Legislature(2019 - 2020)DAVIS 106
03/16/2020 08:30 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Presentation: the State of Alaska K-12 Schools by the Alaska Council of School Administrators | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 16, 2020
8:33 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator Shelley Hughes, Vice Chair
Senator John Coghill
Senator Tom Begich
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Harriet Drummond, Co-Chair
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair
Representative Grier Hopkins
Representative Chris Tuck
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky
Representative DeLena Johnson
Representative Mike Prax
MEMBERS ABSENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Mia Costello
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: THE STATE OF ALASKA K-12 SCHOOLS BY THE 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 (ACSA)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced the presentation on State of
Alaska K-12 Schools.
ROBIN JONES, President
Alaska Council of School Administrators; President
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals; Principal
Chief Ivan Blunka School
Southwest Region School District
New Stuyahok, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for the Alaska Association of
Secondary School Principals.
ERIC PEDERSON, President
Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals; Principal
Paul Banks Elementary
Homer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for the Alaska Association of
Elementary School Principals.
KAREN MORRISON, President
Alaska Association of School Business Officials (ALASBO);
Finance Director
Petersburg School District
Petersburg, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for the Alaska Association of
School Business Officials.
SAM JORDAN, Grants Administrator and Outreach Coordinator
Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented on the work of the Alaska Staff
Development Network.
SHAWN ARNOLD, President
Alaska Superintendents Association; Superintendent
Valdez School District
Valdez, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented for the Alaska Superintendents
Association.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:33:09 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY called the joint meeting of the Senate and House
Education Standing Committees to order at 8:33 a.m. Present at
the call to order were Representatives Hopkins, Tuck, Prax, and
Co-Chair Drummond and Senators Coghill, Hughes, and Begich.
Chair Stevens and Representatives Johnson and Zulkosky arrived
shortly thereafter.
^Presentation: The State of Alaska K-12 Schools by the Alaska
Council of School Administrators
PRESENTATION: THE STATE OF ALASKA K-12 SCHOOLS BY THE ALASKA
COUNCIL OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
8:34:10 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced the presentation: The State of Alaska
K-12 Schools by the Alaska Council of School Administrators.
CO-CHAIR STORY noted that the presentation would be unique
because the committees, meeting jointly, are practicing being as
healthy as possible and the guest presenters will present via
teleconferencing. She called on Dr. Parady to testify.
8:35:22 AM
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director, Alaska Council of
School Administrators (ACSA), Juneau, Alaska, said the
committees would hear from Alaska's finest administrators. The
mission statement of the Alaska Council of School Administrators
is to create a common voice, advocating for public education by
shaping policy and growing leadership capacity across the state.
8:37:29 AM
DR. PARADY said she could not proceed without talking about the
coronavirus and school closures. She explained that the council
has created a website with resources for members, including
links to the Department of Education and Early Development
(DEED) page, to try to be a clearing house for school
administrators during this time. The council is working hand-in-
hand with Commissioner Michael Johnson and DEED. The council has
a weekly call with all superintendents and the commissioner. She
thanked Commissioner Johnson and his team for working so closely
with the council to keep everyone updated with the information
needed during this crisis.
8:40:40 AM
DR. PARADY displayed an illustration that showed that ACSA is
the umbrella organization that represents the Alaska
Superintendents Association, the Association of Elementary and
Secondary School Principals, and the Alaska Association of
School Business Officials. ACSA is a private nonprofit that
supports statewide public education.
8:41:36 AM
DR. PARADY said ACSA presents joint position statements every
year that prioritize the most important areas of public
education policy to advocate for. She introduced Robin Jones; a
principal who has been recognized in the state for 100 percent
retention of teachers in one of the state's most rural areas.
8:42:34 AM
ROBIN JONES, President, Alaska Council of School Administrators,
President, Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals,
Principal, Chief Ivan Blunka School, Southwest Region School
District, New Stuyahok, Alaska, said she was born and raised in
Anchorage, but for 11 years she has been in rural Alaska. She
cautioned that she wrote her testimony before any real threat
from the coronavirus and hopes that it does not appear
insensitive. She noted that she changed her plans in the last
few days to return to support her students, staff, and
community.
