, such as
professional development, intensive reading program specialists,
are exactly the kind of capacity-building necessary for DEED to
support school and students to ensure successful and effective
implementation of the reading program. Having a statewide
reading plan is what the state needs. According to the 2019
Alaska Developmental Profile, nearly 70 percent of Alaska
students enter kindergarten lacking foundational preparation for
learning. ASA supports the definition of elementary education to
include pre-K, thus ensuring equitable access to fully funded,
sustainable birth to age five learning programs. This provides a
foundation of critical social, emotional and cognitive
instruction to students. Research demonstrates early
intervention instruction is one of the best ways to decrease
opportunity gaps across all demographics create the greatest
opportunity for all students to learn to read proficiently by
third grade and to minimize dropout rates.
MS. BOYD said she heard some of the discussion about literacy
programs, which are essential for students. When students enter
school below where schools expect them to be, it makes it
difficult for teachers, who have to gravitate toward the mean
and spend more time getting students caught up to where they
need to be. Along with Governor Dunleavy, DEED Commissioner
Johnson, and bill sponsor Senator Begich, ASA supports adequate
early childhood education and pre-K funding as part of the Base
Student Allocation as outlined in the bill. Families, young
children, and early childhood educators in Alaska have
experienced the negative impacts associated with no pre-K funded
program for many years. She asked the committee to please move
forward with SB 8 with all its components. She added that she
had gone to a German preschool.
SENATOR BEGICH pointed out that the committee packet has an
article about how Tennessee is not giving up on pre-K.
9:45:16 AM
KYMYONA BURK, Ed.D., Early Literacy Policy Director, ExcelinEd,
Tallahassee, Florida said she led the implementation of
Mississippi's Literacy-Based Promotion Act from 2013 until 2019.
Her role at ExcelinEd is to support states that are passing or
developing early literacy policies and to support state chiefs
and state agency literacy leaders during the implementation of
the process.
DR. BURK said one thing often overlooked with Mississippi's
Literacy-Based Promotion Act is that at the same time the state
also passed an Early Learning Collaborative Act that focused on
pre-K. It was not funded nearly as much as the Literacy-Based
Promotion Act, but the focus was to create early learning
collaborative pilots that included either a Head Start agency or
a private or public early childhood program that collaborated
with a school district to ensure that four-year-olds were ready
to enter kindergarten.
DR. BURK said that she would talk about the components--Educator
Training, Coaching for Teachers, Early Identification, Parent
Communication, Individual Reading Plans, and Prevention over
Retention--shown on slide 2 that were included in the Literacy-
Based Promotion Act. Educator training was important because the
state had to develop a common language for reading instruction.
The state knew from experience and from being last in the nation
that the state's teacher preparatory programs weren't
necessarily preparing teachers how to teach reading to all
students, even students with reading challenges. The state
provided professional development in the science of reading for
K-3 teachers, special ed K-8 teachers, and elementary school
administrators. The state then invited reading professors from
institutions of higher learning to attend training as well.
Initially that didn't go over well. Many professors said they
didn't have the time for the rigorous training. A bill that
passed three years later included an elementary education
licensure exam in the science of reading. That is what got buy-
in with institutions of higher learning. They began to see
themselves in the outcomes of kindergarten-grade 3 students.
9:50:35 AM
DR. BURK said onsite coaching was the next critical piece.
Someone in the building could assist teachers with the transfer
of knowledge about teaching reading to the classroom. The
literacy coaches were onsite in the lowest performing schools
for the entire school year. They also coached administrators as
well. In Mississippi, an elementary school administrator doesn't
necessarily have elementary experience and needed to know how to
provide feedback to teachers on effective instruction.
DR. BURK said that early identification includes testing with
intention and universal screeners to do baseline testing to know
where students are at the beginning of the school year. Early
identification is key. For parent communication, parents had to
know they were partners. Her first two years consisted of public
relations. She went across the state having parent meetings. The
law was passed in 2013 with the retention piece, but that was
not going to go live for two years in 2015. The state had two
years to prove stakeholder that what the state was doing was
best for children. The state educated parents on good cause
exemptions and what types of reports parents should expect.
