Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
03/18/2011 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 18, 2011
8:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Kevin Meyer, Co-Chair
Senator Joe Thomas, Co-Chair
Senator Bettye Davis, Vice Chair
Senator Hollis French
Senator Gary Stevens
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Lance Pruitt, Vice Chair
Representative Eric Feige
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Scott Kawasaki
MEMBERS ABSENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
All members present
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Alan Dick, Chair
Representative Sharon Cissna
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: ALASKA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND EARLY
DEVELOPMENT
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
ESTHER COX, Chair
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Reviewed the role of the board and various
topics at issue including the implication of funding cuts to
DEED and the continuation of the high school exit exam and
answered questions from the committee regarding the Alaska
Performance Scholarship program and the process of selecting the
current commissioner of education.
GERALDINE BENSHOOF, First Vice-Chair
Public/Fourth Judicial District
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
North Pole, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions from the committee
regarding the state's pilot prekindergarten program.
BUNNY SCHAEFFER, Member
Second Judicial District
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Kotzebue, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions from the committee
regarding the Alaska Performance Scholarship program and the
effectiveness of distance delivery options for rural schools and
districts.
DONALD HANDELAND, Student Representative
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions of the committee
regarding his education at Mt. Edgecombe High School and
distance education.
TIARNA FICHLER, Incoming Student Representative
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Manokotak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions of the committee
regarding distance education.
PATRICK SHIER, Member
First Judicial District
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced himself and gave an overview of
the board's perspective on alternative delivery methods.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:02:58 AM
CO-CHAIR KEVIN MEYER called the joint meeting of the Senate and
House Education Standing Committees to order at 8:02 a.m.
Present at the call to order were Senators Davis, French,
Stevens, Co-Chair Thomas and Co-Chair Meyer and Representatives
Seaton, Kawasaki, Feige, P. Wilson and Vice-Chair Pruitt.
VICE CHAIR PRUITT noted that Chair Dick is at the Tanana Chiefs
Conference and Representative Cissna has also been excused.
^Presentation: Alaska State Board of Education and Early
Development
PRESENTATION: ALASKA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND EARLY
DEVELOPMENT
8:04:13 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER announced that the order of business would be to
hear a presentation by the Alaska State Board of Education and
Early Development.
He noted the presence of Commissioner Mike Hanley.
8:04:38 AM
ESTHER COX, Chair, Alaska State Board of Education and Early
Development, Department of Education and Early Development
(DEED, said the board meets in Juneau in March in order to have
the opportunity to interact with the Senate and House Education
Standing Committees. She reminded the committee that the Alaska
State Board of Education and Early Development is a voluntary
board appointed by the governor. A full term for a member is
five years and no more than four members of the board can be of
the same political party as the governor. She noted that there
should be one member representing each of the four judicial
districts in the state of Alaska and at least one member should
come from a REAA [Regional Education Attendance Areas]. She
noted that the board also has two advisory board members. There
is one student representative, in addition to an incoming
student representative or "student in waiting." The board also
has a military advisor, Colonel Grant Sullivan. She noted that
Senator Davis has served on the board with distinction.
8:09:18 AM
She asked the board members to introduce themselves and the
districts they represent:
· Patrick Shier: First Judicial District
· Geraldine Benshoof: Fourth Judicial District
· Bunny Schaeffer: Second Judicial District
· Jim Merriner: Public-at-large
· Donald Handeland: Student Representative
· Phillip Schneider: Third Judicial District
· Tiarna Fischler: Incoming Student Representative
MS. COX noted that Janel Keplinger [representing the public-at-
large] was unable to attend the committee meeting.
She continued that it was startling to understand that the
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) had been
cut $4 million this year. She explained that this funding
decrease means the cut of a couple of programs: the pre-K
program and the Teacher Mentor Program. She opined that the
Teacher Mentor Program has done amazing things, with 68 to 80
percent of teachers who were mentored in this program retained.
She noted that, statistics show that between seasoned teachers
and new teachers, seasoned teachers' students score 20 to 30
percent higher than new teachers' student. The exception to this
is if a new teacher has been mentored. This proves that the
Teacher Mentor Program is working.
