001Good evening. We call ourselves to order. This is the ASD school board meeting. Today is Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 in the ASD Education Center Northern Lights. Present in the boardroom are members Jacobs, Bellamy, Donley, Higgins, Hollowman, and Lessons. Member Wilson has joined us online. Welcome. Right. We've called ourselves to order, engaged in a roll call. Um, student Representative Madison, would you please lead us in the flag salute and land acknowledgement? We acknowledge that we gather here today on the traditional lands of the Denin people of the Upper Cook Inlet. For thousands of years, the Denin people have been and continue to be stewards of this land. ASD is committed to diversity and inclusion and it is with honor and respect that we recognize all indigenous people who live and learn in our community. >> Thank
002you, Madison. We want to welcome you to our meeting and thank you for attending and supporting the work of the Anchorage School District and this board. The board thanks students, parents, teachers, staff, school business partners, and the entire community for your investment in our district with your time, your talent, and your tax dollars. Okay, with that said, we have um an agenda in front of us and that's our next item of business. Uh before we um let's move to approve the agenda first, if I can ask for a motion. >> Mr. Chair, I move to approve the agenda as presented. >> Second. made by Bellamy, seconded by Hollowman. Um, with that said, we have an agenda in front of us for approval. Um, member Donley, uh, subsequent to our last meeting indicated his his interest
003in adding an agenda item, which is, uh, a 10-second moment of silence to honor the lives lost and sacrifices made on September 11th, 2021 uh, to the agenda. Uh so if there isn't any objection from the board, I'm going to ask that we add a moment of silence to our agenda uh right after the approval of uh our agenda as A4. So A4 would be moment of silence. Is there any objection to that amendment hearing? And seeing none, the agenda is amended. Is there any opposition to adopting the agenda as amended? Okay, great. Uh the agenda is amended and approved. With that said, um we'll have a moment of silence. Member Donley, would you like to say any remarks prior to us doing so? >> I'm grateful to the board for allowing this. Um I'm
004hoping that uh as appropriate uh individual schools will consider doing it also. >> Thank you. Please join us in a moment of silence. Thank you everyone. We'll move on to reports. Under item B1 is our student representative report. Madison, the floor is yours. >> All right. Thank you so much. Good evening to everybody here in this room or streaming online. I've had a very great first few weeks of school, but I can definitely tell that the ball is rolling. Work is picking up and students around me are becoming way more involved. And of course, ASD schools have been working hard as a community with the beginning of the year. But most importantly, I want to first note that there has been a national walk out being hosted by an organization called Students Demand and it
005has reached ASD. The walkout's goal is to mourn the loss of shooting victims around the country. And so far, Diamond High School and East High School have expressed interest in participating in this walk out, which would take place on September 5th at 12:00 p.m. local time, per school discretion, how they participate. Of course, I'll be sure to update if any other schools are participating, but I wanted to know how powerful this movement is coming to our district and how individual students are expressing their concerns and their want to advocate. Next, of course, we still have OSA coming up in October, October 23rd through 25th, and I'm still awaiting more interest and responses coming from different schools to participate. If there's anyone in this room who's a student government advisor or student who is interested, I
006can give you some pointers and contact information if you would like to know about how to join OAG as a member school. And it will be hosted at Alaska Pacific University. And I will say as myself, it is a once in a-lifetime experience and a very great opportunity for students and student government to expand their networking skills and work with policies in the state. Next over, of course, since I am on the school board as the representative, I also am the president of Anchorage's student advisory board. Our next meeting is going to be September 9th, which is actually going to be our first ever meeting for the year that we are starting. I'm also wanting to remind you all of our different officers that are also on the student advisory board as their positions are
007just as important as mine and they make just as much change as I do as we learn through this organization. Our vice president being Rachel Utek from Frontier Charter School, Secretary Ella Wheelis from Diamond High School, and our PR rep, Bella Gunther Chavis from South Anchorage High School. Another exciting thing to report on and note is that I was actually able to be interviewed by Alaska um Anchorage Daily News this morning and comment on how cell phone policies are impacting our district as well individually at my school with the different local policies that are taking place and how in a way all day policy is affecting kids in their transitions. Additionally, there's also an intern program taking place for students at each different high school to experience being a PR rep, which means that they're
008able to highlight their different schools opportunities, events through storytelling and media uh media literacy as well as posting on digital media. I will be one for my own school and I'm sure there's going to be many others that are connecting at their own schools and I'm sure they're going to make great impact with expanding their skills in public speaking and making their school a better place. But other than that, that's all I have to report. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Madison. Do we have questions for our student representative? >> Hearing and seeing none, we'll move on to board conference and committee reports. Is there a board committee chair who wishes to um speak at this time? member lessons. >> Sure. I appreciate the chance to just briefly review a couple of items from
009our finance committee meeting. Um, one of the things that we do is uh sort of generate a list of audits for the board to consider. And so we'll be forwarding um the recommendation shortly. Uh but in short, the committee's recommendation for financial audits this year were for PECards, substitute usage, and employee termination process. and that's an important uh component of our transparency. Um we also reviewed our budget timeline. Um we looked at the end of uh our FY25. So that's last year's closeout updates. Uh we got an enrollment update which though is which is changing every day as uh students um reenroll or enroll for the first time. um and dug a little bit into some numbers about intensive needs and correspondent students, but uh those numbers will all sort of settle down um fairly
010shortly, I think. >> Thank you, member lessons. Member Higgins, you have a report. >> Yeah, I appreciate it. Um I just briefly to say that we have been having number of meetings with the community work agreement on the apprenticeship programs that has gone well. We've gotten feedback from uh participants in it. appreciative of of uh purchasing and and the going following that through meetings take place within a couple of days of request if needed and um so I know that that's always a concern how is it going to impact things but at this particular point in time I just want to tell you I think it's working very very smoothly and it's not um uh it's achieving what we hope that it would achieve. >> Thank you member Higgins. Member Bellamy, >> just a couple
011of AASB, Association of Alaska School Board, uh, reminders. Uh, if you have resolutions that you would like to be considered, you need to get those in. I think the deadline is October 22nd and that can be for new or amended. Um, hopefully we will all be attending the conference. Uh, there are a couple of seats, uh, board seats that are going to be available. Um, and if anyone is interested, I know that our president is. Uh, we've already approved his uh uh application for that. Uh, there is an Alaska Charter School Academy that's going to be held um here in this room. I think uh let's see, September 12th through the 13th. Uh we also will have uh a full the fall boardsmanship academy which will be downtown at the Marriott. That will be September
01220th through 21st. Um so with that and then our annual conference won't be until uh November 13th through 16th this year. That will be in Anchorage of course but at the Egan Center which is a different location than what we've done before. Thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you, man. Is there any other board committee reports, member lessons? >> Excuse me. This is not an official report, but I learned today that the fall uh the November AASB conference. There will be a pre-conference day, which was not already on my radar and therefore not in my Google calendar. Um, but it's going to be focused on school finance. So, uh, I have now saved that date for, um, to attend and, uh, potentially be roped into a presentation. >> Thank you. Member lessons. Member Higgins, did you
013have another remark? Turn your mute up. Yep. Mute's still on. There we go. >> I usually speak loud enough without it, but I'll try to be a little better than that. Um, I I will just let people know next week I will be attending the cube conference which is for the NSBA, National School Board Association. This is for the Uban School Districts uh in LA. I'm doing it myself, you know, on my own. Just let you know that because we're not traveling or doing anything else on school business, but it's an opportunity there. If any board member or administration has certain information they want out of cube, they let me know. I'll try to include that in it. But it is a a good opportunity to interface with um other urban school districts and it
014has a good uh history of providing a lot of good information. So I'll provide reports back on that. But if you got any requests in the meantime, let me know. >> Thank you, member Higgins. Thank you to our committee chairs. We've completed our B item for reports. Next up is seag goal monitoring. Dr. Bryant under the CCL goal. >> Thank you, Mr. President. We'll take a moment to pull up the PowerPoint. Okay. So, uh today's outcome monitoring report is a technical presentation on college career and life readiness. Um specifically the percent of students who are on track to graduate. Next slide. Um so to zoom out for the community, the board has a goal to increase graduation rates to 90% by June 2028. And one of the ways that the administration makes sure that we're
015on progress is to monitor the percent of students who are on track to graduate. So essentially that means the number of courses that students are passing and are eligible to earn a credit for. Because the short of it as a former former high school educator, if you don't pass one or two courses, you have to eventually make those classes up and they snowball. And if they snowball so much, it'll impact your ability to graduate on time. That's why this is really important. Next slide. Uh so here is some data on the on track status historically. Uh again we've just started monitoring this over the past couple of years but based on what we're collecting so far it looks like we're near target for this goal and what we'll provide for the board to look at
016the next couple of weeks would be the number of students on track um and the the percentage over time but we are very close to that 75.5 goal. Currently we're at 73.2. Next slide. We'll also leave the board with this data disagregated by grade level. Again, it's really important that we look at nth graders specifically because those ninth graders that are on track are four times as likely to graduate on time based off of some data that our our team put together that's described in the full packet. Next slide. And then we'll provide the board with uh disagregated data by race, ethnicity, uh various subpopuls. And then you'll see the change in percent on on track on this very slide. And you'll see that it varies, but generally speaking, we're going in a positive direction.
