Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/12/2002 01:34 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
Work Session
April 12, 2002
1:34 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lyda Green, Chair
Senator Jerry Ward
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Loren Leman, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Wilken
Senator Bettye Davis
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Donny Olson
Representative Reggie Joule
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
STATEWIDE SCHOOL SAFETY REPORT/MCQUEEN SCHOOL CLOSURE, KIVALINA
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
See Joint Senate HESS & CRA minutes dated 4/3/02.
WITNESS REGISTER
Mr. Carl Rose
Association of Alaska School Boards
316 W 11th St.
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented report on the McQueen School
Closure
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 02-28, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRWOMAN LYDA GREEN called the Senate Health, Education &
Social Services Committee work session to order at 1:34 p.m.
Committee members Ward and Green were present, as well as Senator
Olson and Representative Joule who represent the Kivalina
district. She asked Mr. Rose to discuss his project report.
MR. CARL ROSE, Executive Director of the Association of Alaska
School Boards, informed members that he was the leader of the
fact-finding team that went into Kivalina in the Northwest Arctic
Borough School District. He gave the following statement.
In context I would say with a fact finding team such as
this, if it were a school or if it were any entity, I
think you'd want to start by trying to get an answer to
the question why. As we went into Kivalina, we asked
some questions why, in terms of some of the concerns
over safety that [were] reported in the paper. As we
got on site and looked at some of the information, we
had some concerns over student learning. As we took a
look at the facts, we were more concerned with student
learning than we were with some of the evidence we were
seeing in terms of safety and, if I could for a moment,
we had Trooper Greenstreet from Kotzebue with us. Much
of the concern over behavior was either investigated or
addressed by the troopers and the behavior did not rise
to the level of illegal - legal question. What did
happen was we did evidence that there was some
aggressive behavior, some bad manners but none of it
rose to the level where the troopers needed to press
charges.
What was most alarming to us was we started to look at
some of the information on student learning, some of
the data, and we were very concerned with what we saw.
Going back to my early comments, we asked the question
why. We asked the question why, we looked at the
processes that were being delivered and that led us to
examine some of the strategies that were being
employed, which led us to some of the goals, which led
us to the mission and eventually the overall vision of
the school district.
What this report represents is all of the "disconnects"
between those entities. I'm talking about the school
child in the classroom, the parents and teachers, the
community and school, central office, executive staff
and eventually the school board - up and down. We found
that there were issues regarding trusting
relationships. There was a lack of cooperation and
ultimately communication.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked Mr. Rose if he is referring to the
students.
MR. ROSE said he is talking about the systemic approach of
delivering education so from the policy arm of the school board
down to the delivery to the child, there were areas of disconnect
that caused people to ask a lot of questions. He then continued
his report.
They were not well informed, communication was not
taking place, there didn't appear to be a lot of
cooperation and, as I mentioned, those trusting
relationships. Well, when you deal with the system,
these are critical issues. More importantly, as we did
our investigation and we took a look at what we were
seeing, ultimately we found that the needs of children
were not being addressed - they weren't the highest
priority. All of the report as you have received, much
of that report - the majority of the report deals with
adult behavior and I think we conclude that it is the
adult behavior that needs to change and it's much more
important than kids'. Our evidence has been that we
model what we teach or we're teaching something else.
And, I think in the case of Kivalina, some of the adult
behavior is pretty much being modeled by some of the
kids.
The state should be alarmed with the way that this was
advertised in the paper. I do want to tell you that
there is tremendous room for improvement. I think that
there are a number of options that are available for
the district to exhaust before state intervention but
as you can see in the conclusion in my report, or our
report, we talk about a group of people led by a
competent - I think we referred to it as a competent
team leader - to come in and address the needs or the
behaviors that led up to the closure of the school,
one, and secondly an education improvement plan. I
think that there's a tremendous amount of opportunity
here and I think they have the wherewithal within the
district. You're already funding that school through
the foundation formula. I've - I was concerned about
how this report would be received by many of the people
here, simply applying a cost-benefit ratio to the
amount of money that's spent and the outcome that is
received. So, I was well aware of that.
