SCR 28: Relating to the innovative application of education technology tools to provide improved distance education programs in the state.
00 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 28 01 Relating to the innovative application of education technology tools to provide improved 02 distance education programs in the state. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS education technology is rapidly developing to provide managed student 05 access to unprecedented arrays of information on the Internet, including curricula, resource 06 and reference materials, search engines, world news, communication, calculations, tables, 07 definitions, and all student records; and 08 WHEREAS education technology is rapidly developing to economically provide 09 powerful teaching tools that are capable of generating individualized student learning plans, 10 supplemental and tutorial services, evaluations, communications, assignments, and learning 11 problem diagnostics that can be available on the Internet at any time, from any place in the 12 world, from any computer; and 13 WHEREAS education excellence is attainable by using a curriculum that encourages 14 student discovery, innovation, and proficiency as ways to avoid merely teaching to the test 15 and to prevent student boredom and teacher burnout; 16 WHEREAS, according to a 2003 United States Bureau of the Census report, the state
01 leads the nation at 68.5 percent of our households connected to the Internet; and 02 WHEREAS the federal, state, and local contributions averaged $10,114 for each 03 student enrolled in the state during the 2003-2004 school year; and 04 WHEREAS the state has the highest median cost for each student in the nation at 05 $16,665, reflecting the high cost of education in rural Alaska; and 06 WHEREAS 37 percent of Alaska schools have less than 100 students, and 24 percent 07 have less than 50 students, with many of the schools located in remote, rural settings; and 08 WHEREAS the results of the 2003 National Assessment of Education Progress, 09 which is the state's only national and ongoing assessment of student reading and mathematics 10 performance, reveals that performance is only at about 30 percent proficiency, which is at, or 11 below, the national average; and 12 WHEREAS increasing demands have been placed on rural education programs in the 13 state by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, including employment of highly qualified 14 teachers, provision of supplemental services, and the requirement to restructure districts and 15 to offer parental choice options; and 16 WHEREAS rural education challenges in the state include 17 (1) high teacher turnover rates; 18 (2) high costs of teacher housing; 19 (3) cultural differences between teachers and rural communities; 20 (4) the need to group a small number of students in small schools into 13 21 grade, ability, and interest levels; 22 (5) the difficulty of meeting the needs of isolated students with special needs 23 and gifts; and 24 (6) the difficulty of providing special interest curriculum such as Native 25 language education; and 26 WHEREAS public school facilities, employment needs, and related economic 27 considerations are valued critical components of rural Alaska communities; and 28 WHEREAS the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has 29 continued to improve statewide assessment tools in response to legislative intent that provides 30 an increasingly reliable measure of K-12 proficiency; 31 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the innovative and
01 responsible application of education technology tools to improve distance education programs 02 that will enhance rural education in the state; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages local school 04 boards and administrators to look for ways to regroup rural students, especially those in small 05 schools, into virtual educational program groups selected for efficiency, skill and age level, 06 and student and parent interest, and to use educational technology to provide quality teachers 07 for these groups from a distance; and be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages local school 09 boards and administrators to provide the restructuring, choice, and supplemental services 10 required for schools failing to achieve Annual Yearly Progress under the federal No Child 11 Left Behind Act and state law, and to improve student proficiency as measured by the 12 National Assessment of Education Progress; and be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages reallocation of 14 savings available from the efficiencies of scale from regrouping of students across rural 15 boundaries to help pay for the application of educational technology while ensuring that rural 16 remote school facilities and local employees are retained in the process; and be it 17 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests local school 18 boards and administrators to apply for the grants available under AS 14.14.115 as a means of 19 installing education technology. 20 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to Al Weinberg, Superintendent, Alaska 21 Gateway School District; Joe Beckford, Chief School Administrator, Aleutian Region School 22 District; Dennis Maasjo, Superintendent, Aleutians East Borough School District; Carol 23 Comeau, Superintendent, Anchorage School District; Brett Agenbroad, Superintendent, 24 Annette Island School District; John Davis, Superintendent, Bering Strait School District; 25 Richard Hebhardt, Superintendent, Bristol Bay Borough School District; Vance Cortez- 26 Rucker, Superintendent, Chatham School District; Bob Crumley, Superintendent, Chugach 27 School District; James Elliot, Superintendent, Copper River School District; Don Clark, 28 Superintendent, Cordova City School District; Ron Erickson, Superintendent, Craig City 29 School District; Dan Beck, Superintendent, Delta/Greely School District; Dale Olson, 30 Superintendent, Denali Borough School District; Arnold Watland, Superintendent, 31 Dillingham City School District; Ann E. Shortt, Superintendent, Fairbanks School District;
01 Jim Smith, Superintendent, Galena City School District; Woody Wilson, Superintendent, 02 Haines Borough School District; Howard Diamond, Superintendent, Hoonah City School 03 District; Bill Raduenz, Superintendent, Hydaburg City School District; Joe Banghart, 04 Superintendent, Iditarod Area School District; Peggy Cowan, Superintendent, Juneau 05 Borough School District; Eric Gebhart, Superintendent, Kake City School District; Gary 06 Stevens, Superintendent, Kashunamiut School District; Donna Peterson, Superintendent, 07 Kenai Peninsula Borough School District; Harry Martin, Superintendent, Ketchikan Gateway 08 Borough School District; Richard Carlson, Superintendent, Klawock City School District; 09 Betty Walters, Superintendent, Kodiak Island Borough School District; Marty Laster, 10 Superintendent, Kuspuk School District; Steve Atwater, Chief School Administrator, Lake 11 and Peninsula School District; William Ferguson, Superintendent, Lower Kuskokwim School 12 District; John Lamont, Superintendent, Lower Yukon School District; and the Honorable Ted 13 Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, 14 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.