ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION  April 18, 2006 11:12 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Mark Neuman, Chair Representative Carl Gatto Representative Bob Lynn Representative Les Gara MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Bill Thomas Representative Peggy Wilson Representative Woodie Salmon COMMITTEE CALENDAR THE WHOLE VILLAGE PROJECT - PRESENTED BY ALYESKA WORLDWIDE - HEARD HOUSE BILL NO. 228 "An Act imposing a maximum pupil-teacher ratio for grades kindergarten through three in public schools." - HEARD AND HELD PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION BILL: HB 228 SHORT TITLE: PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO GRADES K-3 SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) HOLM 03/21/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 03/21/05 (H) EDU, HES, FIN 05/03/05 (H) EDU AT 11:00 AM CAPITOL 106 05/03/05 (H) -- Meeting Canceled -- 03/16/06 (H) EDU AT 11:00 AM CAPITOL 106 03/16/06 (H) 03/23/06 (H) EDU AT 11:00 AM CAPITOL 106 03/23/06 (H) 04/18/06 (H) EDU AT 11:00 AM CAPITOL 106 WITNESS REGISTER  KERRY BOYD, Director Alyeska Worldwide Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of the Whole Village Project, provided a brief overview of the project and answered questions. ERIC DOWNEY, Business Development Manager Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the importance of rural economic development and education in the Whole Village Project. DAN ETULAIN, Ph.D. North Star Television Network Sitka, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing of the Whole Village Project, highlighted the important use of television in contributing to a healthy village. JIM FOSTER, Chairman Worldwide IDEA, Inc. Laurel, Montana POSITION STATEMENT: Described the effectiveness of school improvement models and Individual Learning Plans (ILP) in advancing a child's education. FLETCHER BROWN, Vice President Communications Polson Communications Polson, Montana POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing on the Whole Village Project, representing the Technical and Management Services Corporation (DRS TAMSCO), provided information and solutions to improving remote communications. CARL ROSE, Executive Director Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB) Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing on the Whole Village Project, provided information on Digital Learning and its role in the project. FRANK ODASZ, President Lone Eagle Consulting Dillon, Montana POSITION STATEMENT: During the hearing on the Whole Village Project, provided information on broadband learning. REPRESENTATIVE JIM HOLM Alaska State Legislature Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as sponsor of HB 228. ACTION NARRATIVE CHAIR MARK NEUMAN called the House Special Committee on Education meeting to order at 11:12:32 AM. Representatives Neuman, Gatto, Gara, and Lynn were present at the call to order. Representatives Wilson, Thomas, and Salmon were excused. ^THE WHOLE VILLAGE PROJECT - PRESENTED BY ALYESKA WORLDWIDE 11:12:52 AM CHAIR NEUMAN announced that the first order of business would be a presentation of the Whole Village Project, an electronic means of delivering education. 11:13:34 AM KERRY BOYD, Director, Alyeska Worldwide, a non-profit organization formed by the Yukon Koyukuk School District, began her slide presentation by listing the eight necessary components for a healthy village: safety, health, education, economic development, social services, culture, government, and [entertainment]. She informed the committee that today's meeting would focus primarily on the education and economic development components. She explained that the intent of the project is to integrate K-12 instruction for Alaskan youth to include entrepreneurship, e-commerce, culture, and community learning strategies for rural villages. To convey what [Alyeska Worldwide] believes to be the foundation for creating this healthy village, she quoted, "Planting seeds of entrepreneurship must begin early enough in a child's primary education to establish entrepreneurship as a lifelong choice." She listed, from Slide 3, the focus of the organization: education for at- risk Native youth using proven Individual Learning Plan (ILP) processes; rural economic development with early development of entrepreneurial skills; preservation of the Native cultures and providing options for village life; and content delivery networking to villages. She explained that Alyeska Worldwide is the host for the project - one that has many team members and [business] supporters - and then introduced them to the committee. 11:17:10 AM ERIC DOWNEY, Business Development Manager, Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership, informed the committee that the company he represents is a statewide organization promoting economic development through fee-base business consulting services with existing manufacturers. He noted that roughly half the organization's mission is rural economic development focusing on e-commerce and entrepreneurship through the sale of Native art. As to what he, a businessman, is "doing with a bunch of educators," he explained that, "we're all working together toward healthy and sustainable communities, whether it's in safety, health, education, economic development, governance, culture, social services, and entertainment." He opined that education is the foundation for all of this. He highlighted that not only are entrepreneurial skills dependent upon educated kids, they should be fostered in the primary grades, cultivated in secondary grades, and modeled in adult life. He listed other places in the world where entrepreneurship is present and said that this state is currently raising its first generation of digital Alaskans. Should Alaska wish to competitively participate in the "new digital economy, we need smart kids," he opined. 