Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
04/09/2018 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Presentation: Alaska Council of School Administrators | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 9, 2018
8:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator John Coghill
Senator Tom Begich
Senator Shelley Hughes
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Harriet Drummond, Chair
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative David Talerico
Representative Justin Parish, Vice Chair (via teleconference)
MEMBERS ABSENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Cathy Giessel
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Jennifer Johnston
Representative Lora Reinbold
Representative Geran Tarr
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: ALASKA COUNCIL OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director
Alaska Council of School Administrators
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced the Alaska Council of School
Administrators Presentation.
DEANNA BECK, President
Alaska Council of School Administrators and Alaska Association
of Elementary School Principals;
Principal
Northwood ABC Elementary
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
ASHLEY PIERSON, Ph.D., Senior Researcher
Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest
Portland, Oregon
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
STEVE ATWATER, Ph.D., Interim Dean
School of Education
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
KAREN GABORIK, President
Alaska Superintendents Association;
Superintendent
Fairbanks School District
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
DAN CARSTENS, President
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals;
Principal
Nikiski Middle/High School
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
CASSEE OLIN, President
Alaska Association of School Business Officials;
Business Manager
Sitka School District
Sitka, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
KATHY BLANC, Program Administrator
Alaska Staff Development Network
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
TAMMY MORRIS, Facilitator
Alaska Staff Development Network
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
DR. MONICA GOYETTE, Superintendent
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified for Alaska Council of School
Administrators.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:01:04 AM
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the joint meeting of the Senate and
House Education Standing Committees to order at 8:01 a.m.
Present at the call to order were Senators Begich, Hughes, and
Chair Stevens and Representatives Talerico, Kopp, Zulkosky,
Parish (via teleconference) and Chair Drummond. Representative
Spohnholz arrived shortly thereafter.
^Presentation: Alaska Council of School Administrators
PRESENTATION: ALASKA COUNCIL OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
8:01:50 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced the Presentation by the Alaska Council
of School Administrators.
8:02:25 AM
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director, Alaska Council of
School Administrators, introduced the Alaska Council of School
Administrators Presentation. She said the council was pleased to
be able to present some of the wonderful things happening in
education as well as some of the challenges.
8:03:58 AM
DEANNA BECK, President, Alaska Council of School Administrators
and Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals;
Principal, Northwood ABC Elementary, presented for Alaska
Council of School Administrators. She said the Alaska Council of
School Administrators (ACSA) has repurposed its mission to focus
on unity. They have collaborated on many projects, including
advocating for education at state and federal levels, working
with the Department of Education and Early Development on the
Alaska Education Challenge and Every Student Succeeds Act
accountability plan, creating the League of Alaska Educator
Innovators, and creating joint position statements. When most
people think of education, they usually think of academics,
reading, writing, and arithmetic, but education of the future is
so much more. One reality today is that children are coming to
school with adversity.
8:05:20 AM
MS. BECK reported that two-fifths of incoming kindergarteners
have experienced trauma in the categories of abuse, neglect, or
household dysfunction. By middle school, over 50 percent are
survivors of trauma. The impact of trauma and adversity are in
every classroom in Alaska. Students often have roadblocks to
learning because they are stuck in the lowest levels of Maslow's
hierarchy of needs, physiological and social needs. The best
inoculation is providing children with stability with
consistent, caring adults. These can be educators. They need to
do their part to ensure that every educator is provided the
tools and knowledge to support Alaska's children. Alaska does
not have counselors in most schools. The turnover rate for
Alaska's principals is 26 percent. Without consistent
leadership, school staff cannot follow through on long-term
plans and schools see increased teacher turnover. This also
means students are not provided with consistent, stable adults.
At the end of the day, if they are unable to meet the needs of
children, the entire generation suffers.
8:07:06 AM
MS. BECK said if they want a future with healthy and productive
adults, they need to help children overcome adversity now and
surround them with consistent, caring adults. She asked the
committee to invest in education now.