8:44:21 AM
MS. JONES stated that as president of the Alaska Council of
School Administrators she has the opportunity to create a vision
and guide the council. This year her theme is "creating
meaningful connections through unity in leadership
8:44:49 AM
MS. JONES said she has been in the same school district for 11
years as school counselor, assistant principal, and now
principal. She realized early on that to make a difference in
the life of her students she had to first immerse herself in the
community and then help her staff connect in the same way.
8:45:21 AM
MS. JONES related that a recent report from the Pew Research
Center identified principals as the most trusted leaders in the
country's most prominent institutions. This public trust puts
principals in a better position to advocate for all students.
However, with a 38 percent turnover rate for principals and a 36
percent turnover rate for teachers in rural, remote Alaska has
caused communities to develop a deep sense of mistrust in
schools, principals, and teachers, which makes teacher retention
efforts more important than ever.
8:46:21 AM
MS. JONES said principals affect student learning through their
influence over schools, support of staff, and work to maintain a
positive culture and climate. Research shows that a principal's
ability to create positive working conditions and a
collaborative, supportive learning environment plays a critical
role in attracting and retaining qualified teachers. Teachers
cite principal support as one of the most important factors in
their decision to stay at a school or in the profession. When
principals leave, teachers' view of their schools and classroom
conditions are less favorable. When principal turnover is
frequent, teachers and the community are less likely to support
the new leader. Principal turnover can derail school improvement
initiatives and result in higher teacher turnover, which is
related to lower student achievement. ACSA and its affiliate
association have joined forces to improve retention across the
state.
8:48:47 AM
MS. JONES said that when she first became a principal, she had
access to a rural Alaska principal preparation and support
program and the Alaska administrator coaching project. Those
programs have long been cut due to funding, but the partnership
of ACSA, the Alaska Staff Development Network, DEED, the
Anchorage School District, the principal associations, and the
University of Alaska Southeast have been able to offer the
Alaska School Leadership Academy (ASLA), which provides early-
career principals with a mentor and a collegial cohort. She has
been a mentor coach to six new principals. The second year of
ASLA is just finishing. It has provided limitless benefits to
principals, staff, and students across the state.
8:50:31 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY asked when and how outreach happens when a new
principal is hired.
8:51:04 AM
MS. JONES explained that first- and second-year principals go
through a fairly simple identification and application process.
They are asked if they are willing to commit to the program
through the year, which includes several in-person trainings and
a lot of distance delivery work. There is also a narrative about
how they would take that training back to their schools.
8:51:59 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if the leadership academy is tracking
whether turnover is reduced if a new principal is mentored.
8:52:33 AM
MS. JONES replied the ASCA is tracking that data and she
believes they could provide it.
8:53:17 AM
MS. JONES said stable leadership matters. She made a commitment
to be consistent for students, staff, and community year after
year. She has guided people to be deeply connected to their
work, community, and each other. At the school level, principals
are the second most important factor associated with student
achievement, right after teachers. The average cost of teacher
turnover is $20,000 as opposed to $75,000 for each principal
turnover. Her site has had many years of nearly 100 percent
retention. But instead of investing in these exceptional
teachers and principals to combat this alarming turnover, public
education is continually on the chopping block.
8:54:50 AM
MS. JONES said staff members function as counselors, nurses,
social workers, law enforcement agents, and mental health
providers for students with some of the highest rates of trauma
and Adverse Childhood Experiences. These communities lack
adequate public safety supports and health services. Each of
these teachers go above and beyond for these children each day
with limited resources and training to be everything. One
hundred percent of her certified staff, including herself, fall
into the Tier III defined contributions retirement system
without access to Social Security or safety in their future.
Many rural Alaska leaders model what has been accomplished in
New Stuyahok. However, until education funding is prioritized, a
more competitive retirement system is adopted, and school safety
measures are adopted, including social, emotional, and mental
health supports, the students and communities will suffer the
most. She urged the committee to support any legislation that
helps to create these meaningful connections through unity in
leadership.
CHAIR STEVENS called on Eric Pederson.