11:19:41 AM DAN ETULAIN, Ph.D., North Star Television Network, relayed that with 30 years of experience in the field of education and a switch in careers to television, his "[current] passion is to have a rural television license." He expressed that he is interested in having stations that emphasize education and entrepreneurship and opined that television can play a very supportive part in providing the eight necessary components of a healthy village listed earlier by Ms. Boyd. 11:21:23 AM JIM FOSTER, Chairman, Worldwide IDEA, Inc., referred to his former career as the assistant superintendent for the Galena City School District where his primary responsibility was to develop and implement a school improvement model to address the extremely low test scores of students. He explained that in the model's development stage, four major elements were identified: it had to be collaborative, successful, replicable, and sustainable. Furthermore, he said that it was determined that the teachers had to be trained to teach differently and that an environment had to be created where students could be successful. Though some changes have been made since his departure there in 2003, he highlighted that [improved] test scores have remained consistent. He directed the committee's attention to a series of slides showing benchmark test scores for Galena students as being "advanced" or "proficient," compared to another village school with test scores "below" or "not proficient." He explained that the following slide showcases the achievements for those students attending the Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA), with marked improvements from 9th grade standards based test scores to the 12th grade Alaska High School Qualifying Exam scores. He said, "Over 90 percent of the kids are successful in reading, writing, and math on the High School Qualifying Exam." He expressed his belief that having Individual Learning Plans (ILP) for all students is important and that these plans must be tied to state standards. In conclusion, he listed possible solutions for the committee's consideration: developing an ILP model [statewide], to replicate the success, and to track students. 11:28:58 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTO sought clarification on which schools' test scores were being compared. MR. FOSTER explained that the slide compares the Galena City School District with another village school that had similar test scores prior to implementation of the school improvement model. The results show, he noted, that "their test scores remained low and our test scores went up." REPRESENTATIVE GATTO asked whether the military base was in operation at the time Mr. Foster worked in the district and, if so, whether military kids were a part of those students tested. MR. FOSTER said they were not and that the military base was not operational then. He clarified that his work with the district began in 1997 and that the school district is approximately 85 percent Alaska Native. In further response to Representative Gatto, he said he was not aware that these students had a better reading proficiency in another language, and that the only other language spoken there was by the elders and was Athabascan. 11:30:39 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said that he is intrigued by the concept of having an ILP for each student and noted the similarity of this plan to the Individual Education Plan (IEP) for special needs students. However, he opined that this would entail "an awful lot of paperwork." He then inquired as to how the ILP relates to a teacher's classroom plan. MR. FOSTER said he shared Representative Lynn's dislike of paperwork. He highlighted that his company, in collaboration with a school district in Idaho, has designed a web-based ILP program that is stored electronically, easily manipulated, collects data, and doesn't hinder the education process or the efforts teachers need to make in the classroom. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN inquired as to what has happened to report cards as a measurement of [student achievement]. MR. FOSTER said he was uncertain whether "report cards are out the window." However, he highlighted that one key point in designing the school improvement model was to focus on the solution instead of the problem. He went on to explain that the term "dropout" has a bad connotation because it infers it's the student's fault that learning is not taking place. He remarked that what might really be happening is that students are actually "force outs." "We know that research tells us that giving kids [low] grades ... [does] not motivate kids to learn and yet we give those grades [repeatedly] to all kinds of kids," he said. Then he provided an example of kids in primary grades who, in spite of scoring at [only] 60 percent, are advanced a grade level and noted how this [percentage] can compound year after year. He opined that by the time these kids reach the higher grades, they are "just forced out" and "have no success." 