017And some groups are actually experiencing above average gains compared to others. So that that's something important we can talk about in a couple of weeks. Uh next slide. and then we'll go ahead and walk through our reformatted action steps. Let's go ahead and move on to the next slide. Uh this is what Mr. Opitz and the team were describing a couple of weeks ago where we're enhancing the ways that we prioritize our action steps. So you'll see at the top these are the major initiatives or items that we expect all of our principles to handle and are being supported by district administration. Just one example since this is the first time looking at this format. Implementing an early warning and response system. That's an initiative that's new since we've started monitoring this data point and
018we can hold our staff accountable to doing these things throughout our coaching of their leadership. And then of course we'll leave the universal universal action steps at the bottom to show the various other strategies and initiatives that are happening in our schools, but they may be happening in just a few or specific buildings. But what I want the board to focus on are the priority action steps at the top because these are the levers we feel are most critical in increasing those ontrack percentages. Next step and that concludes the technical report. I look forward to our discussion in two weeks. >> Thank you Dr. Bryant. Any brief questions on the technical report before we move on? Member lessons. Um, I wanted to share I guess this is a a comment that if I'm getting it
019wrong deserves clarification, but I was asking um staff just before our meeting started about some of the data and I learned that actually the data dashboard is quite live and so something that is printed as in a report is correct as of the day and time that that data is collected. And in the case of um this particular ontrack metric, there may be students who have essentially gained credit back and it has now been applied retrospectively to prior years. And if I got that wrong, I would be happy to stand corrected, but I'm seeing a thumbs up. So, um anyways, that was news to me. And so it's a great example of um reaching out and asking when you don't know something. So a technical comment, not a question. >> Excellent. Thank you. Member lessons.
020>> Okay. >> Hearing and seeing none, that completes our goal monitoring discussion for tonight. Board members, please remember to send in your questions. All right. Next up is item D, public comment. Welcome to the board's first opportunity this evening for public comment. We've set aside a 1-hour time slot for public comment. Uh board members will not answer questions or engage in discussions with members of the public at this time. The board welcomes the public to observe and contribute to our meetings through their comments. Uh our meetings must be civil, productive, and structured. With that said, uh we use Robert rules of order uh to conduct our meetings. And there's more information at the entrance um of our boardroom if you'd like to learn more about the guidelines, including a speaker shouldn't attack a member's motives.
021No profanity or foul language. Please refrain from disturbing the meeting. As president of the board, it's my duty to enforce these rules of civility and decorum. And as I mentioned, additional details can be found on the handout uh at the entrance of the room tonight. So, we've got a few speakers signed up. Our first speaker this evening is Corey A. Welcome. You have three minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Thank you, President Jacob and school board members. I know our district I know our district anchored school district can look like a shiny impressive car from the outside. Friends and community members often comment on the incredible work educators are doing for students and that is what people see. But when you lift the hood, the engine tells a different story. It's straining, worn down, and
022leaking in ways that can't be ignored. Did you know that as of tonight, we have 60 unfilled elementary teaching positions? several more than we had last time we met. I think it was closer to 51. Did you know that last year was the fourth consecutive year in which 400 AEA educators resigned or retired from ASD? And did you know that of the 301 firstear educators hired in 2425, 61 have already resigned as of last year. You'll recall that you invested 30,000 per new hire last year, over $9 million in total. Those 61 resignations alone represent a two $2 million loss. That is an abysmal return on investment. Retention is the key to our future. You have levers you can pull directly and others you can influence to make a real difference. ASD must also become
023more competitive. Too many districts in the lower 48 offer what we cannot. More substantial compensation, smaller class sizes, and more supportive systems. It's no surprise they are drawing our talent away. And without a certificated educator in every classroom, every library, every counselor's office, every nurs's office, and every related services position, your school board goals and student outcomes are at risk. Governor Dunlevy stated, "Targeted investments directly to the classroom is my priority." Senator Mike Showers argued that a simple BSA bump doesn't ensure dollars reach teachers or kids. He said, "There's no way of knowing for sure teachers are going to get that money or if it's going to go to the kids in the classroom. Only you can ensure that. Only you, the eight of you up on the dis. The dilemma is clear and unchanging.