Parents had to be empowered to be part of the conversation and
notified often and early about their children's progress and
what the school was doing to address reading deficiencies.
9:53:28 AM
DR. BURK said the law was amended three years later in 2016 to
add individual reading plans. The state realized it had put into
law that students had to receive intensive interventions, but
didn't realize that the language of intensive intervention was
different across the state. The state fashioned its law on
Florida's individual reading plans to ensure accountability,
that teachers were providing interventions and progress
monitoring. With prevention over retention, Mississippi does
have retention but its focus was on prevention and intervention
rather than retention. Once students are identified early in the
year, schools know which students are at risk of failing. Then
the question is what schools are doing from August to April,
when state testing begins, to ensure students will be ready for
the final comprehensive assessment of students.
9:55:35 AM
DR. BURK displayed the Mississippi legislative appropriations on
slide 3, noting that the Promotion Act did not get a lot of
money. Some states appropriated $40 million in all these things.
Tennessee invested $100 million over the next few years in the
literacy law it just passed. In 2013, Mississippi legislature
appropriated $9.5 million for the first year. Since then, the
legislature provides an annual $15 million appropriation. The
largest priority for funding is 60 percent for literacy coaching
support. That includes salaries and space rentals to host
professional development. She always says Mississippi invested
more in people than programs. Seventeen percent of funds went to
professional development for K-3 teachers, K-8 special ed
teachers, and elementary administrators. Since spring of 2014,
14,000 educators and 38 reading professors have been trained.
Now Mississippi has extended professional development in the
science of reading to K-12 teachers. Some students in middle
school and high school are struggling readers and teachers don't
know how to address those deficiencies. Fifteen percent was for
the assessment system; school districts are reimbursed for their
screeners. Three percent went to K-3 literacy support.
Mississippi had some gaps at the state department and could not
support schools because the department was lacking personnel. It
had no Office of Early Childhood when the Early Learning
Collaborative Act and the Literacy-Based Promotion Act were
passed. Her position as literacy director K-3 became K-12 and an
Office of Intervention Services was created. These are not large
offices. The office may have been a director or director and one
other person. Mississippi had put 5 percent into summer reading
support grants. School districts could submit applications for
$50,000 per summer to host summer reading camps.
10:00:24 AM
DR. BURK presented slide 4, why a comprehensive state-led
approach. She said early literacy efforts yielded successful
"pilots" but did not advance sustainable statewide improvement.
The Barksdale Reading Institute is a partner to the Mississippi
Department of Education. In the year 2000 Jim Barksdale invested
$100 million into Mississippi over 10 years to support early
literacy efforts. The year 2000 is also when the National
Reading Panel report came out. Those efforts mirrored the
suggestions in the report. The Barksdale initiatives were pilots
in some of the lowest-performing districts. The National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores for Mississippi
were inconsistent. The pilot districts would have success for a
period of time but once the money and support were gone, would
fall into the same practices. It was not until 2013 when
Mississippi passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act that it
began to see gains and those gains have steadily increased over
the years. In 2019, Mississippi had the only [NAEP] reading
gains in nation, but it also had significant gains in 2015, two
years after the Literacy-Based Promotion Act passed and the year
retention went into place for third grade. This was the fourth
grade group that scored 214 in 2015. The former Mississippi
governor, Phil Bryant, said the Literacy-Based Promotion Act did
that for Mississippi. The state started training those teachers
when those students were in second grade. Those students had had
teachers trained in the science of reading. The current
Mississippi Superintendent of Education, Dr. Wright, says it is
a combination of the act, the adoption of college and career-
ready standards, and adoption of an assessment aligned to those
standards and just as rigorous as NAEP. That is when the state
began to see success and an increase in NAEP scale scores every
year. The state started in 2013 with literacy coaches in 50
schools (one coach in two schools). Now the state is up to about
75 coaches in 180 schools on a gradual release model. Schools
receive various levels of support depending on need.