8:56:42 AM
ERIC PEDERSON, President, Alaska Association of Elementary
School Principals, Principal, Paul Banks Elementary, Homer,
Alaska, said he has been the president of Paul Banks Elementary
for seven years. He has three children in the public school
system. He noted that he prepared his testimony over the last
few months. His thoughts are with his community in Homer as it
deals with this changing situation.
8:57:44 AM
MR. PEDERSON said he wanted to address the current state of
education as an elementary principal. In the past he always
spoke of staffing uncertainty due to funding. This is the first
year in a long time that this was not the case. He thanked the
legislators for allowing his district to capitalize on early
staffing and budgeting. It has had a direct effect on his
building, community, and most importantly, on the future success
of his students. Timely and reliable funding of education is the
most important topic in the budget discussion.
8:58:17 AM
MR. PEDERSON said the ACSA joint position statement supports
early childhood education. Paul Banks has two preschool
programs; one is for students with special needs and the second
is a Title I program. Each year the 20 students in the Title I
pre-K program are the leaders in kindergarten, both academically
and socially. This is confirmed by research on early
intervention and instruction.
8:59:06 AM
MR. PEDERSON said cost-benefit analysis shows positive returns
for early childhood programs. All Alaskan children deserve the
opportunity to attend preschool. He thanked the legislature and
governor for looking at ways to make this a reality for all
students. He also applauded the committee for shining a light on
early literacy acquisition. It is a major building block for
student success and confidence.
9:00:52 AM
MR. PEDERSON said that in his 19 years of education in Alaska, a
disturbing trend is the increase of students with adverse
childhood experiences (ACEs). The opioid crisis plays a large
role in the data about ACEs. Schools are serving the children of
this drug epidemic. Many schools do not have counselors and it
falls upon teachers to provide support. This year, the number of
Office of Children Services reports and homeless rates are
increasing in all districts.
9:01:41 AM
MR. PEDERSON noted that Dr. Linda Chamberlain, one of Alaska's
foremost experts on childhood trauma, said there is no point in
talking about trauma unless something can be done about it, such
as teaching resiliency skills that benefit every child. Next
year, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is funding
school counselors to help students who experience ACEs.
9:02:39 AM
MR. PEDERSON said the single most important contributing factor
to student achievement is a quality teacher. The second most
important factor is a quality principal. Every October his
organization provides the principals' conference that provides
national caliber professional development.
9:04:06 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
9:04:11 AM
CHAIR STEVENS introduced Karen Morrison.
9:04:19 AM
KAREN MORRISON, President, Alaska Association of School Business
Officials (ALASBO), Finance Director, Petersburg School
District, Petersburg, Alaska, said she has been the finance
director for the Petersburg School District since 2011.
9:05:04 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
9:05:33 AM
CHAIR STEVENS reconvened the meeting.
9:05:44 AM
MS. MORRISON said the mission of ALASBO is to promote the
highest standards in school business practices. Its vision is to
educate stakeholders in the effective use of resources for the
benefit of Alaska's children.
9:06:30 AM
MS. MORRISON said that for FY 2020, the total budgeted
expenditures for all Alaska school districts is just over $2.1
billion. Districts spend about 76 percent of their budget on
instructional costs and an average of 24 percent on support
functions. The U.S. Census Bureau has a different method of
calculating education costs. It calculates that for 2017 Alaska
spent 53.3 percent on instructional costs. The average
instructional cost for all states in 2017 according to the
Census Bureau is 61 percent. In Alaska, DEED's Uniform Chart of
Accounts provides standardization for districts to develop their
budgets. It also provides a framework for compliance and
comparability. The definition of instruction funding in Alaska
is based on function codes 100 through 400. Prior to 2016,
public school districts were mandated to allocate a minimum of
70 percent of their budgets for direct student instruction.
While this requirement is no longer in statute, districts still
work to ensure that at least 70 percent is still spent on
instructional costs.
9:08:20 AM
MS. MORRISON displayed a slide to show the instructional costs
included in the U.S. Census calculations vs. the costs included
in Alaska's calculations.