024If you add more teaching positions without raising compensation, those jobs remain unfilled. The simple truth is that the only that only with better compensation can you fill positions. Only with better compensation will you begin to slow the wave of resignations year after year. Everybody's watching. Everybody has spoken. And the message is unmistakable. Do not fail in this act. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker tonight is Susan Ritter. >> Welcome. You have three minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Good evening, board members. My name is Susan Nutter. I work at West High School. Today, I asked my co-workers, how many students do you have in your class? And I wanted to share this information with you because it's important information. So I received about 20 emails back and I'll start
025with it. Our library serves 2,888 students with one certificated staff member and one totem assistant. Thanks for doing this. I teach 9th graders. I have periods 1 through six ranging from 31 to 34 students, a total of 160 students. My two sophomore English classes have each have 35 students. Regular edge social studies class, three to eight sped kids per class. 5 to 8L class uh per kid. I 5 to 8L students per class. Uh 26 33 33 28 per day. Uh I appreciate this Susan. I teach IB literature. I have a class of 35 in my fourth hour. the most I've had in ages in fif um I have a total of 133 students that I see on every day. Uh two geometry classes I have 32 and 31 kids in them. I am finding
026impossible to give students the attention they need in order to actually learn the material I am teaching them. Some of my students have 504 plans. One has an IEP. Several students have ELLL accommodations. These kids especially need my time and attention which I just cannot give them to the level that they require in order to be successful. I think this is the hardest part of my large class size. The kids that need the time uh most are suffering. Uh I work a 1.2. I have 170 students. My uh kids are sped elelll. Uh I have English four with 35 students. My low-level classes are between 25 and 30 students. Uh 35 students and three out of four are first aid classes. Uh 147 students. Uh it's hard to verify everyone's skill or connect with each
027kiddo. It feels like drinking from a fire hose. Uh 135 is my magic number this year. Um I greet them every morning and every Monday morning and I have 135 assignments to grade. Uh let's see 19 to 39 students periods 1 through five. uh SLP I have 80 students on my case load I have 30 student students in my case load uh in IB uh language foreign language 35 and let's see let's we got a couple more in here basically a lot of kids uh special ed we have 235 students in our program 10 um per life skills class uh I have one pair of professional the other classes have two to three pairs we're We're doing our job. Uh, keep supporting us because that's what we need. Thank you. >> Thank you for your
028testimony. Our next speaker tonight is William Baxter. >> Welcome. You have three minutes. Please begin when you're ready. I was at the fair this uh uh weekend at the uh fourth the for uh 4 and FFA auction that uh turkey went for $5,600 and I was talk uh I was talking to the uh director of agriculture Brian Scorby for the state and I'm pretty good friends with him and he said I asked him why is there so many cows here and so many much more. He says last year they did they sold a half a mill 570 million do 705 570 $570,000 on at the auction and so that motivated the kids to do the auction again. And I went to the uh uh uh FFA auction at Palmer High School and the kids were
029auctioned off their art, their different other things they do do. the FFA kids, you know, it's like it's a uh the auctions are really good because you get a lot of people really want uh helping these kids do it. The other thing about agriculture in Alaska, it's hidden. People don't see it. People People see four-wheelers going down the road, they see boats going down the road, but they see tractors. You go to the a fair, it's hidden. Agriculture is hidden a lot more. It's kind of like hidden there. It's there, but it's kind of like hidden. And there's a lot more other things going on at the fair. And and I I bring it out with my uh my shirts. And I think a lot the FFA kids, they they call me sticker bill. They
030start wearing FFA shirts and uh thing stuff like that. And uh it's just it I'm just bringing it out and I'm getting more interested. I hear I hear there's six more uh school uh schools coming up, FFA chapters coming up and and uh I hear there's possibly a couple more in Anchorage. But but that's what I hear. But I I and another thing about uh the school like the FF FFA Cockran school in Fairbanks, they they a lot of times they for lunch they they they uh they use the food they use for this for they get it to school for for their uh uh hydro uh what do they call it anyway? It's what they do grow uh food and water. I can't think of the name right now, but there's so there's so
031there's a lot of potential for FFA that you could you could eat the egg I mean eat the eggs in the morning when you come to a school that from the FFA uh FFA. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker is Amy Brabeck. >> You have three minutes. Welcome. Please begin when you're ready. >> Good evening. Thank you for your service. My name is Amy Bravick. I'm an Anchorage voter, a proud solo parent of an ASD senior. Yay. And I've um been an educator since 1996, an ASC employee since 2001. I've been in the classroom teacher, and for the past 19 years, an elementary school librarian, currently at Cherachnel. I want to share joy. Um when you the school board and also the district members um who work in the staff
032building um when you're visiting our schools joy can be witnessed with the students the staff and the learning that joy comes from hours of thought and preparation which happens most of the time beyond the contractual planning time. I want to share joy with you that happens in our district that you might not be aware of. Elementary school librarians are solo educators in our schools. While we collaborate with teachers to support student learning, there's no one else in our building who speaks library. And so, one of the ways that elementary librarians connect, collaborate, and grow professionally is through our library cohorts. We meet once a month at different libraries around the district. We celebrate our growths. Uh we problem solve our not yet. We support each other professionally and grow stronger as elementary librarians by working
033together. Along with our monthly cohort meetings, we also have work sessions where we focus on a certain topic and dive deeper. Some work session topics have included using Remind as librarians to communicate with families. Um how to have students practice the process of voting through the candidate process uh and project. Um support each other through weeding the library. Um exploring our curriculum and how it can connect with our CKLA. This list is lengthy and it adjusts to the needs of our librarians. Personally connecting with um other professionals is essential to my library craft. Though I've been immersed in the library um elementary librarian gig for about 19 years, I'm consistently learning and growing from working and collaborating with other librarians. I love working with my librarian peeps and it's also an honor to give back
034and support librarians growing as they support their learning community. I want to urge you to find joy in our schools when you visit and spend quality times in our schools. and I invite each of you to visit Chikat Jobs and visit the heart of our school, our library. Thank you for listening and I'd be honored to talk with you more about it when you visit. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our last speaker tonight is Natasha Graham. >> Welcome. You have three minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Good evening, esteemed school board members and Superintendent Bryant. My name is Natasha Graham. I have been teaching high school English language arts since the turn of the century, the last 20 years for Anchorage School District at my home away from home service high school. I'm
035uh also the proud parent of two ASD graduates and a Denali Montasauri fifth grader. I also serve on the Anchorage Education Association board of directors. And the following information has been shared by my colleagues. Did you know that at several of our elementary schools, we have very large kindergarten classes? At one school, 26 kindergarteners in one room. That same school has a fifth grade class down the hall with 32 students. At another school, there are 27 kindies in one room. A third school, 31 kindies. And in a first grade classroom down the hall, 29, a fourth school. There's also 30 in kind and 30 in second grade. Did you know that at one of our title one schools in a first grade classroom where students have demonstrated a high need for social emotional support already,
036there are 27 students. In another school, in a first grade classroom, there are 28. Did you know that there are third graders at one of our schools in classes of 28 and 30? Fourth graders in three of our schools are in classes of 30, 32, and 37. Did you know that one of our schools has 41 kids in a fifth grade classroom? In middle school, the classes get bigger. So do the kids. At one school, one class of English language arts has 38 students and another 43. There is a seventh grade English language arts MTSS class. It's multi- uh tiered systems of support for students who are not at grade level or need some more support. That class has 32 students who are attempting to learn and one teacher attempting to teach. Another middle school
037has an eighth grade science class with 37 students in science. And yet a different school, middle school, has 40 in an eighth grade language arts class. I appreciate your time and attention. Thank you for your testimony. That completes our uh public testimony opportunity tonight. We'll move on to item E, consent agenda. Is there a board member who wishes to pull an item from the consent agenda for discussion? Hearing and seeing none, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda as drafted? >> Mr. Chair, I move to approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Second made by member Bellamy, seconded by member Hollowman. Uh, Miss Sullivan, the vote, please. Student Representative Madison, >> yes. >> Member Bellamy, >> yes. >> Member Wilson, >> yes. >> Member Hollerman, >> yes. >> Member Higgins, >> yes. >>
038Member Lessons, >> yes. >> President Jacobs, >> yes. >> Our consent agenda is adopted by a vote of seven to >> I I'll vote yes, too. Apologies, member Donley. >> Perfect. Our consent agenda is adopted by a vote of seven to zero. We'll move on to action items. Our only action item tonight is ASD memorandum number 018, approval of ASD school calendars for years 2627, 2728, and 2829. The recommended action is to approve and adopt the proposed school calendars for those three years. Is there a motion to approve that action? >> Yes, Mr. Chair, I move to approve memorandum number 018 uh which is to approve the calendars for the years 26 27 27 28 and 2829. >> Second >> made by member Bellamy, second by member Hollerman. Is there discussion on this item? Member
039Higgins. >> Yeah, I just one question. You know, I remember at one time we always started the school year right after Labor Day and it moved forward to earlier dates and where we are today. And the rationale was that because we take the test to try to get the grade to get the results of reading and we start the school year earlier just so that we have a couple of weeks more uh behind the school year is what the rationale was. this 2008 9 10 time frame and so the kids would have more is that I'm just curious from a kind of review standpoint is that a big issue and is that something to be looked at in the future to say wait a minute is this really of high value and how does that
040connect well with when kids are available back during the summer and and doing it that early is it is it advantageous to really keep it that way and I'm trying to advocate to modify it right now, but it's just something I would hope that we would look at to say what's the rationale behind this a little bit. >> Mr. Gustoson. So, um, member Higgins, I that is one of the reasons why I believe that we moved it up um, back then. And the other thing that in our current situation is high schoolers have their their finals before right before the winter break now and the semester is over before the winter break. When we started after Labor Day, the kids would come back, they'd have to get back in the groove, many of which have
041extendedly extended absences and stuff and then they'd have to take their finals. And um this allows them to focus right up to the end, get their credits, then come back fresh right after the break with their new courses. Um this is something that the committee is always asked anytime we go through this uh situation. We those those the questions about Labor Day come up. So that is something that was thought through in this recommendation. >> Thank you, Member Higgins. Yeah, with with that explanation, I'm going to withdraw my request to even look at it. You're right. I realize that now that waiting for people to come back after break and then finish up a semester really works against the the students and everybody. And so I I see the logic of it. I appreciate that.