8:07:36 AM
ASHLEY PIERSON, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Regional Educational
Laboratory Northwest, presented for Alaska Council of School
Administrators. She announced that she and Dr. Atwater would be
talking about educator retention and recruitment--the Alaska
landscape and strategies.
8:08:05 AM
DR. PIERSON said that she and Dr. Atwater work together through
the Alaska State Policy Research Alliance (ASPRA). ASPRA's goal
is to produce and share evidence on Alaska education issues. She
presented figures for the Educator Landscape 2017-2018:
• 130,000 students
• 8,000 teachers
o 700 new to profession/Alaska
• 400 principals
o 70 new to profession/Alaska
• 54 superintendents
o 53 districts and Mt. Edgecumbe
8:09:20 AM
DR. PIERSON defined retention as the number of educators who
stayed at a school/district divided by the total number of
educators. Alaska's regions were defined as follows:
Rural/Urban Classifications:
• Urban (on-and off-road)
-e.g., Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau
• Urban/rural fringe (on-and off-road)
-e.g., Palmer, Seward, Sitka
• Rural hub/fringe (on-and off-road)
-e.g., Bethel, Healy, Unalaska
• Rural remote (off-road)
-e.g., Adak, Arctic Village, Yakutat
8:10:41 AM
DR. PIERSON reported that in 2017-2018 75 percent of principals
were retained. This is similar for teachers at 78 percent.
Principal and teacher retention rates have been steady over
time, which does not mean there are no issues with retention.
8:11:49 AM
DR. PIERSON stated that rural remote schools had the lowest
retention among principals and teachers. This is true across the
country. In urban areas, 88 percent of principals and 80 percent
of teachers were retained in 2017-2018. In rural remote schools,
61 percent of principals and 64 percent of teachers were
retained. Less than two-thirds of educators were retained in
rural remote schools. Those districts have to spend more
resources on teacher recruitment. Center for Alaska Education
Policy Research (CAEPR) research estimated that teacher turnover
cost $20,400 for each teacher. Teacher turnover is also
detrimental to student learning.
8:13:22 AM
DR. PIERSON reported that for district retention rates, teacher
and principal retention rates are linked. National studies show
that stable principals result in lower teacher turnover.
Principal stability is linked to higher student achievement.
8:14:44 AM
DR. PEIERSON reported that 72 percent of districts had
superintendent turnover in the last five years. Nationally, the
average tenure for superintendents is three to four years.
8:15:06 AM
DR. PIERSON gave the following as future research topics:
• Updating and expanding landscape numbers
• Working with researchers statewide to ensure coherence
• Exploring questions such as:
o What school and district characteristics are
associated with higher retention?
o What is the relationship among superintendent,
principal, and teacher turnover in Alaska?
STEVE ATWATER, Ph.D., Interim Dean, School of Education,
University of Alaska Fairbanks, presented for Alaska Council of
School Administrators. He said University of Alaska (UA)
President Jim Johnsen has worked to make a stronger relationship
between the university and K-12. The university is not involved
with the operations of K-12, but they are engaged with helping
the K-12 system succeed. The strategic pathways involved
rethinking the way the university prepares teachers. As a
result, the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) College of
Education was made the lead college. He will become the
executive dean of the college in July 1.
8:16:57 AM
SENATOR COGHILL arrived.
8:17:09 AM
DR. ATWATER said the university will retain education units at
the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and the University of
Alaska Anchorage (UAA). They are working with school districts
in an effort to increase the number of paraprofessionals
pursuing teacher licensure.
DR. ATWATER said one result of this change will be an increased
level of collaboration among the three education units so that
they operate more cohesively. They will be aligning processes to
eliminate redundancy. For example, in the past the placement of
student interns in rural Alaska was done independently by the
three schools. Sometimes supervising personnel would find out in
the Bethel airport that they were flying out to do the same
function in villages close by. Also, there will be a common
effort to recruit students. A dire need exists to have more
teachers and the University of Alaska will be playing a lead
role with that.
8:18:42 AM
DR. ATWATER reported that UA graduates are in the high 30s in
the percentage of new teachers hired in Alaska each year.