8:13:03 AM
MS. COX added that the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DOLWD) has had a $1 million cut which goes towards
career technology. She said that there is currently a bill on
the table regarding the increase in compulsory school age from
16 to 18 years old [SB 9]. She said that there are arguments on
both sides of this issue; however, it is important to have
alternative options other than just the standard delivery
option. She said one of the best alternative options is hands-on
career education. She explained that this keeps students in
school who may want to drop out in order to get this "hands-on
experience." She noted that the board's Career and Technical
Education Plan, which came directly out of the board's summit
for the Alaska Education Plan, is in the process of being
implemented and also carries a fiscal note.
She said that the board has included for the committees a list
of topics that it has discussed this year and are ready to speak
to any of the topics the committees would like to address.
MS. COX said the high school exit exam is an accountability
factor and the board is not willing to give that factor up.
However, she explained that the board recognizes the need for
some revitalization of the exam and standards and will be
revisiting and redesigning Alaska's standards immediately. She
explained that the board has not adopted the national standards
because it is using Alaska's standards. The board will be
looking into a number of subjects at its June meeting involving
these standards and will then come to the legislature with
recommendations.
8:19:40 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER noted that Ms. Cox served on the scholarship
funding task force over the last interim. He said with 30 days
left in the session the legislature will have to make some
decisions on the Alaska Performance Scholarship [APS] program.
He asked if Ms. Cox has any comments to share with the committee
on the program.
MS. COX referred the committee to a resolution from the Board of
Education which supported the APS being a merit-based
scholarship. She recognized that the House and Senate Education
committees were struggling with the needs-based component. She
said that when she was on the task force committee she had hoped
that the needs-based component would file through the
AlaskAdvantage program and the merit-based scholarship would
remain separate. She said that the way she views the merit-based
scholarship is that every student can do it, because all
students start at the same point. She stressed that she is
confident that this will place more rigor into high school
curriculums.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said that the Senate Education Standing Committee
passed out the APS program leaving the merit-based component
intact; but also including a component that would allow a
certain percentage of the funding to go to the AlaskAdvantage
program.
He said that there has been a lot of discussion on various pre-K
programs. There has also been a lot of discussion on an academy
for students after they graduate in order to avoid taking
remedial classes in college. He said that he recognizes that
these two topics are intertwined. He asked if she has any
comments on this.
8:23:45 AM
GERALDINE BENSHOOF, First Vice-Chair, Public/Fourth Judicial
District, Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development,
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), said that
the board feels the pilot pre-K program should continue and one
year of data is not efficient in order to make a decision on it.
She said that a pilot program is meant to get concrete data in
order to know what a good program should be and whether it
should continue. She noted that the board was pleased with the
data it received from the first year of the program. She said
that she recognizes that funding is in question for the pre-K
pilot program this year and the board would like to see the
funding continue.
She recognized that there are many individuals in Alaska that
see this program as something that will become universal. At
some point the legislature will have to make a decision on
whether this will occur and will need to recognize that doing so
will be costly. She noted that the pre-K pilot program was on a
grant basis. Many of the pre-K pilots were run in conjunction
with Head Start programs and this funding helped expand the
number of children that were in the program. She noted that the
data from the first year of the program is in the board's
packet.
8:27:04 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said he had read that some individuals believe
that the services provided through the pilot were duplicative to
what Head Start is already doing. He asked for confirmation
that, in her view, the pilot program differs in what it has been
doing.
MS. BENSHOOF replied that in her understanding the program was
expanded from the Head Start program.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said one of the grant programs for the
pilot pre-K program was home school based. He asked if she is
familiar with this particular set of data.
MS. BENSHOOF replied that the programs were evaluated, however
with regard to what exactly each program was like she could not
comment.
8:28:49 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he appreciates Senator Davis' bill that
establishes better communication with the board [SB 1]. He noted
that he has the greatest respect for Commissioner Hanley.
However, the commissioner of the Department of Education and
Early Development is the only one that the legislature does not
confirm. The process of selecting a commissioner is extremely
important to the legislature and there were questions that arose
as to how the current commissioner of DEED was chosen. He
explained that his understanding of the rules is that the board
selects several names that are sent to the governor for a final
selection. He said that he is not sure that this happened this
time. He asked what the rules are under which the board and the
governor select the commissioner and how this happened this
time.