042>> Thank you, Member Higgins. We'll go to member lessons. >> Um, thanks. I know that I pulled this memo um two weeks ago at our as a non-action item and um I appreciate the chance I appreciated the chance to talk about it then. Um I appreciated uh the the short presentation that was included in the communications committee meeting in the interim period uh which I think was a response to some of my questions. Um and I really want to appreciate extend my appreciation for um the staff who were involved in this work and the many community members who participated in our survey um earlier this spring. So begin with a note of gratitude. Um, but I wanted to return to um the concerns that I raised two weeks ago, which I perceived as um an
043unfortunate lack of of data and perhaps even stakeholder engagement around one specific area of the calendar proposal in front of us. And that's ASD's intention uh to continue to provide what I know is a very well-intentioned staggered start for students in grades 6 through 12 over the next three years. Um which at the end of the day and I think unbeknownst to some students even actually eliminates one of those statutory days of school for students in grades 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12 for each of the next three years. So that's about 14 or 15,000 students who who don't have a day of school and it's the first day of school and not to put it on par with like a major holiday or a birthday but there's a lot of excitement in students um
044for better or worse around the first it is a special day of school. Um so but I so I want to focus on um you know I what I had hoped that I had conveyed two meetings ago was that I would be interested in additional data additional analysis um additional stakeholder engagement around you know what do families think of this proposal what do other students think of this proposal um it's clear that the freshmen who have received this they they had a great day they really value the tours that they've received They value the chance to feel um like they have an understanding of of what this new school looks like and how it works. Like I get it. That's valuable. Um but I see that in my mind looking only at that freshman experience
045or the freshman and sixth grade experience is quite frankly kind of siloed. And I think it's important to respect that we're needing to evaluate the calendar for all of our students. And so that's kind of what I'm fundamentally asking the board to consider this evening, whether whether the opportunity to go to school on that first day of school whether we can prioritize and should prioritize those two grades, sixth and nth grade, to the potential detriment of a broader swath of students. So, I really feel like we are in uncharted territory and um I wanted to respectfully share that if nothing changes, I'm prepared to vote no on this memo tonight and I will have said my piece, but for the purposes of discussion, I am interested in offering an amendment at this time. Okay. Um,
046I move I move to strike the staggered school start dates proposed for comprehensive neighborhood schools from each of the draft 2026 27 202728 and 2028-29 school year calendars and they did share that language with Miss Sullivan earlier. >> There was a motion made. Is there a second? >> Made by member lesson, seconded by member HS. Just a second while we get it up on the board. Great. Okay. Um, under discussion, member Higgins, member lessons, any additional comments? >> Yeah, thanks. You know, I think I used the phrase a moment ago uncharted territory, or if I didn't, I intended to. Um, the board has never voted on this specific proposal. over the four years and change that this board has been together. We um in June of 21, we revised the 2022 23 calendar. There was
047nothing about that then. Um and more recently in May of 2022, we approved um the three years ending uh with this current year calendar. Um I think it's important to flag that the board did during its June 4th 2024 meeting when it approved the master plan for themies of Anchorage. There was one sentence in the master plan that read that the freshman academy experience uh quote officially begins with the first day of school designed just for 9th graders or new to school students. And the board had been made aware during the months leading up to that June 24 meeting uh that this was an idea the administration was intending to roll out for sixth and seventh graders and 9th graders in August of 2024. And then the administration was clear in its intent to continue
048the practice um for incoming sixth and 9th graders thereafter. But as a matter of calendar adoption, the board has never adopted a calendar in line with our statutory requirements um to this effect. And we've had conversations about instructional hours and I actually looked into data that we got and we're above the 900 hour threshold. Um, I think it's interesting that, you know, the state of Alaska has recently revised um its guidance about emergency closure days, which at the end of that makes me understand that they really do that the state really does value instructional days. And I don't want to get into those weeds, but those are some of the things that I was thinking about. But again, the board has never approved a calendar before that specifically grants access to school on the first
049day of school for some students and and not others. I guess with the exception of kindergarten students and we've had a long-standing practice of, you know, kindergarteners have meetings with teachers uh over that week that they don't attend school and then they go to kindergarten academy. It's a gentle roll in for those students. Um, so I just wanted the board to understand some of the thinking that I engaged with when I raised my discomfort with the proposal before us. Um, there's a lot of great information that the administration has included from its survey, but you'll notice that the community was never actually surveyed about the staggered start. It was sort of the one item left off the survey. And I know that's because it's an administrative priority and I know that's because it's very well-intentioned
050to help students transition into middle and high school. So, um I value that that supported transition. I wonder whether there are ways that those students can be supported. I mean, at the elementary level, I'm now a decade or so into going to, you know, back to school nights the night before um elementary starts. you meet the teacher. Maybe that's a possibility. You know, I'd love for students to be able to tour their schools and meet their teachers um ahead of time to get a feel for their lockers, but but not if it means pulling a day of school away from other kids. That's that's the core of my dilemma with approving this calendar. So, I'll pause there. >> Thank you. Are there other comments? Member Higgins. >> Just like to hear the administration's response is
051the concern is being raised. Thank you, Member Higgins. Uh, I'll be brief. I I uh respect the autonomy of board members to propose amendments um based on what they're hearing from the community. With that said, um as was mentioned, the intent of the staggered start was was well-intentioned. As a former 9th grade teacher, there's no way that I'm going to be convinced that this isn't a good thing for students. So, I'm going to put that as out there. Um, but I do recognize that that's my own personal bias and it's it's good that we have a robust dialogue on issues that we feel could impact our students. But, um, one thing that I was interested in was, um, one, how do students feel about this? So, for the freshmen, a survey was referenced. So, we
052actually surveyed over 2,000 freshmen and they basically rated staggered start on a scale of one to four and they rated at a 3.5. So, that's kind of like a B+ average for staggered starts, and that's for again over 2,000 freshmen, which is a pretty good um sample size. We have about 3,000 or so freshmen. Um number two, we also surveyed staff. So, the board might be interested to know that 3 point the staff members rated staggered start at 3.79 out of four. Um 254 staff members were rated. Um, I also want to note that today we reviewed On Track to Graduate data and it looks like ninth graders are actually showing the strongest gains for on track to graduate amongst all of the sub populations. That's really important because the more freshmen that we have
053on track to graduate, the closer and closer we can get to getting to that 90% graduation number. I'm actually pretty proud about some of the successes that we've had in high schools. It was just two weeks ago that I shared that we have a 42% increase in the number of students from underserved backgrounds that are in advanced placement. Now, that might be a testament to the power of the freshman academy course. Perhaps it also tangentially is because of the staggered start. Um, some of the other things that I'm noticing is that we're also seeing really great gains amongst our subop. So, it looks like um actually the most pronounced gain that we just saw in the on track to graduate data was amongst our English language learners. So, it's very fascinating that because of all
054these inputs that we've put into the high schools that those benefiting the most are those that need some of the most support to succeed. Um, and you know, I'm really interested to see how this will turn out because like I mentioned just a couple of weeks ago, we're only a few hundred students away from dramatically increasing our graduation rates as a district. And I think it's it's not one thing. It's not going to just be the staggered starts. It's not just going to be the freshman academy. It's not just going to be to making an AP course as inclusive as possible. It's not just going to be the CTE programs of study that are correlated with a 94% graduation rate. It's not just those that complete advanced placement courses. It might be a combination of
