ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE  March 21, 2025 8:06 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Rebecca Himschoot, Co-Chair Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair Representative Maxine Dibert Representative Ted Eischeid Representative Bill Elam MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Jubilee Underwood Representative Rebecca Schwanke COMMITTEE CALENDAR  PRESENTATION(S): Teacher Apprenticeships - HEARD PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  No previous action to record WITNESS REGISTER KELLY MANNING, Deputy Director Division of Innovation & Education Excellence Department of Education & Early Development Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered a presentation titled "Teacher Apprenticeships". KRISTY FORD, Education Director Sealaska Heritage Institute Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered a presentation titled "Teacher Apprenticeships". STEVE NOONKESSER, Special Projects Director Bristol Bay Regional Career & Technical Education Dillingham, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered a presentation titled "Teacher Apprenticeships". TONIA DOUSAY Dean, School of Education, University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered a presentation titled "Teacher Apprenticeships". JANELLE VANASSE President, Alaska Pacific University Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered a presentation titled "Teacher Apprenticeships". ACTION NARRATIVE 8:06:58 AM CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT called the House Education Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:06 a.m. Representatives Dibert, Himschoot, Story, Eischeid, and Elam were present at the call to order. ^PRESENTATION(S): Teacher Apprenticeships PRESENTATION(S): Teacher Apprenticeships    8:08:05 AM CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT announced that the only order of business would be the Teacher Apprenticeships presentation. 8:12:51 AM KELLY MANNING, Deputy Director, Division of Innovation & Education Excellence, Department of Education & Early Development, co-offered a presentation, titled "Teacher Apprenticeships." She began on slide 3, which displayed a table that outlined the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)'s Mission, Vision, and Purpose as a government agency and moved to slide 4, which highlighted 5 strategic priorities of the DEED in addressing Alaska's education challenges. She continued to slide 5, which displayed a timeline of the DEED's Teacher Registered Apprenticeship program as it has existed since 2016. 8:19:06 AM KRISTY FORD, Education Director, Sealaska Heritage Institute, co-offered a presentation, titled "Teacher Apprenticeships." She picked up the presentation on slide 6, which highlighted the high cost of the pattern of consistent teacher turnover in Alaska. 8:20:10 AM MS. MANNING spoke to slide 7, which displayed a pie chart that outlined potential solutions to the issue of teacher turnover in Alaska. 8:21:24 AM STEVE NOONKESSER, Special Projects Director, Bristol Bay Regional Career & Technical Education, co-offered a presentation, titled "Teacher Apprenticeships." He took over the presentation on slide 9, which described the importance of registered apprenticeships in Alaska and continued to slide 10, which listed a number of common terms that are used differently between the United States Department of Labor (USDoL) and education professionals. He moved to slide 11, which described what a registered apprenticeship entails and continued to slide 12, which highlighted the key entities that enable teacher apprenticeship programs. 8:30:25 AM MS. FORD spoke to slide 13, which highlighted the "four legs that hold up the stool" of a teacher's apprenticeship. The slide displayed a graphic that outlined the roles that sponsors, employers, labor entities, and response to intervention (RTI) play in the success of a mentor/apprentice relationship. 8:37:03 AM MS. MANNING resumed the presentation on slide 14, which highlighted the key factors of the compliance with existing regulation concerning a teacher apprenticeship. 8:39:08 AM MR. NOONKESSER picked up the presentation on slide 15, which listed the 8 "core components" of a teacher apprenticeship program. He skipped to slide 17, which outlined the very first steps that a teacher might take on a path to a teacher apprenticeship. 8:47:29 AM MS. MANNING touched on slide 18, which listed the USDoL's approved teacher apprenticeship sponsors in Alaska. 8:49:49 AM MS. FORD spoke to slide 19, which highlighted the 4 "core duties" of the sponsor of a teacher's apprenticeship. 8:51:14 AM MR. NOONKESSER resumed the presentation on slide 20, which outlined how a registered teacher apprenticeship is designed and structured. 8:55:20 AM MS. MANNING moved to slide 21, which described phase one of the DEED's apprenticeship program development and continued to slide 22, which listed a number of stakeholders that were involved in the DEED's teacher apprenticeship stakeholder engagement process. She moved to slide 23, which described phase two of the DEED's apprenticeship program development and continued to slide 24, which highlighted phase three of the DEED's apprenticeship program development. She skipped to slide 26, which listed four approved education preparation providers. 