The leaves are falling and the air is getting chillier. This is my favorite time of the year as we transition from summer to winter in Alaska. It also is a transition for our schools. This year, after an excellent start, our district is continuing its transition to meet the new, much more rigorous Alaska State Standards. We will soon be receiving the detailed results of the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) assessment and our staff will use those results to meet the individual needs of our students. Students, staff and parents will get a sense of where a student is performing in relation to the new standards and more importantly, goals for each student can be set so that by graduation students will be truly prepared for their future.
As I have visited many of our schools during the first quarter I have seen a multitude of opportunities for students to apply core academic knowledge in a project based format. From drones to robots to service learning projects our students have been given great opportunities to work with ideas and instruments they will encounter in their future. I am so impressed with how district and school staff have worked to provide meaningful opportunities for our students. We all work very hard to develop rigorous and relevant experiences that extend student learning to guide them to meet much higher expectations.
We have begun the process of fiscal planning for upcoming years. Right now, the State of Alaska is contemplating many options to meet the challenges we face. The Board has developed our legislative priorities and we are focused on working with the state and borough to make the right choices for the future while ensuring that students are the number one priority. After all, there is no better investment for the future of our state, than our students.
1st Quarter Update
1st Quarter update
October 2015
The leaves are falling and the air is getting chillier. This is my favorite time of the year as we transition from summer to winter in Alaska. It also is a transition for our schools. This year, after an excellent start, our district is continuing its transition to meet the new, much more rigorous Alaska State Standards. We will soon be receiving the detailed results of the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) assessment and our staff will use those results to meet the individual needs of our students. Students, staff and parents will get a sense of where a student is performing in relation to the new standards and more importantly, goals for each student can be set so that by graduation students will be truly prepared for their future.
As I have visited many of our schools during the first quarter I have seen a multitude of opportunities for students to apply core academic knowledge in a project based format. From drones to robots to service learning projects our students have been given great opportunities to work with ideas and instruments they will encounter in their future. I am so impressed with how district and school staff have worked to provide meaningful opportunities for our students. We all work very hard to develop rigorous and relevant experiences that extend student learning to guide them to meet much higher expectations.
We have begun the process of fiscal planning for upcoming years. Right now, the State of Alaska is contemplating many options to meet the challenges we face. The Board has developed our legislative priorities and we are focused on working with the state and borough to make the right choices for the future while ensuring that students are the number one priority. After all, there is no better investment for the future of our state, than our students.