Legislature(2015 - 2016)BUTROVICH 205
04/17/2015 03:30 PM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing: 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
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 17, 2015
3:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Mike Dunleavy, Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins, Vice Chair
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Berta Gardner
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
John Harmon
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JOHN HARMON, Principal
Lumen Christi Catholic High School
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as an Alaska State Board of
Education and Early Development appointee.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:30:33 PM
CHAIR MIKE DUNLEAVY called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Huggins, Gardner, Stevens, Giessel, and
Chair Dunleavy.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING: Alaska State Board of Education and Early
Development
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
John Harmon
3:31:10 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced that there would be a confirmation
hearing on one nominee for the Alaska State Board of Education
and Early Development.
3:31:23 PM
JOHN HARMON, Principal, Lumen Christi Catholic High School,
testified as an Alaska State Board of Education and Early
Development appointee. He summarized his own education, relating
that he graduated from Palmer High School and then went to law
school to get a degree. He said he has been in Alaska the last
five years and is currently the Principal at Lumen Christi
Catholic High School.
He said he is a proponent of education and believes that, "As
Alaskans, we have a strong responsibility to develop our
students socially, intellectually, and physically." If appointed
to the Board, he said he would work for continued flexibility in
education, innovation, improved student learning, and the
implementation of technology to prepare students for today's
world. He noted he is a problem solver, innovator, and
collaborator who would work with school districts and with the
legislature to find long-term solutions for funding education
and the additional challenges of education in the state. He
would seek to find solutions for education's sustainability and
for all students, teachers, administrators, and staff dedicated
to Alaska education.
3:33:59 PM
SENATOR STEVENS noted Mr. Harmon's impressive credentials. He
asked why he returned to education after being a successful
lawyer.
MR. HARMON described the role education has played in his life.
He talked about his time in Ohio where he was an adjunct
instructor and teaching at Charter College. He said he is
teaching classes now, as well as being an administrator at Lumen
Christi.
SENATOR STEVENS asked what he finds fulfilling about being an
educator.
MR. HARMON said he has always enjoyed education and has a
variety of degrees. He enjoys seeing students excel and learn,
and likes working with youth.
3:36:29 PM
SENATOR GARDNER thanked Mr. Harmon for his willingness to serve.
She asked if he is a credentialed teacher.
MR. HARMON said he does not have an Alaska teaching
certification.
SENATOR GARDNER asked if he holds a principal certification.
MR. HARMON replied that he has a Master's of Science in
Education.
3:37:25 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked about the curriculum at Lumen Christi
Catholic High School.
MR. HARMON said Lumen Christi does not have Common Core and does
not plan to adopt it. Lumen Christi is a member of the National
Catholic Education Association, which supports a modified
version of Common Core. It is up to the local schools whether or
not to adopt those standards and curriculum. He said he does not
support Common Core.
3:39:07 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked why he should be on the State Board.
MR. HARMON said he could bring a lot to the Board with his legal
background. He said he also has an educational background. He
said the issues in private schools are the same as in public
schools, such as repairs to schools, funding, salary increases,
improving student learning, security, accreditation, staff
training, student retention, and unfunded mandates.
He said Alaska is made up of many small school districts and
they all have challenges. The smaller districts have unique
issues similar to communities in the bush. He concluded that his
experience would be valuable to the Board.
SENATOR HUGGINS noted Mr. Harmon has a private school
background. He wondered how that would affect his service on the
Board.
MR. HARMON spoke of his objective to serve all Alaskan students.
He mentioned that he is not in favor of repealing the Blaine
Amendment, which forbids direct government aid to educational
institutions that have any religious affiliation. He said he is
cautious about accepting public funds from the government that
come with contingencies. He said he has no policy objective to
repeal the Blaine Amendment.
3:43:40 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked for Mr. Harmon to suggest two things that
would enhance Alaska schools.
MR. HARMON said he would look for synergies between the schools
and districts and collaboration of programs. He gave an example
of sharing a professor with many sites via technology. He opined
that there are many opportunities that would benefit by
collaboration, especially with limited resources.
3:46:24 PM
SENATOR STEVENS noted the diversity of Education Committee
members. He addressed the fact that the state has not accepted
Common Core, but instead uses Alaska State Standards. He asked
if Mr. Harmon would dismantle the Alaska State Standards.
MR. HARMON said he would need data to see what has been put into
place, the purpose, and the results.
3:48:05 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked how many students are in Lumen Christi.
MR. HARMON said the current enrollment is 89 students.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked what grade levels there are.
MR. HARMON replied grades seven through twelve.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked how many teachers there are.
MR. HARMON said eight full-time teachers and a number of part-
time teachers.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked how many students will graduate this year.
MR. HARMON said 12 or 13.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked how many are in the senior class.
MR. HARMON said 13.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY what career choices the students make.
MR. HARMON replied that the majority go to college, both
Catholic and non-Catholic, and into the military.