9:08:28 AM TONIA DOUSAY, Dean, School of Education, University of Alaska Anchorage, co-offered a presentation titled "Teacher Apprenticeships". She picked up the presentation on slide 27, which displayed a graphic that described how a teacher might enroll in the Sunrae teacher apprenticeship program and moved to slide 28, which detailed the benefits of the Sunrae teacher apprenticeship program. She continued to slide 29, which displayed a series of metrics & outcomes from the Sunrae teacher apprenticeship program's 2024-2025 school year. 9:15:14 AM JANELLE VANASSE, President, Alaska Pacific University, co- offered a presentation titled "Teacher Apprenticeships". She resumed the presentation on slide 31, which highlighted the positive aspects and outcomes of the Alaska Competency based Apprenticeship for Teacher Education (ACATE) program. She moved to slide 32, which displayed a graphic that emphasized the strong support services within the ACATE program. 9:21:52 AM MS. MANNING touched on slides 33 and 34, both of which highlighted the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) approved elementary 2-year apprenticeship pathway. 9:23:08 AM MR. NOONKESSER concluded the presentation on slide 35 and thanked the committee for their time. 9:25:06 AM CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT asked a clarifying question regarding slide 7 and asked why Tennessee began its own teacher apprenticeship program in 2022. She asked where she could find the collective statistics regarding teacher apprenticeships in Alaska. MS. MANNING confirmed Co-Chair Himschoot's understanding of slide 7 and said that Tennessee already had a series of "grow- your-own" programs within its state and emphasized that the paid position within a school district rather than a separate student teaching position was integral in the success of the Tennessee teacher apprenticeship program. 9:30:25 AM MS. DOUSAY added that the average age of teacher's apprenticeships is 38 and explained where Co-Chair Himschoot could locate any information regarding teacher apprenticeships in Alaska. She explained a series of numbers regarding the amount of teacher's apprentice's currently in Alaska and said that someone with credits from a prior postsecondary institution may be utilized toward a teacher's apprenticeship. 9:34:52 AM MR. NOONKESSER explained that there are 16 teacher's apprentices currently active in Alaska, all of which are primarily in early elementary education assignments. 9:35:33 AM MS. FORD added that there are currently two active paraprofessional teacher apprentices in Ketchikan that are teaching later elementary education. 9:36:33 AM MS. MANNING said that the DEED currently has five active teacher apprentices, one in YKSD, two in the Lower Yukon, and Two in Kodiak. She explained that the DEED partnered with Chadron State College because the University of Alaska (UA) system currently does not meet the needs of a full teacher apprenticeship program and said that it is the goal of the DEED to eventually allow for the program to be run in full by the UA system. 9:39:15 AM REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked if the number displayed on slide 6 was $20,000 or $20 million and commented that he has some "esoteric experience with rural Alaska and the education challenges it faces. MS. FORD clarified that the number was $20,000 and said that the number reflected the cost of an individual teacher turnover, not the overall cost of a collective teacher turnover rate in Alaska. She emphasized that she focused on the individual cost rather than the collective cost to incentivize school districts' involvement in the teacher apprenticeship program. 9:43:35 AM CO-CHAIR STORY asked how the teacher apprenticeship program is paid and asked how a teacher that participated in the teacher apprenticeship program is classified within the Alaska retirement system. MR. NOONKESSER answered, "We are building the airplane while it's flying." He listed a series of inconsistent funding sources for teacher apprenticeship programs in Alaska. He explained how the difference between Alaska's defined benefit and defined contribution system might be disincentivizing teachers who have been in Alaska for many years to step into mentorship positions that would jeopardize their retirement accounts. 9:49:03 AM MS. MANNING added that the cost of a teacher's apprenticeship program could be relieved through better access to employment resources for would-be teacher apprentices and explained how the DEED is providing fiscal support to school districts around Alaska to aid in the hiring of teacher's apprenticeships. 9:51:15 AM MS. FORD commented that the Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is working with UAA on the development of its own teacher's apprenticeship program and said that there is a cost to the sponsor of a teacher's apprentice that must be coordinated between all entities involved. 9:52:12 AM REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT asked if the teacher apprenticeship program's reliance on the USDoL is being impacted by the current events within the federal government. MS. MANNING answered that the DEED is closely monitoring any changes in federal funding that might be directed toward the USDOL and shared her encouragement that funding for the USDoL is often bipartisan and not at risk for cuts. 9:54:23 AM REPRESENTATIVE ELAM commented that he is the only non-educator on the committee and shared his understanding that there are "a lot of barriers" for someone who graduated high school to eventually become an educator and compared being a teacher to a doctor or surgeon, though the teacher is severely underpaid. MR. NOONKESSER explained that the entire point of the teacher apprenticeship program is to help eliminate the current barriers that people face on their path to becoming a teacher. 9:59:35 AM CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT thanked the presenters and delivered committee announcements. 10:00:38 AM ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committee, the House Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m.