9:09:33 AM
MS. MORRISON said costs are higher in Alaska. The CPI increased
by 17.2 percent from 2011 to 2019. Alaska's health care costs
are the most expensive in the nation. This directly affects the
high cost of worker's compensation. Alaska has higher energy
costs, which impacts districts differently due to geographic
diversity.
MS. MORRISON said Alaskans pay their teachers a fair salary, but
the state's competitiveness is eroding. In 2018, Alaska ranked
25th in the nation with teacher salaries adjusted for the cost
of living.
MS. MORRISON said shipping and transportation costs are high in
Alaska. It is the most geographically diverse state in the
nation. The additional cost of operations in Alaska due to the
coronavirus is unknown.
9:11:09 AM
MS. MORRISON said the base student allocation (BSA) for FY 20 is
$5,930. That is a 4.4 percent increase from 2011 to 2020,
although the funding has been flat since 2017. Districts are
grateful for the funding that has occurred outside the
foundation formula, but districts are still challenged with how
to financially plan for the short-term and long-term without
predictable and reliable funding. The BSA adjusted for inflation
in FY20 would be $6,451. The modest increase proposed in HB 236
is greatly needed.
CHAIR STEVENS called on Mr. Jordan.
9:12:31 AM
SAM JORDAN, Grants Administrator and Outreach Coordinator,
Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN), Juneau, Alaska, said he
has been an educator for 19 years. ASDN is a private, nonprofit
organization that has been in existence for over 35 years.
Outside of school districts, ASDN is the largest provider of
education professional development in the state.
9:13:41 AM
MR. JORDAN said the mission of ASDN is to provide Alaskan
educators with multiple pathways to refine instructional
practice and maintain certification. ASDN has responded to
tightened budgets and fewer travel opportunities for
professional development with online classes. ASDN has 5,000
overall registrations annually and serves over 2,000 educators
with online classes. ASDN hosts the largest Alaskan education
conference. One in 10 educators attends the annual RTI (Response
to Intervention) Conference. ASDN brings national experts to the
conference.
9:16:27 AM
MR. JORDAN shared that a national expert on trauma-informed
schools, Ricky Robertson, spent time at the conference learning
about the landscape of trauma in Alaska's schools. He was
alarmed by the level of trauma students were dealing with and
the impact of that trauma on educators. The presenters continue
to work with Alaska educators through online classes. Mr.
Robertson has 180 educators enrolled in his course.
9:17:04 AM
MR. JORDAN reviewed the Alaska School Leadership Institute and
noted that ASDN is the lead professional learning partner in
four federal grants. ASDN partners with the Lower Kuskokwim
School District/Bering Strait School District for the federal
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate
Programs) grant. He reviewed the Alaska School Leadership
Academy, which will graduate its first cohort this May and begin
recruiting next month.
9:20:39 AM
MR. JORDAN said ASDN is leading the advancement of computer
instruction in Alaska as the regional partner with Code.org to
empower teachers to teach coding. This year ASDN offered 40
professional development trainings to over 580 educators.
9:21:51 AM
MR. JORDAN described the Statewide Professional Learning
Network, which addresses the need for educators to be connected.
The AkPLN online platform is more relevant with COVID-19. It has
1,500 registered users and can be used in a variety of ways. His
passion project is Our Alaskan Schools blog. It highlights
positive things happening in schools.
9:24:17 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
9:25:02 AM
CHAIR STEVENS reconvened the meeting.
9:25:22 AM
SHAWN ARNOLD, President, Alaska Superintendents Association,
Superintendent, Valdez School District, Valdez, Alaska, said he
first came to Alaska in 1994 with the military. After 10 years
he left active duty for a career in education. He previously
served as superintendent in Nome for four years. This is his
second year in Valdez.
9:26:09 AM
MR. ARNOLD said districts must have timely, reliable, and
predictable revenue. School districts cannot operate efficiently
and effectively without knowing what their revenue will be.