3:50:12 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked about Charter College.
MR. HARMON explained that it is a private, non-profit technical
school. Two of the biggest programs were welding and medical
careers.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the students came prepared.
MR. HARMON said it depended on the students. He said he would
have to check the data. There were tutoring services available
and an Office of Student Success. Some students had challenges
in their lives.
3:52:17 PM
SENATOR STEVENS noted complaints from colleges about the
unpreparedness of incoming students. He asked Mr. Harmon what he
would do as a Board member to ensure that students were prepared
for college.
MR. HARMON said colleges require different abilities than
technical schools do. He stressed that there is a need to help
students in the classroom and focus on writing.
3:53:50 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked information about Lumen Christi's budget.
MR. HARMON said he could not share that, but could talk about
the dynamics of the budget. It costs about $12,000 a year to
educate a student. About half of that is paid in tuition. The
school relies on fundraising to support the cost of education.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked what courses a junior or senior would take
in a given day.
MR. HARMON listed the possible courses. The school also has
affiliations and partnerships with UAA and APU and other high
schools for course offerings.
3:56:02 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked what the highest level of math is.
MR. HARMON said it is calculus. He listed the progression of the
math curriculum.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY commented on the leadership roles of the
executive branch, the State School Board and the Department of
Education and Early Development (DEED). He pointed out that he
is looking at forging closer ties with the department during
these difficult budget times. He asked how the state might get
away from federal mandates by forming a closer relationship with
educators to align purposes and goals in order to get the
desired outcomes.
3:58:45 PM
MR. HARMON thought it was a communication issue. He suggested
there could be a formal way of establishing a communication
system or an informal method. He spoke of his experience on the
Alaska Family Services Board in Palmer. He said he is a big
supporter of parents' rights.
4:00:08 PM
SENATOR STEVENS noted the uniqueness of Alaska schools and
school boards. He asked about how he would work with such
diverse groups.
MR. HARMON opined that he would welcome the opportunity to reach
out to all constituents. He thought that everyone has the best
interest of students in mind. He stressed the importance of good
dialogues.
SENATOR STEVENS spoke of saving money by using distance
education.
MR. HARMON noted how far technology has advanced. He spoke of
his time at Charter College and the blended method of education
that included on-line education. It saved money and was a
wonderful tool for diverse collaboration and great instructors.
4:03:28 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked how a student progresses through the grades
in Lumen Christi.
MR. HARMON said there are two components to assessing students;
one is subjective and one is objective. The teacher assesses
both areas. He said students earn credits in the higher grades.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked if there are assessments.
MR. HARMON said they do not have a graduation exam. Students go
through by class and have great teachers.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked if there is too much testing in his school.
MR. HARMON listed the tests offered: Terra Nova, ASVAB, ACT,
PSAT, and SAT. He said his students do well on the tests.
4:07:26 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY returned to the issue of Common Core. He asked if
the Lumen Christi curriculum is based on Alaska Standards.
MR. HARMON said it is a derivative of several things, but based
on the old Alaska Standards. They were just evaluated by
Advanced Education.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked if there are teachers at Lumen Christi who
have taught in public schools.
MR. HARMON said yes.
4:08:53 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked Mr. Harmon for his philosophy on gathering
and sharing student data.
MR. HARMON commented that what is important is that the data be
used for continuous improvement; it needs to serve a purpose. He
said it is a conversation to be held with stakeholders regarding
privacy concerns.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked in five years what Mr. Harmon would
consider to be an accomplishment.
MR. HARMON said Alaska is in a challenging time. He would like
to find solutions to funding and maintaining student success.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY thanked Mr. Harmon.
4:11:33 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY read: "In accordance with AS 39.05.080, the
Education Committee reviewed John Harmon for appointment to the
State Board of Education and recommends that his name be
forwarded to a joint session for consideration. This does not
reflect an intent by any of the members to vote for or against
the confirmation for John Harmon during any further sessions."
He thanked Mr. Harmon for his willingness to serve.
SENATOR GARDNER said she is probably going to vote against both
State Board of Education nominees because they are not
credentialed candidates and the Board should have public school
teachers on it.
SENATOR STEVENS said he is impressed by Mr. Harmon. He opined
that the Board should be made up of wise people who could move
education forward.
SENATOR GIESSEL recalled her days on a private school board. She
noted how innovative teachers and administrators had to be. She
opined that Mr. Harmon would bring important dynamics to the
State School Board.
4:14:24 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY noted he is impressed with Mr. Harmon's
credentials, and family background. He opined that the State
Board is a policy and regulatory board and varied experience is
needed. The administration of education is by public educators.
He concluded that he is impressed by the choice for Mr. Harmon
to serve on the Board.
4:16:36 PM
There being nothing further to come before the committee, Chair
Dunleavy adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee at
4:15 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| John Harmon Application.pdf |
SEDC 4/17/2015 3:30:00 PM |