MS. COX replied that the statute is fairly specific. The board
selects and sends a name to the governor's office, which is then
approved by the governor. She explained that, in this particular
instance, she had a conversation with the governor's office who
gave her a name, which she took to the board. She explained that
the board examined the resume and interviewed the candidate and
she did not make up or assign questions for the board to direct
towards the candidate. After the interview the board could have
done one of two things: send the name to the governor or screen
and interview alternative candidates if the board did not
believe that individual could represent the students in the
state. She explained that after the board's interview with Mike
Hanley the board came to the conclusion that he had the
characteristics, people and communication skills, and the
administrative background to be commissioner of DEED. She
recognized that this is a different process than the legislature
normally goes through. She asked if there is another board that
selects a commissioner.
SENATOR STEVENS replied that the Department of Fish and Game's
board does select the commissioner. However, that legislature
reviews and confirms the commissioner.
MS. COX said "the bottom line is the governor is still in
charge; because the governor can accept or turn down that name
and the board then has to go back to the drawing board." She
noted that this has happened in the past.
SENATOR STEVENS stressed that he means no disrespect to anyone
in the process. However, this is such an important issue to
Alaska and education. He asked if she is convinced that the
independence of the Board of Education was respected.
MS. COX replied yes; the board still had the option to say "yes"
or "no." She noted that, in her opinion, the way the
commissioner of education is chosen is a different system.
However, the system does work and it is a respect to the board
to have them involved in choosing the commissioner. She said
that the statute states that the commissioner serves at the
pleasure of the board.
SENATOR STEVENS said he appreciates her explanation.
SENATOR DAVIS asked for confirmation that Ms. Cox went to the
governor who gave her a name, which she then brought back to the
board.
MS. COX replied that she did not go the governor; the governor's
office contacted her.
SENATOR DAVIS asked for confirmation that she did go to the
governor to get the name.
MS. COX reiterated that the governor's office contacted her and
gave her a name.
SENATOR DAVIS asked if this is the standard procedure for the
board when looking for a candidate.
MS. COX replied that she has been a part of selecting three
commissioners and each time has been different. She said with
the first governor, there was no communication. With the second
governor it was a very long and involved process, involving
several different names. She noted that there has always been
communication between the existing commissioner and the
governor's office. She explained that the board wants to make
sure that the commissioner is someone that the governor can work
with.
8:38:21 AM
SENATOR DAVIS asked for confirmation that the board did not
interview anyone else for the commissioner's job.
MS. COX replied yes.
SENATOR DAVIS commented that the statute clearly states that the
Board of Education has the responsibility to select and
interview candidates for this position. She asked for
confirmation that this is the board's role.
MS. COX replied yes. She noted that she checked with the
attorney general's office to make sure that the board was doing
everything according to the statute.
SENATOR STEVENS said he appreciates Ms. Cox's years of service.
He asked if she feels the obligation to discharge the
commissioner if they are not performing in a way that the board
feels is right.
MS. COX answered that, according to the statute, the board does
have that right. She noted that she has thought about that when
selecting and choosing a candidate so that issue will not have
to come up later. She said that if the issue did arise, the
board would go forth with its obligation.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said that the committees' concern is with
the process. The statute is written in order take politics as
far away from education as possible. The concern from a number
of members of the House Education Standing Committee is whether
the board is setting a precedent that allows the governor the
ability to select the commissioner of DEED rather than the
board. He said that the legislature has gone as far as it can to
insulate education from politics. He added that he believes this
is one of the reasons why this position is not confirmable. The
substitution for this is that the board interviews and forwards
names, rather than have it be a political request or decision.
He said he wanted to express concern for the process going
forward in the future.
MS. COX replied that she understands wanting to divorce the
selection of the commissioner from politics as much as possible.
She reminded the committee that the board has had names rejected
in the past. She stressed that the board does the work as the
statute states, but the final approval is from the governor.
CO-CHAIR MEYER noted that the committees may want to visit the
statute at another time.
8:43:45 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked what the board's stance is on counseling
and advising in high school and how districts are addressing
this issue.