I'd like to talk to you just briefly about another
thing that concerns me. We're on the verge of
designating our schools. I think Kivalina may be one of
many examples. I think the way that we go about
addressing the Kivalina incident in terms of improving
that situation will be key to the model that we employ
with schools that we identify as poor performing
schools. So with that I wanted to share with you that
the School Board Association is very concerned about
this. We deal a lot in the area of governance. We deal
a lot in the area of leadership and in community
engagement and we will work with Northwest Arctic to
try to address some of those issues but let me be clear
- this cannot be a top down or a bottom up: it has to
be both. There needs to be a willingness throughout the
district to work together and put the interests of kids
first.
With that, let me share with you some of the things
that I just recently read in the American School Board
Journal, it's a publication of the National School
Board Association. They identify four things that we
can learn from our mistakes. The first thing is that
you can't do something big like this with a narrow
majority of people. Essentially what it's saying is you
have to build a broader base of support to improve and
make the changes that need to be made and all of the
reasons why. So, we need to have this discussion in a
larger context to focus on what you need in place to
make the positive move.
Secondly, these complex issues in education, you can't
deal with them with the latest educational fad, you
just can't transport things in here and hope that it's
going to fix the issue. You need to take the time to
plan and think your way through to design programs that
accurately address some of the needs that you're trying
to address through your plan. A clear and concise plan
that's comprehensive is essential. I think we all know
that. We all talk about it but we don't necessarily
practice it but a clear and concise plan that's
comprehensive. And then lastly, these areas of
disconnect - if you're going to try to do something
with the public in a democracy, you have to relieve
those areas of disconnects. The four things I've just
mentioned are clearly evident in the case of Kivalina -
all four of them. And so, there is a roadmap here as to
how we expand the support that we need, how we fashion
and design school improvement plans, how we put
together a clear and concise and comprehensive plan for
that school district and lastly to cause more of a
desire to cooperate and build a level of trust
throughout the system so we can communicate and have a
positive effect.
One of the things that is hard to talk about, but I
think is really important, is you have to be honest
with yourself in dealing with your failures. If you're
not honest in dealing with your failures, then it's
very difficult to be successful in terms of achieving.
Now if you honestly take a look at Kivalina, which
we've tried to do, we raise a number of issues that
should cause a lot of people to be concerned. As I
shared this with both Kivalina and with the Northwest
Arctic Board, I asked them to consider taking this
report and not necessarily debating or arguing over its
contents, but to take a look at how we move forward.
What would be the next steps if we were going to
improve the quality of education? I think for the most
part, that was received fairly well. I can't go in
there and wave a wand and fix everything, Senator, but
I do think we placed the issues squarely before the
communities and being an outsider going into a town and
raising the issue of their school and community being
dysfunctional, the word 'dysfunctional' was a very
difficult thing to use in this case. And as I visited
with them I explained that when you go to a school that
is functioning well, you find that communities are
supportive of their schools. You find that there are
behavioral standards that are acceptable and you find
that the delivery of education, the system of delivery
of education, is meeting the needs of kids. And when
those things are not there, the school is
dysfunctional.
Likewise, with the community, there were some things in
the community - adult behaviors, the willingness to
accept less than acceptable performance on behalf of
the kids, or behavioral issues, these things are
reflective of a community that may be dysfunctional.
[It is] very difficult to tell parents that but we did
it because that's what we saw. There was not
necessarily a level of acceptance, but a willingness to
just examine that within the context of the overall
report.
As I shared the report with them it became clear that
this issue was more than just a Kivalina issue, which
is why I wanted to speak to you today. As a state, and
I mentioned earlier, we have other areas of concern and
I think when you take a look at Kivalina this may well
be reflected, as I mentioned in the opening
introduction, this may be a snapshot of rural
education. So as we put together this comprehensive
plan that is clear and concise for how we deal with
Kivalina we are probably putting together a
comprehensive plan and model for how we address other
schools.