9:26:35 AM
MR. ARNOLD said it is almost April and in four months teachers
and students will return for the 2020-2021 school year. As a
school superintendent, he wants to be able to provide a globally
competitive education that will enable students to be
successful. The only problem is that he probably will not know
what his district funding will be until summer. Despite that, he
must turn in a balanced budget to his local municipality by May
1 and he must hire teachers. The value of predictability for
Alaska's school districts cannot be overstated. It takes months
during the school year to comprehensively evaluate spending,
reflect on progress, and develop new budgets and then wait on
word from legislators to finalize local budgets. If districts
are expected to spend responsibly, they must be given the time
to plan accordingly. Early notification of funding is crucial
for sound financial management, as well as for recruitment and
retention of quality educators. Stabilizing districts
budgetarily will improve student achievement.
9:27:57 AM
MR. ARNOLD said high superintendent turnover is an issue that
plagues the state, not just individual school systems. He showed
a slide titled K-12 Instability Equation with photos of
superintendents from five years ago. The x's on the photos
indicate superintendents who are no longer there. If the state
wants to turn the tide on superintendent turnover, the state
must adopt a rational mindset. Superintendents and school boards
must work together to create synergy among all stakeholders in
the system. School leaders cannot take credit for singlehandedly
improving student outcomes any more than these administrators
can blame themselves for poor test scores, but it can create the
conditions to coalesce school communities and transform school
systems. Teamwork is at the heart of school systems, but
superintendents undeniably have a role in creating conditions
that matter for students. School districts reel when
superintendents leave after only one year. Superintendents are
not afraid of accountability and want to work across the state
for solutions.
9:29:23 AM
MR. ARNOLD said the state has teacher shortages throughout the
system. At the beginning of the year, there were 63 special
education teacher vacancies. These are for the students who have
the greatest needs. College special education enrollment is down
while needs are going up.
9:30:09 AM
MR. ARNOLD presented Zogby polling data to show that Alaskans
support public education.
9:31:27 AM
MR. ARNOLD said the Superintendents Association is committed to
providing support for superintendents in transition through
professional development in their first two years on the job and
mentors. The association does this as a private nonprofit with
no outside funding.
9:32:22 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked Dr. Parady for any wrap-up comments.
9:32:38 AM
DR. PARADY said she was available to answer any questions and
her association would be happy to be a resource, especially
considering the present circumstances.
9:33:26 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked Karen Morrison about instructional costs
because the ALASBO comparisons do not seem to be apples-to-
apples. He asked what an apples-to-apples comparison would be.
9:34:08 AM
MS. MORRISON replied she didn't have one because there are
inconsistencies from state to state about what is included in
instructional costs. She said she included this information
because there are still questions about the comparison of the
state of Alaska vs. the U.S. Census Bureau.
9:34:48 AM
CHAIR STEVENS suggested that she help legislators understand
that in the future.
9:34:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK related that the Alaska Leadership Institute
will be held at the downtown Hilton Hotel and he hoped that in
the future Mr. Jordan could pick a hotel that is more worker
friendly.
9:35:20 AM
SENATOR HUGHES responded to Senator Stevens' comment on the U.S.
Census Bureau. She said it is an apples-to-apples comparison;
ALASBO includes some things in instructional costs while the
U.S. Census Bureau includes the same costs for all 50 states.
She reported that the states' average for instructional spending
is 61 percent., but the Alaska average is only 53.3 percent.
Although costs for health care and worker's compensation are
high, Alaska still needs to focus on how to get more dollars in
the classroom. Regarding the comment about how the public
supports increased funding for education, she was sure if asked,
that the public would support more dollars in the classroom but
would not likely support more funding for school administration.
SENATOR HUGHES said she hoped to hear from the Council of School
Administrators about what the state can do to improve student
outcomes and scores, but she has not heard it. She pointed out
that Senator Begich introduced SB 6, but it seems a shame that
policy makers must put a reading bill forward. An organization
like this should be working on what the state needs to do. Her
concern is that legislators should not have to put it in a bill.
Educators should be doing it. She listened to whole presentation
with excellent presenters and great slides, but she found it
lacked any focus on students and student learning. She said she
would like this association to take greater responsibility for
that. One of the presenters said superintendents are not afraid
of accountability, yet this association is resisting any strong
promotion/retention policy in that legislation, even though the
data is clear that that will improve student outcomes. She would
ask the association, if it does this presentation again, to
focus on student outcomes and what the association is doing to
turn the tide.