President Johnsen has set a goal that by 2025, UA will prepare
90 percent of new teachers hired in Alaska each year. UA-
prepared teachers stay longer. Their retention rate is higher.
As more teachers stay in the profession, fewer new teachers are
needed.
8:19:52 AM
DR. ATWATER shared that one of the things they are most proud of
regarding preparing more teachers is Educators Rising at UAF,
designed to steer high school students to the teaching
profession. Educators Rising is a national organization with
chapters all across the country. Alaska was one of first states
to become a state-level chapter.
8:20:47 AM
DR. ATWATER said that Educators Rising Alaska is a career
pathway to teaching. Educators Rising high school graduates can
enroll at UA or begin work as paraprofessionals.
8:22:09 AM
DR. ATWATER said that Educators Rising is housed in the UAF K-12
Outreach Office. The program has 160 high school students. They
need bigger numbers. Not all 160 will become teachers. Alaska
desperately needs to prepare 400 to 500 teachers every year;
right now the number is around 200 to 250. It is one way to fill
the pipeline, but it is not the only answer.
8:23:40 AM
DR. ATWATER presented four strategies to increase retention:
• Grow your own staff and leadership
• Create incentives to stay in contracts
• Improve on boarding for new employees
• Encourage networks within and across districts
8:24:37 AM
DR. ATWATER spoke on making the teaching profession more
appealing through social esteem, compensation, and job
satisfaction. This is on everyone's shoulders, not just the
university's.
8:25:53 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said that this and several past legislatures have
been concerned about teacher education. He is pleased that [UA
President] Dr. Johnsen is moving ahead on that.
8:26:29 AM
KAREN GABORIK, President, Alaska Superintendents Association;
Superintendent, Fairbanks School District, presented for Alaska
Council of School Administrators. She reported that the
Superintendents Association has done a great to promote
collaboration among school districts. The goals are to share
resources and to leverage people and funding to more effectively
manage resources. Many superintendents have established regional
groups that meet at least quarterly around the topics of
effective district management and effective superintendent
leadership. They supported the commissioner [Dr. Michael
Johnson] of the Department of Education and Early Development
(DEED) with the Alaska Education Challenge. The dialogue
continues. Superintendents have had regional meetings with the
commissioner to discuss strategies for moving forward with the
commitments for the Alaska Education Challenge and a whole host
of topics including bandwidth and connectivity, effective
distance education, implementation of the Every Student Succeeds
Act (ESSA), and the annual PEAKS [Performance Evaluation for
Alaska's Schools] testing.
8:28:25 AM
DR. GABORIK said districts have cross walked their own strategic
plans with the Alaska Education Challenge. The cuts to DEED are
a concern to superintendents because of the decline in DEED's
capacity to support school districts. DEED has changed from a
department able to support school districts to one focusing on
monitoring compliance to one that is unable to even monitor
compliance effectively. Her district feels that this failure to
allocate people and time to the department diminishes DEED. That
is the cost of almost continually downsizing the department--an
almost complete inability of DEED to support Alaska educators.
If Alaskan legislators truly want to effect change in public
education they must support the department tasked with leading
that change.
8:30:03 AM
DR. GABORIK said her organization is concerned about
superintendent turnover. This spring, the turnover rate is
almost 25 percent for next year. Someone like her, who is
finishing her fourth year as a superintendent, is considered an
experienced superintendent in this state. Success has become
about survival, not effective leadership.
8:30:54 AM
DR. GABORIK said the turnover of teachers in districts is
sometimes, at a localized level, more extreme than the data they
saw. Recruitment and retention of teachers is difficult due to a
number of factors, including the economic uncertainty, the state
of the retirement system, the geographic challenges with living
in Alaska, and the high cost of living. She is stunned to hear
stories from her colleagues of teacher turnover rates of 50
percent or higher. That makes it impossible to meet the needs of
kids.
8:31:52 AM
DR. GABORIK encouraged the legislators to use any mechanism
available to stabilize the education environment in the state.