I think I'll stop there Senator, other than to say that
I was close to the issue, I got in and I got to see
some things and I found that there were inconsistencies
depending on who you talked to. I will tell you this:
when it came to the closure of Kivalina school, I can't
second guess why these things happen but it did happen,
it caused the state to focus on Kivalina, it caused us
to take a closer look and it's a tremendous opportunity
now for residents of Kivalina, as well the Northwest
Arctic Borough School District and the rest of us who
are involved in education to take a helping hand and
try to improve the situation. I think there's an
opportunity here and I think that the state should be
concerned with the results that have been reported and
with the report that we've submitted. The School Board
Association will do everything in its power to work
with other entities to help the Northwest Arctic, to
help rural education and ultimately to help all kids.
If we're here for all kids and we want to leave no kids
behind, that's what we want to try to do. So with that
I'll try to answer any questions you might have.
1:45 p.m.
SENATOR WARD asked, if Mr. Rose does not believe education is the
first priority of the community of Kivalina, what is the first
priority.
MR. ROSE said he felt the community was not appreciative of the
outside pressure. Kivalina is a subsistence, whaling community,
and the residents are very concerned about losing their culture
and traditional ways. Putting those priorities against Western
values causes tremendous strife. He noted the parents are
extremely protective of their children, even to a fault.
Residents wanted local determination and, over time, the result
has been a standard they were unaware of. 10 and 20 years ago
success was measured using graduation and drop out rates while
today a different scale of competencies is used. He admitted that
creates some pressure, but that is not all bad. He feels the
opportunity to have a conversation to gain a better understanding
of why they should perform has not taken place.
SENATOR WARD asked if any of the events rose to a level that
required state trooper action and whether any of the parents and
students were being pressured by the same group that threw the
teachers out to not participate in the educational system.
MR. ROSE replied that he did not feel anyone in the community was
being threatened but he believes any one who feels threatened
probably is. He interviewed some of the teachers that left who
gave a variety of reasons for leaving, not all of which were
safety. He noted the only things he saw that could be prevalent
in this Eskimo subsistence village is that the people have a
tendency to be polite and understated and they try to stay away
from conflict. However, a few people in that community have very
aggressive behavior. He felt the dynamic was one of a very
passive community leveraged against some aggressive behavior. He
saw cases in which a parent was supportive of his children
irrespective of inappropriate behavior on the children's part.
SENATOR WARD noted if the elders had been involved, the school
closure probably would not have happened. Senator Ward said he
has been unsure about the logic of building high schools all over
the Bush yet he doesn't necessarily endorse a blanket policy of
moving students to boarding schools. He then asked if the
Northwest Arctic Borough School District (NWABSD) has interviewed
the parents in Kivalina and noted he would like to formulate a
program during this process to give to other communities to
empower parents to be prideful of their school. He expressed
concern that more Native teachers are not being trained and that
the state has to bring teachers in from elsewhere who do not want
to live in the Bush for more than half of a year. He felt an
incentive needs to be offered, such as paying a person from the
community 25 percent more to teach.
MR. ROSE stated the people of Kivalina are passive and kind and
that there are good students in Kivalina. The school closure was
the result of lower expectations and the lack of implementation
of a quality instructional program that met the needs of
students. Those things can be rectified but unfortunately they
had to become a statewide concern before anyone took a look. He
cautioned members that with all of the options available to
remedy the situation, he would hesitate to endorse a knee-jerk
reaction.
SENATOR WARD noted that he did not read the word "parent" very
many times in Mr. Rose's report, which is why he was so pleased
to find out the head of the NWABSD planned to interview the
parents individually. He felt if the parents cannot be empowered
to be involved in the education of their children, no amount of
money or laws will change anything. He maintained that something
is causing the parents to be disengaged from their children's
education.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN remarked that committee members received a
letter from Sophie Ferguson who spoke about appointing a group to
go to Kivalina and "have an eye on this" and that might segue
into Senator Ward's ideas. She then indicated that both Mr. Rose
and Commissioner Holloway stated that communication problems were
a large part of the problem yet she found that absent in the
report. She then said that she does not have test scores from 10
or 12 years ago, but if those scores were no better than the
scores today, a great deal of time and money has been spent
resulting in a disappointing record. She then asked Mr. Rose if
the fact-finding team addressed the issue of reopening the gym in
Kivalina. She was wondering why the gym wasn't used as a
negotiating tool.