10:04:53 AM
DR. BURK showed a graph on slide 5 of the 10-year gains in NAEP
scores in fourth and eighth grade for Mississippi. An unintended
consequence is that as scores in reading increased, the math
scores increased as well.
10:06:00 AM
SENATOR BEGICH referred to the components of the Literacy-Based
Promotion Act on slide 2, and highlighted that those are all
part of SB 8. Mississippi had to make adjustments, and Alaska
learned from that and incorporated in SB 8 many things she
described, such as individual reading plans, early assessments,
and multiple contacts with parents. She had mentioned the Early
Learning Collaborative Act, which he has some notes on. The 2019
report to the Mississippi legislature showed a general trend
that children who attended pre-K did better on tests than the
control groups. The report said that a closer look at those
sites with statistically significantly improvements could
provide valuable insights into what factors contributed to
positive results. To reinforce something Senator Hughes said
earlier, Mississippi is studying the impact and the close
relationships between early learning and this success. Some
reports are starting to show correlation. He asked her to
comment.
10:07:49 AM
DR. BURK said with the Early Learning Collaborative Act, the
legislature first appropriated $3 million per year. Now it is $6
million per year with a match from the Kellogg Foundation. The
early learning model mirrors the K-3 model with literacy
coaches, professional development, and a kindergarten readiness
assessment. Mississippi has done comparison of the data. After
the law was passed, one component was added to the student
information system about where kids went for pre-K. Mississippi
is now able to do comparison of preschool students in various
settings. All of the Mississippi data shows that students in the
early learning collaboratives are outperforming all other
students. The state superintendent is a fearless advocate of
early childhood education. Students are more prepared when they
get to kindergarten because of that early childhood experience
and the teachers are prepared to receive them because of their
training. The state data shows that students in the early
learning collaboratives are outperforming students from any
other entry way into kindergarten.
SENATOR BEGICH said the newest data shows that relationship, and
SB 8 has included all of those elements.
SENATOR HUGHES shared that she heard from Mississippi teachers
at an ExcelinEd conference that they were excited about the
turnaround in Mississippi. Dr. Burk mentioned that in 2013 the
legislature passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act with the
Collaborative Act. She asked what percentage of kids are in
public pre-K now compared to then. She noted that Dr. Burk
mentioned that there was no funding for the Collaborative Act.
DR. BURK replied there was funding with the Collaborative Act.
She doesn't have the percentage, but Mississippi has a low
percentage in pre-K. It does not have universal pre-K.
Mississippi has 18 state-funded early learning collaboratives.
Any other pre-K in Mississippi is funded through Title I by
districts that choose to offer it. The only state investment in
pre-K is through the early learning collaboratives. In 2014, the
legislature appropriated $3 million. It started with 11
collaboratives and now those are up to 18. She can send
information about how many four-year-olds are funded through the
early learning collaborative.
10:12:18 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked, to give a sense of perspective of
Mississippi funding for the Promotion Act and Collaborative Act,
what the K-12 population of Mississippi is. She shared that
Alaska has around 130,000 K-12 students.
DR. BURK replied she would send that information.
SENATOR HUGHES noted that Dr. Burk said that Mississippi had
trouble initially with its higher education institutions
training teachers. She shared that she was online with about a
dozen superintendents about a week ago and they were honest and
forthright about newly graduated teachers from the Alaska
university system. One campus is doing well but the other two
are not doing well with reading instruction. She asked Dr. Burk
if testing or a grade point average for reading instruction is
associated with the licensure requirement she mentioned.
DR. BURK explained that there is an assessment of the science of
reading called the Foundations of Reading exam. In addition to
the Praxis tests that preservice teachers take, there is a third
assessment, the Foundations of Reading, for the elementary
education license. In order to be licensed to teach in
elementary school, the cut score is 229. Mississippi is talking
about raising the score. Initially parents and families called
her at the Mississippi Department of Education to say their
children could not pass the test after spending the money for a
four-year education. When students cannot pass a test, it
catches the attention of parents who invested in a college
education. Mississippi began to offer trainings to not only
professors but preservice candidates as well. The department has
so many emails from students who said they were able to pass the
assessment after attending the training. That lends itself to a
conversation about what is going on in classes for teacher prep.