11:35:14 AM FLETCHER BROWN, Vice President, Polson Communications, representing the Technical and Management Services Corporation (DRS TAMSCO), interjected to say that it is technologically possible to not only build ILPs for every student, but to track a student's progress and ensure that state standards are being met before allowing that student [to graduate]. 11:35:55 AM CARL ROSE, Executive Director, Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB), relayed that the association's efforts to build a comprehensive delivery system [entitled, "Consortium for Digital Learning"], was first presented at the House Special Committee on Education meeting on March 21, 2006. He noted that although [some level of] technology presently exists in schools, it has not been instituted in a systematic fashion which is one of the important goals of the program. He informed the committee that the association is currently seeking a $5 million contribution from those schools willing to enter the consortium, which would be matched by $5 million from both the state legislature and the Alaska congressional delegation should the board's request for appropriations be approved. This total of $15 million, he explained, would fund approximately 10 classrooms in 21 schools, with 25 participating students, or "technology users." He opined that a school's "readiness for technology" will largely affect the costs to implement the program. He highlighted that the program is more than just about introducing hardware in classrooms; it's about engaging the community in discussions regarding the benefit of technology. Once the technology is made available, he opined, the [the Whole Village Project] will answer what can be accessed through technology to serve kids. He relayed that AASB will be responsible for providing "the transparency and the accountability" for identifying those schools who are ready [to implement Digital Learning]. 11:38:49 AM CHAIR NEUMAN sought confirmation from Mr. Rose that AASB intends to work with the Whole Village Project in its attempt to develop new delivery systems throughout Alaska. MR. ROSE offered his understanding that whereas AASB is focusing on the delivery system itself, the Whole Village Project would focus on "the content" that is delivered through the delivery system. 11:39:33 AM FRANK ODASZ, President, Lone Eagle Consulting, informed the committee that he is an educator and has worked with rural, remote, and indigenous learners online since 1988 when he created the Big Sky Telegraph: one of the first rural, online educational systems in the country. He explained that when he goes to the villages, he works with preschool kids on up to the elders teaching digital art, music, and photography. He expressed his belief that worldwide, "we have technologies that can allow us to bring the very best resources to the villages" and highlighted some of the technological successes in these areas. He then provided the committee with a demonstration of a flipbook software program which he opined as "instantly motivating" and one that easily allows anyone with Internet access to become a digital author. He announced that he will be presenting information, in the near future, on projects linking world communities with the Internet and to the subject of indigenous broadband applications. In noting the billions of people currently and soon to be online, he noted that the opportunity is there to gather "the very best broadband applications from all around the world." He expressed his belief that the best broadband application for Alaskans is self- actualization and "helping each learner maximize their full collective potential for learning, innovation, and collaboration." Furthermore, he noted that an even better broadband application would be one that instantly keeps pace with progress on the latest indigenous Internet innovations as they occur worldwide. He said he has been told by Alaska teachers over the years that it has been a real struggle to use technology in the classroom due to the lack of systemic support that Mr. Rose referred to in his testimony. MR. ODASZ went on to say that his presence at this meeting is through the courtesy of the Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership (AMEP), an organization providing assistance in establishing an ecommerce portal for the Rural Alaskan Village Ecommerce Network (E-RAVEN). He highlighted that 18 village ecommerce centers have been created in the past year with 24 more in the planning stage - all engaged in participatory research to identify the best ecommerce support system for the villages and the best combination of educational and economic entrepreneurial activities. He relayed that AMEP and the Alaska Native Arts Foundation have partnered to create sustainable village economies through global e-marketing of Alaska Native art. He said over 722 artists have signed up to date. From his slide presentation, he listed several key points of the Alaska Village Sustainability Action Plan and summarized some of the key challenges [to changing] Alaskan governmental policy to ensure all potential innovators and entrepreneurs are motivated, mentored, and success stories shared. Referring to his final slide, he indicated his belief that, "'Build it and they will come' has proved to be a field of dreams." 