MR. ROSE said he inadvertently left the word "communication" out
of the report. As he reported back to the community, he
identified the lack of a trusting relationship and an inability
or unwillingness to cooperate thereby leading to a breakdown in
communication at every level. He said the fact-finding team's
initial concern was one of safety but that rapidly turned to the
unmet educational needs of students. He said on the issue of the
gym, almost everyone involved was disappointed to see the gym
reopened for a host of reasons. The decision to reopen the gym
was made under tremendous pressure locally. Although everyone
seems to disagree with that decision now, at the time it was a
relief valve. The fact-finding team was not involved in that
decision.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN suggested that should have been covered in Mr.
Rose's report because she believes it was perceived as an error.
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE gave the following backdrop on the Kivalina
situation. Kivalina is located on a spit. For the last 25 to 30
years, it has been fighting erosion. There is no place to expand
and the 13 new houses that are being built right now are the
first the community has seen in a long time because of the lack
of space. The new houses are almost "pressed together." As many
as three generations of people are living under one roof - 17 to
20 people. One reason the village cannot hire a village public
safety officer (VPSO) is because of the lack of housing. He
remarked the people have been very active in trying to relocate
the community but have met with one obstacle after another and
the process has been painfully slow.
Regarding the issue of low test scores, REPRESENTATIVE JOULE felt
there is a relationship to what Mr. Rose said, that being that in
rural communities there are very limited opportunities for
employment. The only jobs that exist are at the school, as a
community health aide, or with the tribal council. One challenge
that needs to be examined is how to embrace the low test scores.
He believes low test scores will be found in many rural villages
because there is a disconnect between what students are learning
and what they will do after high school. Up until last year or
so, the only viable opportunity to visit those centers was
through boarding schools. He advised members it is important to
be mindful of helping students to make the connection of the
value of their education in terms of employment if the state
continues to use a Western model.
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE said students need to be plugged in to what
job opportunities are available in a place like Kotzebue. He
questioned whether people could work at jobs in Kotzebue for two
weeks on and two weeks off like they do at the Red Dog mine. He
suggested that housing could be part of the employment package,
as in aviation. He believes that is the kind of challenge the
state needs to look at when trying to get students connected to
their education. He indicated that everyone has focused on the
misbehavior of a relatively small number of students and the
community is paying a high price for that. He noted in the
Native value system, respect is very important, but respect must
be a two-way street. He thought Commissioner Holloway and Mr.
Rose have said the Kivalina school closure incident presents an
opportunity to move the importance of education forward for all
Alaskans, regardless of where they live, by finding a way to make
students feel plugged in. He said the disconnect is both economic
and social and is partly caused by isolation. He then suggested a
regional prison could provide employment in rural areas in which
people could work two weeks on and two weeks off.
2:15 p.m.
SENATOR WARD noted that his ancestors no longer live in Ferry
(ph), Alaska because there are no jobs there. He agreed that
legislators need to have a full discussion about whether
government dollars are keeping communities stationary. He
questioned whether government is doing a disservice to Native
communities by not allowing them to be nomadic when there are no
jobs to support them. He noted he does not want boarding homes
but he does not want to trap people by keeping them in one place.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN noted she asked a few questions of Commissioner
Holloway at the previous hearing.
MR. ROSE asked to first address a comment made at the previous
hearing about racism being part of the problem. He said that
although everyone acknowledges that racism is alive and well in
our society, the problem in Kivalina is that a standard based on
an assimilation model is being applied. He believes education is
the great equalizer, yet the people of Kivalina are not aware of
the value of a quality education so do not emphasize it. He said
his hometown of Skagway is similar in size and population to
Kivalina. The education delivery system and behavioral standards
in Skagway are reinforced by the community. The opportunities
available through education that young people see everyday are
very different than in Kivalina. The Western societal and
educational values that exist in Skagway are very different from
Kivalina. That is a reason to fashion a model of opportunity for
Kivalina rather than an assimilation model. He said the model
used to address the problems facing Kivalina will be the start of
a model for all schools that are not performing well.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN called Commissioner Holloway to testify.