Superintendents appreciate their attention to full education
funding, securing education funding early, the retiree rehire
bill [SB 185], and bandwidth needs in rural Alaska. She called
their attention to the joint position statement in their
packets.
8:32:39 AM
DAN CARSTENS, President, Alaska Association of Secondary School
Principals; Principal, Nikiski Middle/High School, Kenai
Peninsula Borough School District, presented for Alaska Council
of School Administrators. He said he is a product of public
schools and has children who are in public schools or have
graduated from them. He believes in the public school system. He
has been in his building 13 years. Principal stability is linked
to student achievement and less teacher turnover.
8:34:08 AM
MR. CARSTENS said one in four principals is gone every year.
Consistency is important. It is an extremely difficult position
with many complex mandates and requirements. The principals are
taking it upon themselves to have a unified vision. The
principal associations are working on a mentor program to
support new principals no matter where they are in Alaska. It is
a large time commitment, but they will make that commitment.
8:35:50 AM
MR CARSTENS said a long-term fiscal plan would be ideal. To be
able to offer timely contracts would lead to consistency. Last
year non-tenured contracts were offered in May. The retiree
rehire bill [SB 185] would be another option to deal with
teacher shortages. Special education is always difficult to
fill. He asked the committee to support adequate funding of
education. Principals need to know what kind of funding they
will have. Last year he was still hiring in July. Hiring that
late causes class schedules to shift.
8:37:36 AM
MR. CARSTENS related that he was recreating schedules in August
that should have been done in April. With early funding they can
prepare those dynamic lessons for students. With adequate and
timely funding they can create the premier system because they
will not lose people. It takes everyone with a unified vision
and voice to raise and educate a child.
8:39:02 AM
CASSEE OLIN, President, Alaska Association of School Business
Officials; Business Manager, Sitka School District, presented
for Alaska Council of School Administrators. She described the
Alaska Association of School Business Officials (ALASBO) as the
professional association of school business management
officials. They are the K-12 staff who deal with the dollars in
a school district. ALASBO has over 175 members consisting of
chief financial officers, business managers, human resources
directors, superintendents, food service directors, maintenance
directors, accountants, and many other positions. ALASBO
coordinated the state chart of accounts review with DEED's
School Finance Division. An updated chart of accounts allows
school districts to report their financial results with better
consistency and ensures compliance with federal mandates.
8:40:16 AM
MS. OLIN said a committee came together to work on a standard
operating procedures manual, which will be especially useful for
small districts. ALASBO provides numerous training
opportunities.
8:42:05 AM
MS. OLIN said ALASBO has felt the crunch of the state's fiscal
crisis. School districts are having trouble filling school
business positions around the state. Districts are unable to
offer competitive pay and benefit packages. At the same time,
the budget crunch results in high stress levels for their
members. For years ALESBO has been advocating for a fiscal plan
that will decrease the uncertainty of the K-12 funding cycle.
They also advocate for non-fiscal action to reduce costs, such
as worker compensation reform and reigning in the high cost of
health care. ALASBO is an important organization for members
spread out so far across the state. They are proud of the way
they work together to support the efficiency and professionalism
of school districts.
8:43:23 AM
KATHY BLANC, Program Administrator, Alaska Staff Development
Network, presented for Alaska Council of School Administrators.
She reported that the Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN)
has been working on the Alaska Professional Learning Network
(AkPLN), for two years.
TAMMY MORRIS, Facilitator, Alaska Staff Development Network,
presented for Alaska Council of School Administrators. She
shared that she has been an Alaskan educator for 32 years. She
explained that AkPLN is an online space for professional
learning and growth. Membership for all Alaska educators is at
no cost through ASDN and the Alaska Council of School
Administrators with support of Title II federal funds from DEED.
The feeling of isolation is one reason Alaska educators leave.
AkPLN reduces the feeling of isolation because it helps build
connections and increases collaboration in professional learning
among teachers and leaders throughout the state.