11:49:15 AM CHAIR NEUMAN asked Mr. Odasz to provide the cost of establishing delivery systems in Alaska. Additionally, he requested to know the difference in cost between a regular book and an electronic book. MR. ODASZ explained that Mr. Brown is prepared to address the economics and additionally noted that there are dramatic cost savings to some of the very latest technological advances. In response to Representative Gatto, he confirmed that his use of the term "self-actualization" is used in the same context as that coined by Abraham Maslow. REPRESENTATIVE GATTO opined that with Maslow, self-actualization is at the very top of hierarchal needs and yet noted that Mr. Odasz has used the term in the context of "kids in a village." MR. ODASZ expressed his belief that "constructivist learners that take charge of their own learning, are what we're shooting for in education." He relayed that the Internet is one tool that can provide people with the opportunity to individualize their own learning path and to find specific information within seconds of needing it. This dynamic "has everything to do with the general theme of self-actualization," he opined. He went on to say that with his background in psychology, he has determined that the problem teachers and students face is one of motivation and seeing relevance [in what is taught]. He identified himself as a self-actualized learner, and said he has learned to teach others on a worldwide basis. 11:51:46 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTO referred to a program used in schools 20 years ago called "Program Learning," which initially showed a quick improvement in learning yet was followed by a "drastic decline" because there was no teacher involved. He asked Mr. Odasz how this differs from programmed learning. MR. ODASZ opined that teachers are more important in the learning process than they've ever been. He noted that there is more online collaboration and teacher-student interaction that takes place in the online environment than general takes place in a physical classroom. The intent of [the Whole Village Project] is to have "the very best of both the online and the traditional classroom," he said. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN remarked that he uses the Internet extensively for both his legislative and personal work. MR. ODASZ informed the committee that Mr. Brown would address the challenge of expeditiously bringing the best [technological] capabilities to the people. 11:53:39 AM REPRESENTATIVE GATTO, returning to the earlier discussion of valuing teachers, inquired as to whether there is any difference between moms and teachers. He further defined his question by asking whether it would be considered nurturing "just to be there for kids as they use the digital experience" or does it have to be a teacher [providing the instruction]. MR. ODASZ opined that the first role in teaching is to teach the love of learning which he would apply to both [parents] and teachers. 11:54:20 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARA said he is trying to determine whether this is a project that can actually be promoted this legislative session or one that will be just be heard. He inquired as to whether or not a proposal and a request for funds have already been submitted. MS. BOYD clarified that the Whole Village Project complements Mr. Rose's Digital Learning program. She informed the committee that $2 million was requested from the legislature and that it would complement the amount Mr. Rose has already requested for his initiative. She said that Mr. Brown's presentation would address the technology infrastructure that will be used for both projects. In further response to Representative Gara, she noted that the request for funds is not currently in any of the budgets submitted to the legislature. She relayed that they have been presenting and seeking support for their project about once a month. REPRESENTATIVE GARA expressed his belief that if a proposal has merit, it should be pushed forward; however, he said it is unclear to him whether or not this presentation will actually go further than today's hearing. MS. BOYD said that they hope to gain momentum and the committee's support. 11:57:19 AM MR. BROWN asked the committee to envision every rural village in Alaska being connected in some type of network that would allow content, such as voice, text, video, or rich media, to be cost- effectively moved to every location. He highlighted that part of this vision includes "a box" placed at the hub of each village that serves as the primary point from which data would be extracted. This process, he explained, is called "content delivery networking" and that the most cost-effective way to obtain this "is certainly not the traditional communications pipes that are in place to rural Alaska now which is satellite broadband." He then provided background information on [DRS TAMSCO] and relayed that the company has been in business since 1982, grown to $330 million a year, with 15 locations in the United States (U.S.), and 8 offices in various foreign countries, primarily in remote and rural areas. REPRESENTATIVE GARA requested clarification from Mr. Brown on what is being proposed. He asked whether the project's intent is to address the slow Internet access and downloads in Alaska and whether it aims to provide every community with data systems from which educational information will be extracted by trained teachers for their students. 