COMMISSIONER SHIRLEY HOLLOWAY, Department of Education and Early
Development (DOEED), informed members that in response to the
question about why the gym was kept open, when she was told the
school was closed she assumed all of it was closed and learned
about the gym several days later. She believes that reopening the
school could have been used as part of an important conversation
about behavioral standards.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if a definition of school closure is
contained in statute or regulations.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY deferred to Assistant Attorney General Jean
Mischel to discuss that issue.
MS. MISCHEL, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law,
informed members that the statutes do not contain a strict
definition of school closure, but a regulation exists on the
discontinuation of schools. That regulation was drafted in the
1970s in response to the Molly Hootch litigation. The regulation
does not differentiate between a permanent or temporary
discontinuation but it contains a procedure that she does not
believe was followed by the NWABSD.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the current regulations are adequate to
deal with a closure.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY said she believes the state board of
education should review that regulation as it needs to be updated
in light of this incident.
SENATOR WARD asked if there is another community hall or
gathering place in Kivalina other than the gym.
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE said Kivalina has a community center but it
is not used for recreational activities.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY said there may be some kind of contractual
arrangement for gym use that DOEED is not aware of. She then
asked Mr. Truitt to Chairwoman Green's question about authority
issues.
MR. KEN TRUITT, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law,
explained the statutory authorities in the area of education as
follows. The primary directive for the commission of education is
found in the Alaska Constitution, which states that the
legislature shall, by general law, establish and maintain a
system of public schools for all children of the state. The
Alaska Supreme Court has labeled this as a pervasive state
authority for the delivery of education. This constitutional
provision provides that the legislature will be the primary
institution to deliver that. The legislature has delegated the
specific authority to manage and govern schools to school
districts. So, school districts have the very specific authority
to manage the operations, the delivery of education, and to
govern and provide for the governance of schools and school
districts. The legislature has also provided DOEED and the state
board of education with the general authority over the delivery
of education in the state. However, the exact relationship
between a school district's specific authority and the
department's general authority is unclear. Related to Kivalina,
he cannot say with certainty how far DOEED's authority reaches.
The primary authority to deal with the problem lies with the
school district. Nowhere in Title 14 is DOEED given specific
authority to operate a school that exists within a borough school
district; that specific authority is given to the school district
itself. DOEED does have general authority but what that means in
Kivalina will depend on how the situation unfolds.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if, at some point, authority was given to
the school district by DOEED.
MR. TRUITT said it was given to the borough by the legislature.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if DOEED acted as a pass-through agency.
MR. TRUITT said it did not.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the legislature could be involved in
the Kivalina situation at some point.
MR. TRUITT said it could.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the legislature can withdraw a
district's authority to oversee a school.
MR. TRUITT explained that Title 14 lays out the authority of
school districts so it does not grant authority to specific
districts.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN maintained that districts were given unilateral
authority.
MR. TRUITT indicated a school district is a part of a city or
borough so it must operate within the bounds of Alaska statutes
that provide for the governance of cities and boroughs. Other
statutes are specific to regional education attendance areas
(REAA).
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN clarified that she was saying that the state
endowed the title of school district on 53 different districts
because those districts had to do something to be given that
authority. She was thinking if a district was not living up to
those requirements, the agreement could be altered by the
legislature.
MR. TRUITT believed that to be correct. He said at some point in
the Kivalina situation, DOEED would have some sort of authority.
He noted the ambiguity is highlighted in Mr. Rose's report when
he speaks to the district being the sole authority to address the
problem but concludes that if the problem is not solved, the
state should intervene. He believes everyone recognizes that the
primary body with the authority to govern that school is the
school district. If, however, the school district completely
abdicates authority to follow through with its statutory duties,
everyone assumes another body has the authority to do something.
While that scenario is not specifically laid out in statute,
DOEED does have general supervisory authority to oversee
education in Alaska.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN said it is not the plan for anyone to intervene
and the legislature hopes the school district can resolve the
issue. She applauded Mr. Schaeffer for his offer to speak to the
parents in Kivalina and emphasized the importance of giving that
information to the school board for its use.