MS. COX replied that the board has not taken a stance on this
issue. She noted that she is delighted to see that there is a
provision in the scholarship bill on counseling and advising.
She continued that there are three basic tenets for middle
schools: intramural sports, teaming, and advisory programs. She
said that incorporating all three of these tenets is a training
and professional growth issue for teachers. Many of the state's
high schools have moved to smaller learning communities to allow
for more personalized interactions between teachers and
students. She said that this is much easier and more malleable
at a middle school age, rather than high school.
8:47:41 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked if the board were to take this issue up,
whether advising would arise as something that should be taught
during teacher preparedness education at the University of
Alaska.
MS. COX replied that how to deal with small groups of young
people is an excellent suggestion. She noted that as president
of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, they
wrote a treatise called Breaking Ranks: Changing an American
Institution. She explained that one of the concepts in that
treatise was that education needs to be personalized. She said
that part of the reason that alternative programs are successful
with young people is because there are fewer students in the
program and they get closer to an adult. She agreed that the
board should be talking about this.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said one concern that he has about the Senate
Education Standing Committee is that all of the members namely
represent urban areas. He noted that there is a rural student
representative on the board, in addition to a committee member.
He asked for feedback on how the rural areas can be better
reached with regard to long-distance learning and getting all
schools up-to-speed with the high standards set by the APS
program.
MS. COX replied that Kotzebue, Nome, and Manokotak are
represented on the board.
8:50:58 AM
BUNNY SCHAEFFER, Member, Second Judicial District, Alaska State
Board of Education and Early Development, Department of
Education and Early Development (DEED), replied that the Virtual
School Network currently being developed includes 11 networks,
which is being led by SERRC [Southeast Regional Resource
Center]. She opined that the most effective way to learn is with
direct contact with a highly qualified teacher. Distance
delivery should not be the end-all to the scholarship program
and more work is needed.
8:52:40 AM
DONALD HANDELAND, Student Advisor, Alaska State Board of
Education and Early Development, Department of Education and
Early Development (DEED), said he attends Mt. Edgecombe High
School, which is a boarding school that includes a lot of rural
students. He noted that this boarding school is an example of
students who want to get a different kind of education. The best
way to reach rural students is through distance education, but
it needs to be integrated with educated individuals coming to
the villages to work with students.
8:53:39 AM
TIARNA FISCHLER, Incoming Student Representative, Alaska State
Board of Education and Early Development, Department of
Education and Early Development (DEED), said that she does not
have a lot of experience with distance-delivery programs and she
agrees with Ms. Schaeffer on the importance of face-to-face
time.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked whether the legislature should
wait on the Alaska Performance Scholarship program until "things
are set up better."
MS. SCHAEFFER replied, in her opinion, it is a disservice to
rural students if the system is not set up to offer the
necessary classes in order for rural students to be eligible for
the program.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked for confirmation that the
legislature should wait on the scholarship program until the
system has been set up to accommodate all students.
MS. SCHAEFFER replied yes; in order for the program to be
successful for all students.
SENATOR STEVENS noted that this is a serious comment. He
explained that his understanding was that the individual aiding
the student with a distance delivered class would be a teacher's
aide. He noted that in the Joint Higher Education Task Force,
the NEA [National Education Association] representative's
expectation was that there would be a qualified teacher on both
ends. This becomes enormously expensive. He asked, with regard
to distance education, if there is a highly qualified teacher
delivering a course from a centralized location, who should be
helping the student on the other end.
MS. SCHAEFFER replied that in order for distance education to be
successful it is important to have a certified teacher on the
student's end. She explained that instructional aides do not
have the educational background that a certified teacher has.
She said that the other area of concern is on the SAT and ACT
testing requirements. In urban areas there are centers for
training and test preparation, which rural students do not have.
SENATOR STEVENS said he respects what she and the NEA
representative have said. He explained that having a certified
teacher on both ends for a distance education course is
enormously expensive.
8:57:37 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said he shares Ms. Schaeffer's concerns on this
issue. He said "if we seek perfection we will never do
anything." He noted that recently a regional corporation leader
indicated that schools such as Mt. Edgecombe may be an interim
solution. He asked Mr. Handeland if this has been a better
education for him in comparison to where he initially went to
school.