055all of them, but it's so impressive to see increases in the positive direction across every single subgroup that we looked at in the OnTrack report today. So, my professional opinion is that this is the wrong time to mess with the inputs. it seems like something positive is happening and I'd like to protect the progress. So that's why I propose what I proposed. Um but I do welcome the the board discussion and I ultimately uh defer to whatever the board decides. >> Member Bellamy. >> Thank you. When we give our students what they need, it's just not going to always be the same. It's not. For 30 years in my career, I prepared eighth graders to enter ninth grade. And I took it from the school day. Not they we did not have because they that
056population of students need to be set up to be successful. And so for me, when we authorized the plan for ninth graders to go early, it make made perfectly good sense to me because that population of kids and even kids coming into the sixth graders, well, the fifth graders going into sixth grade now, they need similar supports. So, it is not going if we want everything to look the same. I don't see this as an equity issue. I see it as giving our kids what they need in order to set them up for success. So, I will not be voting to change the calendar. Um uh uh because I think this is what our kids need. I think that the kids have already spoken to us through the survey. We've tried it now twice and
057I just think that we've got to me this is one of the innovative things that I think is really good for kids and I don't see it as it I I think we're giving kids what they need and we're doing it in a way that's not going to pull them out of their academic classes during the school day so that they can we can get them ready to go uh the next year to the high school. we can we can do more I think in in terms of support um and getting kids ready to learn uh and ready to transition. Uh 9th grade is where is where the rubber hits the road. If we can't get them ready for ninth grade 10 11th 12th is going to be a struggle and I think to invest
058this way uh is is is going to benefit our students. But that's from an old retired middle school principal. >> Thank you, member Bellamy. Member element. >> Um, when I when I taught high school, the single most common phrase that I got from parents and phone calls was everything was going so good until the ninth grade. Not every parent said that, but it was the single most common thing repeated by so many parents. Um, and so I had the experience of watching school open with everybody and and most kids make it. Most kids do okay. Um, but I did have the experience of seeing a ninth grade day um, a few weeks ago and it really was dramatically different in that one the the building was not packed and and that played a key role.
059Uh, and the fact that that almost all the students all all the ninth graders in there were kind of at the same place. They were all new to the building and obviously some have had siblings, some know a little bit more about it than others, but it is an opportunity to speak to them to a group that's kind of unified and and there's a whole lot of like making sure everybody's got their schedule, everybody's got their walker. Um, but they also did uh some scavenger hunts to get kids out around the building. So, they knew the building, they knew people, um, they knew what the office did, they they found out all these things that take a while. Um, and as member Bellamy said, I I just saw it as something incredibly useful. You really
060do have to have all the staff there. You need the office staff. You need the librarians. you need all the teachers in place. You need security there. Um, as well as the fact that there was a healthy contingent of juniors and seniors that acted as mentors. Um, and at the school I was at, everybody had color-coded t-shirts, so you could tell who all the freshmen were. You could tell who the upper class mentors were. You could tell who the staff were. and and it really just made the day about them in a way that that I can't imagine could be duplicated even if ninth graders were doing special activities and everybody else was in the building because it just changes the nature of the hallway and everything that's going on. Um I I the first
061day is never a day of instruction really. Um although it it does bring up the second day. I'm sure there's quite a bit of schedules being straightened out and all those other things as well. Um I I think it's a great idea and I think it's incredibly useful. I can see the value in trying to expand the calendar by a day or two to compensate for it. And and I do think as we keep loading things into school, we should be looking at lengthening the day or the number of days that were in session um just to help make that happen um without having to push something out. Because you're right, if you dedicate a day to that to the ninth graders, something has to go. In this case, it's the 10th, 11th, and 12th
062graders mostly. And so, they have to show up the next day. And they are familiar with the building. They do know most of the staff. They do know their way around. I actually was going to make a suggestion to the administration that they consider bringing in new to the building students with the ninth graders. That dilutes it somewhat. Um, and I'm not quite sure how many students that is, and that that may make it kind of unworkable. Uh but the fact that on that particular day everybody's in the ninth grade, everybody's new to the building, nobody really knows their way around much better than anybody else. Um I I saw staff that really focused on students in that situation and I think went a long way to making students comfortable in the place that they're
063going to be. And the faster you can do that, uh, the more you get out of the other 179 days that they're going to be attending. So, I I do see value in that in that I think it probably raises uh what we can accomplish on the other days. Um, and it's it's unfortunate that it's kind of a zero sum game that that to get something, you have to give up something. And unfortunately the the other side of that is if we could get more time that means more money and and either the state somebody would have to come up with that in order for us to be able to do it. But I I do think it's off to a great start and I think it'll get even better. Uh I have no doubt
064that schools are all going to share with each other what really seemed to work. Uh what what didn't seem to matter so much and that they'll refine this whole thing. Um, I think using upper classmen was was a great idea. Um, because it's it's just about the right number of students and the upper classmen that are there know why they're there. They're there to help and they really do. I mean, it it really it was just a neat thing to watch as far as the focus on making students comfortable in their hallway and being ready for the rest of the school year after it. Um and and this to me is one of the great dilemmas that we face is that we in essence are given the same amount of time with all of our
065students. Some of them need much more. Some of them don't need that much. But there's no easy way to you can't just take some students and put them on the sidelines. Although in essence a staggered start does that in a pretty dramatic way, but the other 179 days you really can't not have bus service, not have the cafeteria going, not having everything working the way it's supposed to. So um I I will not support the amendment. Um I do think it's a good idea that the administration has put in place. I do want to see where it goes. I think it will get better. I do think we need to pay attention to the other students that are in the building for the very first time for them. Um to kind of give them a
066little bit of that same advantage of some not so hectic space and time to learn their way around the building to learn what the different different parts of the building are, what the different classes are, what goes on here, what goes on there. Um, I and as I say, I did some of this with people I knew when I was because I was in the building during the summer a lot. Um, we just walked some kids around if parents had called and asked about it. Very few parents do because most schools don't offer it, but you could tell every time it made a world of difference to the kid just to be able to be in. It's kind of like if you had the opportunity to drive around downtown with no other traffic, it it
067would be a marvelous experience instead of the experience it is. And and I think to some degree that's what it does. It it gets the traffic down to where everybody's going in the same direction. Kind of is in the same place and it lets staff make a lot of progress with a select group of students for one day and then the next day is business as usual and and it is what it is. Um with more resources we could do even better and and I hope we get there one day, but I I will vote for us to continue doing this. Thank you, Member Hullman. Member Wilson. >> I've I've had the opportunity to have conversations with um students and staff and it it was actually good to hear. The staff that I spoke with
068said it was amazing to have the opportunity to meet um be exposed to and for students to be exposed to them even though they wouldn't weren't going to be teaching that grade level. those students wouldn't see them for another year or two um be because they don't ever get to do that. They're they're hitting the ground running the um that first day of school with their their own 10th, 11th, 12th, 7th, 8th, whatever grade level it is that they're teaching. And so they they the feedback I got from them was it was really really nice for those students to have that exposure to th to to the older um the staff members that that they would have later on. Um because it's that opportunity for small relationship building. I mean it's the success of of