MR. TRUITT stated there are no other authorities in statute that
he is aware of. He then noted both the school districts and DOEED
are given specific statutory authority to enter into agreements
with each other to provide for the more efficient or economical
delivery of education services. DOEED is given specific authority
to establish, maintain, and govern area regional and special
schools, although he is not entirely sure what that means.
Regarding the options Mr. Rose spoke of, he said DOEED can
provide consulting and contractual services to assist districts.
He ventured that since that specific authority is stated in both
entities' statutory grants of authority, it looks like the
legislature contemplated it as an option to be exercised.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked for an example.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY replied DOEED enters into contracts on a
regular basis with school districts to work on specific projects
or if it uses district employees to work on statewide issues.
DOEED is encouraging NWABSD to enter into some partnerships
within and outside of their region to turn the Kivalina situation
around.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked to be kept informed about funding for a
group to do the follow-up work in Kivalina.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY asked Dr. Ford-Slack to address Chairwoman
Green's question about Title 1 schools.
DR. P.J. FORD-SLACK, Director of Teaching and Learning Support,
DOEED, informed members that Title 1 is not a new program; it is
part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary
School Act (ESEA). The Division of Teaching and Learning Support
largely deals with curriculum issues and most of its staff is
funded with federal funds. Under ESEA, DOEED has 10 title
programs. Right now, the division is working on what is called
"adequate yearly progress." The documents she submitted to the
committee contain the old definition that Alaska has used to
decide which schools get specific help under Title 1 funds. The
old definition of "adequate yearly progress" was:
Schools with 11 or more students taking the California
Achievement Test (CAT) 5, where 61 percent or more of
the students are not proficient or advanced, levels
having answered 50 percent or more of the questions
correctly and have not made adequate yearly progress.
Schools that do not make adequate yearly progress for
two consecutive years are designated as Title 1 school
improvement sites for the following year.
DR. FORD-SLACK said DOEED has had quality school facilitators go
in and work with these sites. Alaska has at least 83 schools that
might have been eligible but only 13 are designated as school
improvement sites because Alaska's schools are small. DOEED
either had incomplete data or not enough students. A couple of
factors were present in Kivalina's case:
· In 1998, 12 students were tested and 50 percent did not meet
proficiency. The definition required 60 percent so Kivalina
was classified as having made adequate yearly progress.
· In 1999, 9 students were tested but the school population
was too small to be classified.
· In 2000, 13 students were tested and 84 percent did not meet
proficiency. Kivalina failed to make adequate yearly
progress.
· In 2001 there is some question as to what happened to the
test. No data was submitted so DOEED was unable to submit
the information to the federal government for classification
as a school improvement site.
DR. FORD-SLACK said that what she does know is that the Kivalina
school definitely needs help. DOEED then asked its quality school
team leaders to provide any extra help possible with extra funds,
such as assistant in-service, providing information on standards,
looking for assessment experts, responding to curriculum designs,
special education or behavioral concerns. She noted that page 2
of the handout contains a breakdown of the money the NWABSD
receives under all of the title programs. The only program DOEED
can get school-specific data for is Title 1 and it knows in FY 02
the Kivalina school was eligible and received $70,063. The
Kivalina school would be eligible under the other title programs,
such as Migrant Education, Math and Science, Reading, Safe and
Drug Free Schools, for other pieces of the allocations but DOEED
does not have that breakdown by school.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the NWABSD has that breakdown.
DR. FORD-SLACK said the district may have it. She then explained
the third handout contains a list of Title 1 school improvement
sites for 2001-2002. She reminded legislators that the list is
based on the old definition of "adequate yearly progress," which
is changing. After meeting with the designator committee and a
consultant for the last three days, she learned that about three
quarters of Alaska's schools could fall into the needing
improvement arena.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the number of students (11) will go
down.