11:59:13 AM MR. BROWN explained that whereas this is correct for the education portion, it does not cover the entire scope of the project which aims to address "the whole healthy village concept" from safety, health, education, economic development, culture, social services, legislative or government issues, and healthy entertainment. In working with his colleagues at Alyeska Worldwide, he said he has learned that focusing on only one of these components is not adequate and that a combination is required to allow individuals and villages to prosper and grow. He went on to say that since 1993, his company has been involved in rural economic development and has brought approximately $750 million worth of business to remote areas. He highlighted that the company's primary mission is to deliver global communication solutions worldwide and directed the committee's attention to PowerPoint slides showing the equipment used to transport communications equipment. He showed other slides featuring his company's latest project with the Yukon- Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) that involved the installation of a satellite hub connecting 37 remote villages via satellite, and 11 by microwave, into Bethel for telemedicine and video-conferencing purposes. He noted that currently his company is in the process of implementing the largest Voice over Internet Protocol system (VoIP) which will be a private phone system for YKHC. MR. BROWN then turned the discussion to the bandwidth used in every Alaskan village for emailing and Internet purposes. He explained that whereas the broadband may be adequately shared for these purposes alone, it is not capable of carrying the high quality, rich media "stuff that keep students awake" because it consumes too much of the available bandwidth. He opined that "just finding more bandwidth is absolutely and positively not the answer" because there isn't enough bandwidth on all available satellites to accomplish this, and the costs to do so are prohibitive. Instead, he explained that "by using something called 'multicast,' we can take a very rich media content, move it to the satellite and multicast it" allowing "as many people as you want within the footprint of a satellite" to receive very high-quality information. He added that with this stream of information, a menu of information can also be sent to villages, stored in "a box," filed under [the eight different Whole Village components], and pulled for viewing and reviewing at a later point in time. He highlighted that other tools, such as collaboration servers, terminal servers, and digital video broadcast, can be used to multiply the effectiveness of bandwidth. He then explained the use of content management systems, listing several types of content such as voice, video, text, and data, and the variety of uses from audio discussions to entire websites. He proposed that a content management center is needed for each of the aforementioned eight components necessary for a healthy village and also suggested ways to multiply the effectiveness of previously purchased bandwidth. 12:08:31 PM MR. BROWN, in response to Chair Neuman, clarified that although the circuit-based technology in Alaska today is moving toward packet-based technology, it could be more effective if the individual connections for people could be aggregated. In summary, he said what is being proposed is to "set up an architecture that allows you to move data from a central location, or multiple locations ... into the hub, send it up, multicast it out to as many villages as [deemed] necessary along with [the menu options] for live lectures, with return channel, and then caching for future reference." He expressed his wish that people move away from contracting for more bandwidth and instead contract for "a function" to address project needs. He further summarized the key points of the Whole Village Project: Alaska Native youth are at risk; the effectiveness of the ILP process; having rural economic development built into the curriculum; preserving the Native culture through the process of change; and content delivery networking to make information accessible to villages. He noted the final slide which shows the [four] phases of this project and said that a fifth phase would show a "total success story" in rural Alaska. From there, he expressed his [desire] to see the project move into the American Native reservations where the people "suffer the same social, economic, and educational problems as do rural Native Alaskans." 12:13:02 PM REPRESENTATIVE GATTO inquired as to whether a server could suffice for delivery of some instructional content and "real time" instruction could be used when students have questions about the information. MR. BROWN stated his agreement that it is a combination of both live and cached content, and then provided examples of combining both. Redirecting the discussion to textbooks, he opined that there is no one book that covers all the information in the state standards. He expressed his wish to see a database, created over time, to house information on the degree of effectiveness of a variety of textbooks. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN inquired as to whether Mr. Brown's proposed program wouldn't work just as well in urban and home schools as in the rural areas. In noting that rural districts are "very expensive to operate, he asked whether some of Mr. Brown's suggested changes might result in the consolidation of some of those districts. MR. BROWN apologized for excluding the urban areas and relayed that the concept and costs would apply the same for either. For home school students, he explained that through use of a wireless network, the cached content is equally accessible to those home-schooled students. CHAIR NEUMAN announced that today's presentation of [improving] delivery systems "is just the introduction and hopefully we'll be able to move forward on this ...." MS. BOYD informed the committee that she would provide further information as needed and that a funding request has been submitted to Senator Gary Wilken. HB 228-PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO GRADES K-3 [Includes brief mention of HB 247.] 12:19:19 PM CHAIR NEUMAN announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 228, "An Act imposing a maximum pupil-teacher ratio for grades kindergarten through three in public schools." 12:19:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE JIM HOLM, Alaska State Legislature, as sponsor of HB 228, expressed his belief that the education system in Alaska is not satisfying the educational needs of children and that it is structurally unsound. He highlighted that studies have shown those children who do not read well by the third grade are not as successful. Even with technology available to them, he opined that children must learn to think for themselves. He relayed that HB 228 would change the pupil teacher ratio (PTR) in the lower grades and could address such problems as a teacher's inability to control the classroom. He noted that those teachers who must spend more time with unruly students have less time to teach well-behaved students. Additionally, he remarked that lowering student numbers would allow more time for teachers to spend with parents at conferences. He provided an example of one district's way of addressing class size reduction by highlighting the Flex schedule used at the Fairbanks North Star Borough Schools for some of its kindergarten classes. He explained that the system features two small class sizes of fewer than 20 students - one in the morning and one in the afternoon - with a small, overlapping period in the middle of the day combining all students for such activities as lunch, recess, music, or gym. In conclusion, he stated, "It's a simple bill and yet it's not a simple problem." 12:27:21 PM CHAIR NEUMAN referred to HB 247, Representative Croft's proposed legislation on class size reduction, presented to the committee last month. In response to the possible cost and whether it would be another unfunded mandate to the school districts, he relayed that Representative Croft had informed the committee that his legislation involved voluntary participation. Chair Neuman requested Representative Holm provide the committee with comparisons between the two bills and to address whether or not his legislation was an unfunded mandate. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM suggested he would tell districts, "We won't let you not do it." He opined that "[large class size] is a singular causation of poor performance" and that "it's more important to build those foundations for those young children of Alaska." He expressed his belief that addressing this is far more important than consideration of the cost to do so. He remarked that up to 35 percent of funds has been added to the system but asked whether the funds are being directed where needed. He expressed his belief that with the performance standards set by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), "we need to raise the children's abilities, and to [do this], smaller class sizes are absolutely imperative." In response to Chair Neuman's question regarding the need to add teachers and classrooms to accommodate any [overflow] of students, he opined that these decisions would have to be made at the district level. He informed the committee that his proposed class size limit of 20 students is higher than he'd like because of the ramifications of costs to implement the change. REPRESENTATIVE GARA commented on the number of bills introduced every year to address lowering class size and the available research showing that class size must be somewhere below 20 [students] in order to make a real difference. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM said he agrees with this and stated his interest in having the dialogue that says, "this is something we can fix; this is something we legislatively can set in policy." He opined that district decisions are more apt to be guided by available funding and yet priority should be given to ensuring that performance standards are met. REPRESENTATIVE GARA, in noting that available research has shown "merely reducing class size from 25 to 20 is an ineffective form of implementation," said that before large amounts of funds are spent, he would like to see the legislation crafted in such a way to ensure it would really make a difference. He expressed his hope that Representative Holm would consider drafting a sponsor substitute to reduce class size to 17 students. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM informed the committee that he is "not set in stone" as to what the actual number is and appreciated Representative Gara's suggestion. CHAIR NEUMAN announced that HB 228 would be held over. 12:35:31 PM ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committee, the House Special Committee on Education meeting was adjourned at 12:35 p.m.