9:39:36 AM
CHAIR STEVENS commented that she made some excellent points. He
said he is still hearing from people in education who say that a
reading program is an unfunded mandate. "We put a billion
dollars into education. How can you say that reading is an
unfunded mandate? That's why we have any money in education,
primarily for reading skills.
9:40:03 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND said she takes issue with the U.S. Census
Bureau parsing budgets when their job is to count people. She
questioned why the figures are not coming from the U.S.
Department of Education working with state departments of
education and perhaps the Department of Labor. She said she
understands the costs of delivering education and the costs of
building, operating, and maintaining school buildings. In rural
Alaska those costs are tremendous and cannot be compared to the
rest of the states.
9:41:20 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said he appreciates her comments.
9:41:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY said the DEED commissioner has been
straightforward in saying that one metric cannot measure student
success. As legislators consider what Representative Drummond
said and look at schools holistically, there are many factors
that may or may not be contributing to success in Alaska. The
ACSA presentation focused on all of the considerations that have
to be made as the state moves forward, understanding that not
all schools, not all school districts, not all communities have
the same starting line. This presentation gave a thorough
analysis of all considerations that policy makers need to make
as the districts put forward policies to improve student
outcomes across the state. She asked Dr. Parady to speak to the
intention of providing this information today and how they
relate to student outcomes.
9:43:10 AM
DR. PARADY said she wanted to reaffirm that every school
administrator is 100 percent focused on student needs, which
includes student outcomes. She said she agrees with the
reference to Commissioner Johnson's statement that measuring
student success by one metric falls short of the big picture.
She explained that the presentation was designed to indicate it
is not unidimensional. Of course, ACSA prioritizes its focus on
academics, but it would be na?ve and ill-advised to say that it
is a unidimensional picture. It is multidimensional she said.
DR PARADY said the presentation was focused on sharing the
reality of what is happening in the field. Teachers and school
administrators cannot penetrate a child's learning if the child
is suffering from ACEs, is hungry, or has abuse in the home. She
said this is not an excuse but represents reality. Mr. Jordan
spoke to an expert on trauma at the RTI Conference who was
alarmed when he was debriefed about the level and severity of
student trauma that teachers must contend with. While it easy to
state that scores are not high enough, it is more realistic to
state that in order to address scores in Alaska, the state must
address other factors impacting students' ability to learn.
DR. PARADY said this also includes the crisis in teacher
turnover. The Northwest Regional Educational Lab research shows
that Alaska has 36 percent turnover of teachers and 38 percent
turnover of principals each year. It almost does not matter what
program is given to a rural, remote school because of these
turnover rates. All these things need to be addressed in concert
to move the needle forward. Mr. Pederson agreed that reading by
third grade is critical but it is affected by these issues.
DR. PARADY said she has heard many positives about the Alaska
Reads Act, but the main hesitation has been on student
retention. Dr. John Hattie international research shows that
retention of children has negative consequences, akin to
corporal punishment for students. Any resistance to that part of
SB 6 is related to student well-being and the recognition by
educators across the state that retention hurts kids.
9:47:29 AM
DR. PARADY said school administrators support universal
preschool 100 percent and largely support and feel optimistic
about the bill. All the pieces must be taken together to shift
the terrain in Alaska. Each administrator today focused on their
reality in the field. In terms of apples-to-apples, the 76
percent figure cited for instructional costs is higher in most
of the larger school districts. ACSA will work with ALASBO to
provide an apples-to-apples comparison with the U.S. Census
Bureau. She said she agrees with Representative Drummond that it
should be coming from another source. ACSA will verify that a
high proportion of dollars goes into instruction across Alaska.
ACSA is leading in accountability across the state not only for
student outcomes but considering the whole child and ensuring
student safety. For example, administrators are working overtime
to keep students and schools safe in the most recent COVID-19
outbreak. Administrators will be leaders in the communities to
help do that, she said.