069of any organization is typically based on the opportunities for that relationship building and exposure. Um I think of my own meetings mo most of the meetings I go to if we haven't met before there's an icebreaker of some sort. Um, and this is the opportunity on a large level I see to do that icebreaking opportunity for for these students um to maybe get to know somebody else too at their at their grade level. I've I also talked to to my own kids that I have in in my home um because they're they're not they didn't have the opportunity because they're in 11th and 12th grade to to have the late start um Dave. So the conversation was um basically they were reflecting on their first day of of middle school and their first day of
070high school and how they wish they would have had that opportunity because it was such a challenge for them um emotionally to walk into a whole new school not knowing very many people if any including the staff and not knowing how to get around and not knowing how to open a locker and and so much that they did not know that they didn't mind staying home another day so that the students that are that this experience is all new to and overwhelming to so they could have a more positive experience and more start into their middle school and high school years. So, it was really nice that that my kids um were able to just kind of put themsel themselves in in the younger students shoes and reflect on what they wish that that could
071have been um done for them. Um so, and they appreciate that other students have the opportunity because they don't want to see other kids struggle like they did. And that's I think that's a that's a pretty cool thing. So, I will not be supporting this amendment. I will also support the continuation of trying to give our our sixth graders and our ninth graders um an amazing start so that they can really try to have that opportunity to jump right into a whole new really difficult um kind of phase in their life with that positive um opportunity for exposure and relationship building. Thank you, member. Thank you, member Wilson. Member Dunley. >> Yeah, I agree that the freshman first day is very advantageous to the freshman class coming in, the members of it, but I also
072uh agree with the concerns expressed by member lessons regarding the loss of instructional hours that's happens because of it. Um, she referenced the Alaska statute that sets the minimum for statute for instructional hours per educational year at 920. Compare that to 36 other states whose minimum number of instructional hours is 1,080. That's 160 hours difference every year that our kids are getting less than those states that have 180 for their instructional hours. So we're and then if you look at the states that don't have a 1080 requirement, um a lot of them make up the difference by having additional number of minimum a minimum number of school days. So it's even worse than that. Um stretch that out over a K through 12 education, you're talking about over a year of less instruction time for
073kids in Alaska than in the majority of other states. That's that's catastrophic. People wonder why our grade our comparisons to other states are so bad. Well, it may it's probably not the only reason, but it's clearly a factor that our kids are getting so much fewer educ instructional hours every year than kids in other states. Um, so it's really a hard decision for me because I do think the freshman day is a really good idea. At the same time, I really concerned about giving up instructional hours when we're at such a bare minimum now and we're so low compared to other states in the union. Um, so I'm very concerned about that. You know, when I bring this up to legislators, they almost universally say they had no idea that this was the situation. They
074just, oh, really? They're they're surprised. They don't know it. and I've done as much as I can, I think, to try to educate them. I've had specific articles about this published even in the Anchorage Daily News um about the need for more instructional hours in this state uh as a minimum number of hours. Now, it comes with a cost and every year I've been here, we've been dealing with basically a deficit. And um for the first multiple years I was here, we were asking all our employees to get by with zero increases to their salaries and and wages. And it was very very difficult to to do and very difficult on the employees. So, we've never had the finance to aggressively deal with this. Um, but I think that the state acting on it, as
075much as I value local control, may be the only way that we really are able to address this because then it would make it a raise raise the level of interest and necessity to deal with the problem so that the state would help address it, I think. Um, so I do share member Leon's concerns about the loss of any instructional hours for any of our students. student representative Madison. >> Thank you. So, um I also want to recognize too that this is obviously a big topic relating to all students affected by it, but because of that, I wanted to share a personal odd perspective that may or may not have been heard yet. Personally for me, I never attended a freshman orientation. I believe for my freshman year, this was before the staggered starts officially
076started happening, but our school still hosted a freshman orientation and I did not know about it because at the time I was new to the school attending and I had no idea that a freshman orientation existed and I did not attend. I still even regret this to my senior year, as funny as it may sound. The orientation day that provided freshmen the resources that they were able to learn to prepare for the rest of high school impacts them for the rest of their high school career. I missed out on drastic measures to prepare me for the first weeks of school, including social developments and school policy decorum. The stagard start allows students to create friend groups, for example, for the rest of the year, some even still existing to their senior year, as well as
077understanding school functions without detrimental time stolen from class to learn those things. Additionally, I also want to point out the opportunities that it provides, not only just for freshmen, but also for other grades. For example, it provides many opportunities for volunteer and community service hours for students. For example, at Bartlett High School, they host a key club organization where they are able to encourage different students from different grades to apply and volunteer guiding these freshman into their own random groups, socializing them if they are shy or afraid to come out of their shell. And that may only just sound like a typical cliche high school thing, being social with other students, but it's actually a very keystone aspect of a successful high school experience. Being able to successfully interact with your peers in ways that
078you both mutually understand how you feel comfortable in the resources you're given, being prepared in a high school. And that's why a staggered start is so important. And I know the students around me that I've spoken to have said that they personally do feel benefited by this day. Additionally, non national honor societies as well are also a able to be given opportunities for these community service hours as upper classmen are giving resources on how to navigate school technology or other school events that these freshmen will need to attend. Like I said, overall it's not only benefiting freshman's, but it benefits the whole student body as a whole when staggered start days are able to bring people together and actually give people mutual resources on feeling comfortable in their school environments. And I believe in all
079these students having benefits to all and being a voice for these students is affected at different schools. And so while I do believe our calendar should come down to a logical decision that impacts us in good ways, I also believe it should come down to a decision that impacts us in the best ways for all. So while we want to bal balance our statutes and policies, we also have to consider that this may even have to consider maybe moving different days to keep this keystone staggered starts for new students and freshmen. that is as it is shown with evidence actually supported many good successful high school careers for the rest of their time through graduation. Thank you. >> Thank you member Higgins. >> I just first of all I appreciate the motion because it brought
080forth a good discussion and it was legitimate issues and I have a better understanding of the value of this and and why it's being done. Um I I won't support the motion, but I do appreciate the fact it was raised and I think it was beneficial for that reason alone. >> Thank you. >> Seeing no other discussion on the amendment, Miss Sullivan, the vote. >> Student Representative Madison? >> No. >> Member Don Lee? >> Yes. >> Member Bellamy. >> Member Higgins. >> No. >> Member Hullman. No >> member Lessons. >> Yes. >> Member Wilson. >> No. >> President Jacobs. >> No. >> The amendment fails by a vote of 5 to two. Uh we're back under the the main motion as presented. Is there any additional discussion? Member Holland, do you have additional discussion? >>
081Okay. >> Oh, >> perfect hearing. Seeing none, Miss Sullivan in the vote. Student Representative Madison. >> Yes. Yes. >> Member Lessons. >> No. >> Member Wilson. >> Yes. >> Member Donley. >> Yes. >> Member Higgins. >> Yes. >> Member Bellamy. >> Yes. >> Member Hollowman. >> Yes. >> President Jacobs. >> Yes. Uh the ASD memorandum number 018 is adopted by a vote of 6 to1. That completes our action items tonight. We have a slate of non-action items which will be in front of the board in our second meeting of September. Is there any board member who wishes to discuss a non-action item at this time hearing? Seeing none, we'll move to uh past continued public comment and the superintendent update. Dr. Brian, the floor is yours. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be short and