The state should not have to pay for training after preservice
teachers leave college when they should have received it during
regular teacher preparation programs. Mississippi has a higher
ed literacy council now. Barksdale Reading Institute is leading
an initiative with colleges of education where college reading
professors have a coach. The Kellogg foundation has invested in
that as well. That collaboration has been done without
legislation. It was that higher ed had accountability.
10:16:20 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if getting parents to work with and read
to their children was part of the program, because that would be
the most efficient use of state dollars.
DR. BURK answered that the early learning collaborative funded
parent academies such that there is an entire professional
development series for parents. School districts can send parent
liaisons or curriculum coordinators to trainings and then they
would host trainings in their districts for parents about ways
to support literacy at home. The Literacy-Based Promotion Act
has a strong parental component called the read-at-home plan. If
parents receive a universal screening report that says their
child has a deficit in a certain area, then here is a resource
to help with that deficiency. Mississippi informed parents and
also gave them resources. The individual reading plan must be
developed with parents. When there is talk about retention, the
parents want to know what they can do. She says at the end of
the day, there is enough accountability for everyone. Parents
and teachers all play a role.
SENATOR STEVENS asked what her early learning experience was.
10:21:05 AM
DR. BURK said she had a babysitter. Her mother and father were
educators. She watched a lot of Reading Rainbow and Sesame
Street. She did not have a formal prekindergarten experience,
but she had a strong kindergarten experience. Class sizes were
not as large as they are now.
CHAIR HOLLAND announced that public testimony would be heard at
a subsequent hearing.
10:22:08 AM
DR. DEENA BISHOP, Superintendent, Anchorage School District,
Anchorage, Alaska, stated her belief that the content of SB 8
with preschool access, evidence-based reading instruction, and a
focus on DEED's ability to support districts will be the most
important bill heard this legislative session. The future of the
state has a stronger relationship to what students can know and
be able to do now as well as 20 years from now than any singular
financial or social impact legislation. Her 31-year education
experience, including her time as superintendent of the largest
two school districts in Alaska, has brought the issue of student
reading outcomes front and center as a crisis. Alaska cannot
improve student achievement without a strong reading base.
Alaska is last in reading. The reading research is clear about
the science of reading. The premise of a successful business is
return on investment. Real dollars matter. Early literacy via
pre-K and strong reading instruction provides the best value for
the legislature's financial investment in schools. Research from
the Business Roundtable says that by embracing the science of
reading, the state will get return on investment by using policy
to ensure reading proficiency by third grade.
10:24:35 AM
DR. BISHOP emphasized that the legislature should not just say
it wants change. Change cannot be done without collective
investment in these policy steps. 1) Expand access to high-
quality pre-K learning. Some kids win the lottery when they are
born into families with resources for early learning. 2) Offer
high-quality kindergarten. The state scores high here because it
pays for full-day kindergarten. 3) Use data and assessment to
track progress. Alaska has the data and must use the data to
inform reading instruction. 4) Equip and train pre-K-3 educators
to be great reading instructors. The reading wars are over.
Science-based reading instruction in the five areas is critical.
Teachers must instruct students in phonemic awareness and
phonics 5) Require systematic intervention for struggling
readers. 6) Coordinate governance of pre-K and grades K-3 to
promote efficiencies and maximize impact. Strong state-level
leadership and administrative oversight are needed.
DR. BISHIP said SB 8 makes actionable additional steps needed to
produce significant changes in reading outcomes. This
legislation is essential.
10:27:34 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said he would carry on with his personal poll. He
asked about her personal pre-K experiences and how she become a
good reader.
DR. BISHOP replied that it didn't start out that way. Both her
parents worked. She was in a daycare preschool from the age of
two. She suffered with poor spelling because of learning whole
language at first.
SENATOR MICCICHE said he had lots of questions on this subject.
Since the committee is running short on time, he can put those
questions in an email to send to others who testified today.
10:28:50 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND apologized to other invited testifiers for the
lack of time and the over 20 people waiting to testify.
He held SB 8 in committee.