DR. FORD-SLACK said she does not believe so because if the number
is lower, the data would not be significant. She noted that DOEED
might not use that sort of determination to pick up Alaska's
schools. DOEED is very aware of how much smaller Alaska's schools
are than those in other states, so it must be sure to include all
of its schools so that they can get help from Title 1.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if that will help with the small class
size number.
DR. FORD-SLACK said she believes it will as DOEED will have to be
able to show that it has paid attention to all of Alaska's
schools.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked Dr. Ford-Slack to confirm that the $1.753
million is federal money that does not pass through the
legislative budget process.
DR. FORD-SLACK said that is correct. She then drew members'
attention to List A and said 32 schools failed to meet adequate
yearly progress in March 2001 based on CAT 5 testing and would be
identified as school improvement sites except they were too small
under the existing definition. She noted the list provides an
indication of other sites with academic problems. List B contains
38 schools that are low performing but did not meet the
requirements for identification as Title 1 school improvement
sites for a variety of reasons, including missing data or lack of
students in the grade to be tested.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if information of this sort can be
included in the interim designator reports before 2005.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY's answer was inaudible.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN said several people have expressed concern about
delaying the designator in light of this issue. She wants to be
sure that the legislature gets enough information to determine
the actual status of schools and that no more schools are found
to be in crisis, like Kivalina.
2:45 p.m.
SENATOR WARD remarked the legislature passed legislation
requiring a high school qualifying exam, but every once in awhile
one learns after the fact that something doesn't fit. He noted
that Representative Joule described a community that has no jobs
to provide income other than a few government jobs that require
higher education. He expressed concern that the legislature may
have trapped a large group of people into a bad situation because
they cannot relate to the need for a higher education. Perhaps
some would be better off learning to operate a D-8 Cat to work at
Cominco. He asked Commissioner Holloway, as the testing process
unfolds, to report back to the committee as to whether or not his
concern is reflected. He maintained that the legislature cannot
create enough government jobs to hold those people for the
future.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN took public testimony.
MR. MIKE DUNLEAVY, Assistant Superintendent of the NWABSD,
informed members that the NWABSD has embraced the standards
movement since it began. NWABSD's former superintendent, Jerry
Covey, was instrumental in getting the state to adopt performance
standards. Since that time, the NWABSD has geared its program
toward the standards movement. The NWABSD has aligned its
curriculum in reading, writing and math to the standards; it has
implemented internal assessments; it has contracted out to align
the standards with the assessment; it has geared all staff
development toward the standards; its curricular resources have
been chosen as the best way to teach to the standards; and it
continues to strive in that direction. He believes one problem
encountered in Kivalina was the result of the NWABSD's attempt to
assist students in meeting those standards. For some time,
education in Alaska was determined by local school boards. With
the standards movement, the bar was raised in some areas but was
uniform across the state. In an attempt to meet that bar, some
resistance has occurred because the change may have occurred too
quickly for some students. In the NWABSD's effort to raise the
bar in Kivalina, a few individuals have had a difficult time
reaching those standards. Coupled with that are issues involving
danger on the part of some students and adults that helped
contribute to the school closure. He pointed out, in regard to
the gym remaining open while the school was closed, there is no
real blueprint for closing a school. When the decision to close
the school was made, the gym was left open because it was
contracted out to community organizations. Most schools in the
district contract with local organizations for gym use.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked Mr. Dunleavy to send her a copy of those
contracts and the payment schedule, as well as a breakdown of the
monies routed to the advisory school board in Kivalina.
MR. DUNLEAVY agreed to do so and then continued his testimony.
The NWABSD looked at the school closure in Kivalina as part of a
painful process of improving the educational situation for
students in the Northwest. The district is fully prepared to
continue with that process. The district has taken a number of
steps that began before the school was actually closed, including
meeting with the community several times. It is working on a long
range plan and has sent a letter to the Kivalina advisory board
inviting it to participate in a joint task force. The borough
mayor, Ross Schaefer, has visited the community and will continue
to be part of the process. He pointed out that most schools in
Alaska have the authority to develop their own calendars. As
such, the calendar for Kivalina can be amended to accommodate the
school closure.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN said everyone has assumed the school calendar
would be extended this year. She asked who accompanied Mayor
Schaefer and what kind of short term plans the NWABSD is looking
at. She then asked for a copy of the NWABSD letter to the
advisory school board and whether an internal joint task force is
adequate or whether help from outside of the district will be
necessary.