082sweet. I just wanted to add a little bit of joy because we're still in the middle of a very strong start to the school year and I want to recognize some fantastic educators um that are doing wonderful work for students. So, um this is actually a followup from my presentation last week when I shared that Eagle River AP exam scores are just phenomenal. Um so, essentially at Eagle River, they increase advanced placement passing rates by 30 points. Um, essentially almost 90% of AP kids get college credit. And I think that's incredible. Um, I'm I I was just so curious as to why. I've been talking to various community members and I I'm just hearing that, you know, one, it's that uh teachers really know their stuff. Um, but then two, students feel welcomed and they
083feel included in pursuing advanced placement even if it's something that wasn't necessarily on their radar. uh and it's really nice to see those individual anecdotes get paired with the data uh that bears repeating which is the fact that we saw a 42% increase in advanced placement amongst those who have been historically underrepresented. So for a number of years that's been a major priority of the board and I'm glad that we're starting to see the fruits of many many years of hard work and that hard work is on the backs of our teachers and our students who are working incredibly hard um to earn college credit or in the case of a teacher to help their students earn that college credit. that makes a huge difference. Um, and in fact, did you know that a lot
084of advanced placement teachers pursue extra professional development? So, they take the time to go out and they grade real advanced placement exams. So, I've been talking to AP teachers um at different buildings and and they're telling me about this process. And what's neat is that they're grading the exams of students in other districts, but it turns out when you're grading an AP exam for a passing score, you get really good at teaching um an AP course. So, our teachers really know their stuff with what it takes to earn that college credit bar. And I'm just so proud of our teachers and really proud of our students that are really um doing what it takes to earn that college credit. Um so that that's a huge win. And in fact, so many people were excited about
085what happened at Eagle River. I think our principal at Chooak was the first to raise her hand to say, "Look at my AP score." So So I did. And I want to recognize our Chooak Mustangs. So last year 80% of Chooiak High School AP students passed their test. 80%. And uh that's actually a 12point gain from the year before. So within 12 months at Chugiak High School, our Mustangs are really making the district proud by getting that college credit. Um that's just one of many data points that I'm seeing all over the place for how we're moving the needle in the right direction for our high schools. And it's not just advanced placement. Um of course, some of our students want that college credit very early, but others they really want to pursue different careers.
086even if that career u might require going to medical school or what have you, um they're starting to think about their life after high school now. So despite all of the headwinds, all of the drama with the funding and everything that we've gone through as a district, um we're keeping that momentum going for high quality career and technical education programs. So we're really proud to announce that we're adding some great programs. One CT program we added is called Navigating Careers and Care. So, when I look at all of the uh Anchorage Economic Development Corporation data, I look at all those vacancies within the healthcare industry, and we're going to help make a dent in that over time if we can maintain our progress. We offer another new program in construction careers. There's another one in
087natural resources, that's huge. If we can get more students ready to join the natural resources industry, I think that is going to be the precipice for a long range statewide fiscal plan that can be successful. It can start here in ASD. There's other programs ranging from student entrepreneurship to this new field called mechatronics. You should Google it. It's a really cool upand cominging field that's also high wage and high demand. So, we're really adding programs that are not just new and shiny, but these are the programs that are going to help students get what they need to be successful after ASD. And why does this matter? Because the data is clear. or when we look at national data, even when we look at ASD data, if you're a student earning college credit, if you're a
088student that's passing multiple CTE program or courses within a program of study, you're more likely to graduate on time. And as somebody that taught in high school and I spent many years as an assistant superintendent that focused exactly on this work of post-secary success, it makes a lot of sense to me. It's because when you pass an AP exam, that's a class that you don't have to pay for at the local community college or in this case the University of Alaska Anchorage for many of our students. And if you get enough of those college credits, you essentially can enter college as a as a college sophomore. And that's free. Um all you need to do is pay for the exam. And thankfully, if our students are on free reduced price lunch, they can even get
089that fee waved. Um so there's no reason not to take advantage of this great opportunity. Same thing with um CTE. If you have that industry credential that can lead to that high wage job out of high school, you're more likely to graduate because you're starting to see, okay, there's a path for me to break cycles of poverty in some instances or to provide for my family or to be independent for the first time in my life in Alaska. These are just a few of the different types of opportunities that are truly unlocked within our secondary schools. So, you know, when I talk to parents about their take on uh offerings for CTE and AP and ASD, the number one thing they say is um you know, how can we grow this stuff? Um how can
090we add more? The number one feedback I get from parents that I talk to is, "Well, yeah, I mean, I love the AP courses at my school, but I wish we just had more electives, or I feel that, you know, the the uh AP courses are a little crowded because of all these um struggles that we're having with class sizes due to just stagnant funding and and a variety of other issues that we need to urgently address. Um, so what I tell those parents is that this is one of the reasons why we all need to band together and remember that we can make a difference by reminding state leadership that we're doing good stuff in Anchorage and we're probably doing great things across all the districts in Alaska, but if we don't protect our
091progress, if we don't maintain these investments in our students, we're going to start to backtrack. Some people think that passing an advanced placement class is some sort of thing you can do for free or with some sort of policy. You can't. the way that you make a difference is to add more teachers into that building. So, here's an interesting stat. Did you know that within ASD we only have, I believe, uh, two high school vacancies the last time that I checked the staffing report on Friday. That's fascinating because a lot of people say to me, "Well, what's the point of hiring more teachers if it's just going to result in a vacancy?" There are very few vacancies at high school. So theoretically, if I could convince the legislature to appropriate money for more high school
092teachers today, you know, for next school year, we need to hire, you know, on the regular cycle. But if we can pull that off, there's no reason why we couldn't lower class sizes in our high schools. The only reason why we aren't able to is because some people in state leadership haven't gotten the message that in order to lower class sizes, we need to be able to one, hire more educators into the system, and two, we statewide, we need to be more competitive. I completely agree with a lot of the feedback that I'm hearing from all sorts of community members talking about how do we make an impact? It's to lower the class sizes. How do we lower the class sizes? We need to demand that the state protect our progress and to give us
093the tools we need to succeed. I really want to make sure that those class sizes go down at the high school level because one, the class sizes are smaller and two, what if I could double the number of AP courses that we could offer? A lot of people don't realize that there are types of AP classes that many of our students are very very capable of passing like AP psychology. I'd love to offer more of that. Um it has one of the highest passing rates in the country. But what's holding us back is the ability to protect our progress. And even though we've had a very successful summer, we still have huge challenges ahead. Right? The our the impact of inflation has really eroded the value of our dollar in ASD. And my ask to
094the legislature is to truly consider the possibility of helping ASD and other districts like us who are making great progress. Help us protect that progress. Help us um multiply the impact that we're seeing for our students. Again, I just mentioned two schools. The fact that Eagle River is at 90%, the fact that Shugiak's at over 80%. Let's look at the rest of the schools in the state and figure out what we can do to invest in our students, invest in our educators, and protect our progress. So, I'm going to remain laser focused on our data, but I also want to make sure that I'm laser focused on what's happening in our schools. And there are too many people out there that are pretending as though the outcomes for ASD students is bleak. It's actually not.