8:45:36 AM
MS MORRIS said that on AkPLN, educators can watch videos of
effective teaching, gain ideas for lessons, view new teaching
strategies, and participate in online classes. They can create
or join groups to connect with other teachers across Alaska. So
many teachers are isolated. Many sites have only one secondary
math teacher, for example. This increases teacher retention and
their effectiveness. Educators can get modern, personalized
professional learning from anywhere.
8:47:21 AM
MS. MORRIS said that AkPLN supports in-depth study of and
instructional strategies for Alaska state standards. AkPLN has
more than 50 learning plans and more are being built. It offers
learning opportunities that align with 21st century learning
modes and exemplifies research-based, effective teacher
professional development.
8:48:28 AM
MS. MORRIS reported that AkPLN is in its second year. It has
seen steady growth and now has over 1,200 members.
8:50:51 AM
SENATOR BEGICH noted that part of the Moore [vs. Alaska] lawsuit
relied upon DEED providing support. Dr. Gaborik made specific
comments about DEED not providing that level of support and not
even being able to be a compliance entity. He wants to know what
aspects of DEED need to be reinforced so that DEED can support
districts. He pointed out that the Senate has proposed flat
funding for this year and next. He asked for superintendents'
reactions to that.
8:52:08 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND said that in her six years in this position, DEED
has gone from 400 employees to under 300, more than a 25 percent
cut in capacity. As a former school board member, she has heard
about the same issues every year. She appreciates the
reinforcement. She wishes the House had truly forward funded
education. That is a political problem than needs to be worked
out.
8:53:20 AM
DR. MONICA GOYETTE, Superintendent, Matanuska-Susitna Borough
School District, testified for Alaska Council of School
Administrators. She responded that she hoped that DEED
Commissioner Michael Johnson would weigh in on Senator Begich's
question. She has noticed that in the past, DEED had more people
who were experts in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
They could be called on for help in developing district plans.
People are stretched so thin they just respond to complaints.
That answer does not do the question justice. In terms of the
flat funding, staff costs and health insurance go up. The budget
for Mat-Su is about $250 million.
8:54:35 AM
DR. GOYETTE said that health insurance is going up eight to 11
percent. Health insurance is the second largest cost driver.
They spend about $40 million a year on it. For them, flat
funding means a $7 million deficit compared to this year. Flat
funding means an increase in the student-teacher ratio. Next
year they will be looking at a 33:1 ratio in high school.
8:55:33 AM
SENATOR BEGICH pointed out that the Moore lawsuit and
performance audits reinforce that if DEED is not meeting its
constitutional obligations, the legislature is obligated to fund
the department. He is hearing that that is not happening, and
that flat funding leads to cuts.
8:56:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY referred to the university's desire to
prepare Alaskan teachers. She asked Dr. Atwater if he had a
sense of how many secondary students want to go into education
and what factors might make them want to be teachers.
8:57:02 AM
DR. ATWATER said he does not have that information, but
districts conduct surveys each year and perhaps could compile
that information. Educators Rising is increasing that interest.
Most graduates want jobs that will pay them well. Teaching often
is not viewed that way. That is why the social esteem of
teachers must increase. Based on their enrollment across the
system, it is relatively low. At career fairs for high school
students, his table is not visited very often. The engineering
and business management tables draw students.
8:59:08 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked Dr. Atwater what he needs from the
legislature to make Educators Rising successful.
8:59:14 AM
DR. ATWATER answered that he needs awareness that this is
happening. The majority of funding for Educator Rising is soft
money that the university has secured through grants.
9:00:09 AM
SENATOR HUGHES noted that Dr. Atwater said 400 to 500 teachers
are needed per year with 160 students in Educators Rising. She
asked if he has a goal to target, say 800 or 900 students, by a
certain year.
9:00:38 AM
DR. ATWATER responded that part of the strategy is not only to
look at high school students but to look outside of the
traditional mode at people who want a career change. Targeting
only high school students would make it more difficult to reach
that number. It's going to be difficult no matter what they do,
but they will be casting their nets more broadly than high
school.