MR. DUNLEAVY said he believes Kivalina is a local issue but
during the process the NWABSD may ask for assistance from DOEED
and other organizations. He repeated his belief that this issue
originated locally and will need to be solved locally.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN stated she believes the district needs to get
outside assistance to help resolve the situation in Kivalina and
asked that it be one of his priorities.
MR. DUNLEAVY said in its letter to the advisory council, the
NWABSD has suggested that the make up of the task force include
an individual from an organization such as DOEED.
SENATOR WARD asked how many people the community hall in Kivalina
will hold.
MR. DUNLEAVY said he is not sure of its capacity.
SENATOR WARD asked if Kivalina has a community hall.
MR. DUNLEAVY said there is.
SENATOR WARD said he hopes that, at the very least, the NWABSD
speaks to people who have been facilitators and can extract
information in the best way possible. He again expressed concern
that the parents in the community be interviewed so that they can
be part of the solution because without them, the district will
not have a model with which to help other communities. He said he
looks forward to reading the report of the interview of parents.
MR. DUNLEAVY said Mayor Schaeffer has started that process.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked Mr. Rose to reiterate the recommendations
in the report.
MR. ROSE said the recommendations were based on outside
facilitation that would assist the school district in addressing
two things: the behavior that led up to the closure of the school
and an educational improvement plan to address the needs of
students. The fact-finding team also identified that much of the
problem had to do with the behavior of adults more than the
behavior of students. The two things offered are anecdotal
because of the behavior leading up to closure and the needs of
students. The team feels strongly that competent outside
facilitation with a group identified from inside will be very
helpful in pulling the community together. A "fix" cannot be done
from the top down or vice versa.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the team's recommendations for
developing and implementing a school improvement plan still hold.
MR. ROSE said very much so. He said he believes the advisory
board is key at the local level. It provides an opportunity for
community input on school issues and also provides for the
dissemination of information. He said he understands that
advisory board members have had some training but he is not sure
that members understand their role and responsibilities. The
fact-finding team discussed this matter with school district
personnel in an exit interview. He maintained that there is more
than enough blame to go around, from top to bottom, and every
level needs to look at its role and responsibilities. That could
be done through a communications audit. He repeated that the
recommendations advocated by the fact-finding team still need to
be focused on.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN took public testimony.
MR. WALTER SAMPSON, a member of the Northwest Arctic Borough
Assembly, said that based on the testimony he has heard, he is
frustrated by the testimony given by Commissioner Holloway as she
tagged Kivalina as a dysfunctional community. He felt it is sad
to see a state agency do that because it is not the entire
community that is creating the problem; it is a small percentage
of people. He felt that any time an onsite facilitator is used to
resolve a problem like this one, it creates a problem for the
community.
TAPE 02-29, SIDE A
MR. SAMPSON said if the problem is the behavior of the adults,
the problem is a community issue. He indicated if the local
people are ignored in the process and not brought into the
dialog, the problem will become larger. He repeated the need to
work things out at the local level.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN informed Mr. Sampson that Mayor Schaeffer
visited with her last week and she recommended that he take one
of the executives and school board members with him to visit
because it is a school district responsibility.
SENATOR WARD added that someone with conflict resolution skills
needs to be involved and help the local leaders decide what
questions should be asked to create a roadmap by the parents. He
indicated that no one intended to send someone in to take the
place of the local parents.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN commented that everyone wants to see a positive
outcome and that students, parents and teachers are satisfied.
However, students must go to school with a willingness to
participate and learn and that message comes from the home and
the community. She asked Mr. Rose to provide her with a copy of
the article he referred to about the four points.
SENATOR WARD asked if the community of Kivalina was informed of
the hearing today.
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE said it was.
SENATOR WARD encouraged people to contact their legislators.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN agreed and then adjourned the meeting at 3:18
p.m.
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