095It's the some of the better outcomes that we've seen in a really long time and we're just getting started, but we can't do it if we as a state don't agree that protecting our progress needs to be the priority for the foreseeable future. That's my soap box. Thank you, Mr. President. I'll conclude my remarks. >> Thank you, Dr. Brian for your report. We'll move on to school board administration comments. We'll start at my left. Member Higgins. >> Thank you. Um a couple of of testimony tonight that was right on and that is classroom sizes how large they are. They're they're when we did the picassodum it's K through three is supposed to be no more than 15 and above that 25 and you're getting uh more than twice that size in Anchorage. Um and then
096the turnover of teachers um the correlation between how long they stay and how effective they are is well established in all professional fields but uh especially true in teachers and so while we're being cut funding and we're having to respond to that not getting the adequate funding just for the inflationary factors and other changes um the the assession is that unless you do better um you know we would cut you more something like that. I I want to just not just identify the problem but have some form of solution to it. Um, I remember 10 years ago when I remember about about 10 years ago, I think it was, when we had looking at potentially eliminate middle school, adding changing high school schedules and uh, Great Alaska schools became the voters out there, got very
097loud, got very aggressive, let make sure the elected officials knew that they reported to them, they wrote them, they called them, they were in Juno, they made clear. Uh legislators were frustrated by it. Um they accused they accused school board members of being behind Great Alaska schools. Most people said, "Hey, they did it on their own." And my view was, "Yeah, we're guilty. We teach civics." Uh I don't care. But we we have that kind of issue today. So if we're going to start with the solution, we need to start with the public demanding that individuals that they elect that or they are representing them represent what they want to have done for education. We need them to be very vocal and aggressive again this year because right now we're in a situation where the
098minority within the House and Senate uh can prevent any override. We've got a governor who's very ad adamant about not providing the adequate funding for public education. And so we need to make sure that the public is making their expectations clear to the legislature and to the governor and those involved and to be vocal about it. If we are aggressive on that sense, I believe we'll have improvement. But we're looking at a time frame of coming out with a budget again in February that's not going to be pleasant for the school district. So I'm hoping the public starts early and gets very very clear to their people next year is an election year. That can always impact things a little bit. They get a little more nervous. But we need to recognize that we got
099the cards stacked against us, I believe, compared to what we really need. and we need the public to be out there to be really the the one in charge in telling them what elected officials they want them to do. Thank you. >> Thank you, member Higgins. Member Les, >> thanks. I'll be pretty brief. Uh I just wanted to extend my gratitude to everyone on the dis for their thoughtful reflection and engagement with uh the amendment that I offered. Um I think we learned through conversation and this was no different. and pivoting dramatically. Um, and I hope this is okay, but there is a new event that is being jointly co-hosted with the Anchorage Public Library and my personal favorite ice cream shop, uh, Wild Scoops, which is design your own ice cream flavor based on
100your favorite childhood book. And then the ice cream shop is going to make that a reality. They did this last year. I'm sharing this in case there are any teachers who want to maybe like offer this opportunity to their classrooms. Um, it's just a unique local partnership that ASD has no business in inserting itself, but I think it's fantastic and promotes reading. So, worksheets are available at any library branch starting today uh or online on their website at Wild Scoops um yesterday. Turn it in by the 14th. Thanks, >> Member Donley. I would like to see the administration seriously consider through through the collective bargaining process explore the option of allowing our instructors, our teachers, and uh members of that collective bargaining unit to vote on whether or not they'd like to return to Social
101Security. um back in the 1980s I believe it was no it was even earlier than that they voted to come out of social security and there under federal law there is a one-time opportunity to allow them potentially to vote to return into the social security system and it might be a very positive development for recruitment and for retention uh if they were eligible for social security. So, I would just like a further examination of the the potential of of such a possible event. >> Student Representative Madison, any final comments? >> Um, thank you. I do just want to make a reminder um about the Alaska Association of Student Governments that again the conference will be from October 23rd through 25th here in Anchorage at Alaska Pacific University. We are truly looking for a lot new
102member schools, especially in the Anchorage District to join. You can go to ag.org to be able to find contact information. It's seriously an impactful experience that'll empower your students to be innovators and be informed on local, state, and national policy. Other than that, I just want to let everyone everyone know that I am looking forward to updating about our first student advisory board meeting that'll be happening on the 9th. And one of the goals that I have for our upcoming meetings is to be able to continue a committee that was started by Josh PAC where students can look over at our monitoring goals and be able to send in and ask questions. So that way we can spread curiosity and new information to students who wouldn't have been able to access it without this type
103of work. Other than that, I'm grateful to be here and I thank all these board members for their excellent work. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, member Wilson, >> I have no comments this evening. Thank you. >> Thank you, Member Hullman. >> Um, thank you. Um, I did attend the legislative task force on education funding and that was encouraging. Um I I think it's a a good group of legislators that are trying to look at uh any a broad range of issues, but but they really did seem focused on solutions and understanding uh how the actions of the state are impacting the classroom. Um I'd urge people to pay attention. Uh I I found it interesting and chatting with some of them after the meeting particularly. I also wanted to say I routinely look at
104the personnel report. One of those quiet things that we routinely approve. Um and part of it is having been in ASD for some time a lot of times in the retire or people that are leaving I recognize some names. I was startled at recognizing names in the recommended for hire list and realized I was looking at a number of people that have retired from the Anchor school district and are coming back to teach again. Of course, the the legislature made some changes in how their retirement is affected, and that's in essence allowed ASD and I'm sure other districts to draw from the pool of people that retired but are still living here. Um, and it I think pretty great because you're talking about a group of people that don't need much orientation, don't need a
105whole lot of training. Uh, they're coming in with a high level of understanding. They're easy to pick out because they are new hires that have a lot of credits that puts them that bumps them on the salary scale quite a bit. Um the unfortunate thing is it's a limited pool because obviously there there's a pretty finite number of retired people that are still here in Anchorage and that number is even smaller if you look at the ones that want to come back to work. But changing the benefits, changing how their retirement was affected did open up the possibility of hiring some people that are well qualified. Um that I think we'll probably be here three, four, five, six, seven years depending on how old they were when they retired. Um indeed I think it demonstrates
106that if we change our benefits package we change the pool of people that will come teach for us. And unfort Well while I think this is going to help tremendously in the short run we really need to be hiring people that when we look at them and we see good performance they're people that we can keep for 25 or 30 or 35 years. Um which we have a history of. I I think um social security might be part of that. I do think opening up a defined benefit pathway uh is critical in terms of competing with other states and I would urge people to keep that in the forefront of their their mind. We we have it demonstrated right in front of us that changing those benefits can have an absolute direct impact on who
107we can hire. Um, other than that, it things I saw looked like it was a great start to the school year. A lot of effort by staff to really welcome kids in and get them on the right track and uh hope things go well. Thank you, >> member Bellamy. >> No comment. >> Might as well have no comment. With that said, I would entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> Move to adjurnn. Second. >> Made by Hullman, seconded by Bellamy. We're adjourned at 7:30. Thank you.