9:01:16 AM
SENATOR HUGHES commented on how rising health care costs are
impacting districts. Cordova School District mentioned that 18
percent of their budget is going to health care. As legislators,
their emphasis should be on lowering health care costs because
it is impacting dollars that should be going into the classroom.
9:02:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked Dr. Atwater for more details about
paraeducator support to grow staff and leadership.
9:02:40 AM
DR. ATWATER said all three UA campuses have relationships with
school districts to support paraeducators being enrolled in
teacher preparation programs. The Lower Kuskokwim School
District is investing hard dollars for paraprofessionals to
become teachers. When paraprofessionals reach their senior year,
which is the internship for student teaching, they get paid
their salary while they go to school. This is the best example.
The Lower Kuskokwim is a large district with the resources to do
that. Not all districts have the available resources. They work
very closely with school districts, Bering Strait, St. Mary's,
Kuspuk, Southwest Region, to help paraprofessionals begin that
trail. The downside of the paraprofessional route is that it is
often very long. It takes years if someone is only taking one or
two classes a semester. It will not funnel hundreds into the
profession. It is a piece of the puzzle.
9:04:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH said he would like to know if there is a
difference in average career length or turnover in any year
based on membership in TRS Tiers I and II, the defined benefits
systems, and TRS Tier III, the defined contributions system.
9:05:32 AM
DR. PIERSON responded that they have not investigated that
issue. It is an important question. The data on staffing and
retention is not currently connected to the tiers.
9:06:14 AM
DR. ATWATER said the Tier I educators have been eligible to
retire a long time and 1990 was the first year of Tier II. He
has not seen data on teachers in Tier III. The assumption is
that they will walk after five years when they are eligible to
take their money, but he doesn't think there is a consistent
response. He may ask the legislature to help support a study of
that next year. An education economist at the Institute of
Social and Economic Research (ISER) wants to study this. Once
upon a time, Alaska's retirement system was a draw to bring
teachers to this this state. Tier III does not have that level
of allure. Recruiting teachers from out of state, which they
depend upon, is harder all the time.
9:07:47 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said that one of the most revealing slides was
about how leadership matters in the retention of principals and
teachers. He asked if that is a national trend.
9:08:06 AM
DR. PIERSON responded that Alaska follows national trends across
the board with the link between principal stability and teacher
stability.
9:08:28 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND added that in Anchorage they used to say that
principals had seven to eight years in a school maximum. Marcus
Wilson was the principal at the school in her neighborhood where
her kids went. He stayed at North Star Elementary well beyond
seven years. After he left there was a 100 percent turnover of
teachers at that school. She asked what they could to do to
encourage people to stay as long as possible, beyond the average
tenure, and encourage districts not to move successful
principals.
9:09:49 AM
DR. PIERSON answered that in terms of mitigating the negative
impact of turnover, institutional knowledge can be kept through
onboarding processes and providing additional stability through
planned departure, if possible. There will always be turnover,
but some actions can be taken to mitigate those negative
impacts.
9:10:43 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND said she would appreciate seeing that made part
of the philosophy at the legislature going forward. She noted
that early in the presentation they learned that two-fifths of
kindergarteners enter school with ACEs (Adverse Childhood
Experiences). She said that tells us that we owe those kids a
stable, successful platform from which to launch their lives.
9:11:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH noted the Educators Rising academy in
Fairbanks and a conference in Anchorage. He asked what was being
done for communities not on the Railbelt.
9:12:13 AM
DR. ATWATER answered that the students at those events are from
all over the state. They have funds to help with travel. There
is a strong presence from Ketchikan. Ketchikan is a leader with
Educators Rising.
9:13:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked what was being done with the lead
education campus, the University of Alaska Southeast.
9:13:31 AM
DR. ATWATER said that will formally commence July 1.
9:13:59 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND said she appreciated the presentation. Same
story, new characters. They have to do better.
9:15:01 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Drummond adjourned the Senate and House Education Standing
Committees at 9:15 a.m.
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