MR. HANDELAND replied that most of the students that attend Mt.
Edgecombe High School enjoy it, because they have to apply for
the school and it gives students more responsibility. He
explained that those who go to Mt. Edgecombe want to be there
and this is a large reason why this high school is successful.
He noted that Mt. Edgecombe offers many opportunities that he
would never have received in his home community.
SENATOR FRENCH asked the student representatives if they have
had any experiences with distance delivery.
MR. HANDELAND replied no.
MS. FISCHLER replied no.
SENATOR FRENCH commented that at a previous committee meeting
the committee had asked DEED for a list of schools who either
offered the full curriculum necessary for the scholarship
program or provided broadband access in order to receive
distance delivery courses.
CO-CHAIR MEYER replied that there should be a list available of
all the schools and includes this information.
9:02:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE said he understands why the union would
want to have a highly qualified teacher on both ends. He asked
if there is a need to have a highly qualified teacher in that
particular subject present or could it be a teacher in any
subject to assist with the teaching.
MS. SCHAEFFER replied, in her opinion, the teacher wouldn't have
to be qualified in that particular subject.
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked why an aide would not be sufficient
in assisting a student with a distance education class.
MS. SCHAEFFER replied that, in her district, most of the aides
are in the elementary level, not high school. She said that as
far as being able to assist students, she has seen some poor-
quality instructional aides. She said "if I was a parent I
wouldn't want them being responsible for my children's
education."
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said the House Education Standing
Committee has had a superintendent from different areas of the
state speak during the first part of the committee's meetings.
He noted that it was interesting to discover that urban
districts are identifying the importance of students taking a
distance delivered course as a tool for future preparation and
community involvement. He questioned why rural areas would deny
that if this is something that the urban districts are saying is
vital to learning. He asked whether the board has been looking
into theme-based and project-based education as opposed to
single class subjects.
MS. SCHAEFFER replied no. Typically the board does not delve
that deep into the school systems in regards to the different
types of curriculums offered.
9:08:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked whether the board has thought
ahead of ways to make education more relevant to children in a
way that doesn't necessarily cost money. She noted that the
changes and results that some schools have seen don't always
cost money, such as theme-based and project-based education.
CO-CHAIR MEYER commented that, overall, the committee would
welcome any creative ideas that are working for particular
schools and districts.
MS. SCHAEFFER replied that the board has developed, through the
Education Summit, the Alaska Education Plan. This plan includes
working groups, which try to develop these types of ideas within
particular areas (such as graduation, early childhood, and
literacy). She noted that curriculum is adopted by local school
boards; the state board does not come up with what the
curriculum must be for the entire state.
CO-CHAIR MEYER noted that the committee would love to hear the
board's ideas and thoughts later on as well.
9:15:23 AM
PATRICK SHIER, Member, First Judicial District, Alaska State
Board of Education and Early Development, Department of
Education and Early Development (DEED), noted that the board is
attempting to challenge the traditional delivery method. He said
that Dr. Bryan Ray of the National Home Educators Research
Institute published a pamphlet titled Home Education on the
Threshold. This research shows that if a child is outside of
school, teacher certification and economic factors do not
correlate with student success. DEED is very interested in
achievement based matriculation, however, No Child Left Behind
has "sucked up all the oxygen" for many years. He noted that
DEED has been working to improve alternative delivery methods
and is trying to help districts who are doing different things
to meet the needs of its students. The board is examining
alternative delivery and evaluation methods, improving
graduation rates, teacher quality, and the teacher mentor
program. He noted that the state is hiring 1,000 new teachers
per year, many of which are not from Alaska. He recommended that
the committee view the UTube video, Did you know 4.0, produced
by ShiftHappens.
9:22:12 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER encouraged the board to continue this
communication.
9:22:47 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Co-Chair Meyer adjourned the meeting at 9:22 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Ed 1.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| Board of Ed 2.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| Board of Ed 3.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 01-2009.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 01-2010.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 03-2010.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| bylaws.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 01-2007.pdf |
SEDC 3/18/2011 8:00:00 AM |