9:49:50 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND said she appreciates what Mr. Jordan said
about the impact of trauma on students, as well as educators. It
reminded her that reading is not the only thing schools are
doing. House Education has heard bills this year on mental
health curriculum, on social and emotional learning, as well as
on literacy. The committee is working on a bill to increase the
BSA. The House has passed resolutions on the impact of ACEs on
citizens. Under Governor Walker, the state held a summit with
all state agencies on trauma as it impacts state employees, such
as OCS workers who have to deal with dysfunctional families and
public safety workers who have to enter homes where extreme
domestic violence or murders have occurred. The state has to pay
attention to that as it impacts everyone and costs a lot of
money. She said she is pleased that the administrators pointed
out that trauma impacts students and educators and everyone else
in the state. The uncertainty of budgets must be traumatic for
people trying to plan their near futures. The state has lost
dozens, if not hundreds, of teachers to other states because the
state is not funding education sufficiently.
9:51:59 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY thanked everyone for the information. She asked
for some follow-up information about changes to districts' fixed
costs in the last two years for things like energy, workmans
compensation, and health care. Legislators need a better
education funding policy. Their method of providing money
outside of the formula funding needs to be looked at. House
Education saw a chart showing 19 years of funding. In 18 years,
the state has done a BSA increase or done one-time funding.
Uncertain funding is well documented. She asked why the
legislature puts districts in the position of having to wait
until the end of the year to plan. The legislature is not doing
a good job with a funding policy. She said she understands why
the Supreme Court said the legislature can fund two years of
education funding, which is critical for staff stability. She
would like another presentation about reading curriculum. She
said she would like to know what districts are using science-
based curriculum with the five criteria for teaching reading.
She said she is excited about the Alaska Reads Act.
Interventions are critically important, but the legislature must
be confident that all teachers have good professional
development in reading and are using evidence-based curriculum.
She would appreciate a session on that. She added that she
appreciated the work on coding. She would like to know how many
districts are offering that program to middle and high school
students, even elementary students. She commended the presenters
for their dedication to students and staff.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX said he was contemplating the idea of
apples-to-oranges. He asked if all the states can fit into a
national accounting standard since it seems similar to comparing
urban to rural schools in Alaska.
9:57:29 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said that is a question for ACSA since the
committee would like to see a breakdown of that information.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX said the real question is if the state is
meeting the needs of each individual region. He suggested that
each region might not need the same degree of computer science,
for example.
9:58:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE D. JOHNSON pointed out that the U.S. Census
determines a lot of the funding regarding special education,
technology, Head Start and afterschool programs. The bureau has
a responsibility to put forward apples-to-apples types of data,
so legislators should not discount it. It is a helpful tool.
ACSA specifically disagrees with retention, although many high-
performing schools across the country have a retention policy.
She said the state is looking for ways to increase reading, and
according to some statistics retention is important to success
of a reading program. She expressed interest in obtaining more
information about the mix up in data.
REPRESENTATIVE D. JOHNSON said she is hearing the concerns about
consistency of funding, which is critical for districts.
However, the legislature is often presented with problems and
the answer is more funding. She would like to hear how these
problems will be fixed and the funding necessary to do so.
10:00:52 AM
SENATOR HUGHES said research shows that the more dollars that go
into the classroom, the better the student outcomes. Keeping
that in mind, the census data is important because Alaska is the
worst in the country according to that apples-to-apples
comparison. Regarding retention, there is recent research from
Harvard and the University of Chicago showing that with
comprehensive reading intervention programs, like the ones the
legislature is looking at, student GPAs go up and students who
repeat a grade with a different type of instruction catch up to
graduate.
10:02:17 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the committee,
the joint meeting of the Senate and House Education Standing
Committees adjourned the meeting at 10:02 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Final ACSA Joint Committee Presentation 3.16.20.pdf |
SEDC 3/16/2020 8:30:00 AM |
"The State of Alaska K – 12 Schools†by the AK Council of State Administrators |
| Final ACSA Joint Committee Presentation 3.16.20.pdf |
JEDC 3/16/2020 8:30:00 AM |
"The State of Alaska K - 12 Schools" by the AK Council of State Administrators |
| ACSA Joint Education Committee Packet_16Mar2020.pdf |
JEDC 3/16/2020 8:30:00 AM |
"The State of Alaska K - 12 Schools" by the AK Council of State Administrators |