Juneau

The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska announced plans on Thursday to open a cultural immersion park. Next year, the shuttered Thane Ore House is expected to be transformed into a new Juneau tourist destination.

Myrna Gardner, the council’s business and economic development manager, said the park could offer teachable experiences for Native youth and guests. They’ll see weaving and master carvers working with apprentices on totems and canoes.

“They’ll not only see a living culture, they’ll be able to talk to the artists,” Gardner said. “We’ll have cultural guides with them. Our plan is to not only strengthen our culture and the connection with our youth but also share our culture with the guests that travel into Juneau.”

Plans include a gift shop and restaurant that serves traditional foods–like blueberries, salmon and Hudson Bay tea. As many as 100 permanent jobs could be created.

President Richard Peterson said that’s part of the business model. The immersion park will draw employees from the Central Council’s existing vocational program. He hopes, eventually, it will help Central Council become more self-sufficient.

“You can’t have a program live off grants forever. Part of that sustainability is that economic development engine kicking in for tourism, kind of solves each others’ problems,” he said.

The city owns the land and solicited project proposals. Central Council beat out pitches from caterer Abby’s Kitchen and Liquid Alaska Tours.

Peterson said, as the final design plans come together, it’ll be done with careful thought and planning.

“I want to make sure that what we do is culturally sensitive and culturally appropriate,” Peterson said. “I don’t want to do something that’s a parody of our culture. This has to be something that’s done right.”

The $1.3 million Tlingit-Haida immersion park is slated to open next summer.

When Storm Large first sang with the genre-defying band Pink Martini, she had four days to learn 10 songs in five different languages — and perform them all to sold out audiences at the Kennedy Center. 

That was 2011. The regular singer was having surgery on her vocal cords.

Four years and 17 languages later, Large is now a permanent fixture in the mini-orchestra. This weekend, she and Pink Martini will play Centennial Hall as part of the 30th Juneau Jazz & Classics season.

“The whole experience of Pink Martini is being invited to a beautiful amazing party in 1961 where you’re just kind of waiting for Lauren Bacall to show up,” said Large. “It’s not an experience where you’re sitting in the audience and the musicians are separate from you on stage. We love to engage with people and be inclusive and have everybody be part of the show. We love to get people up and dancing. I jump offstage and dance with people. It’s just a little joy factory.”

Onstage, she says the Portland-based band recreates the glamour of old Hollywood and the sounds of the Copacabana. Though the group has toured through Alaska before, this is Large’s first trip.

“Pink Martini classes me up a little bit,” she said. “I’m kind of a rock and roll punk cabaret artist. Working with them has taught me you can say a lot without saying much.” 

See Pink Martini live at 7 p.m Sunday at Centennial Hall.

The five candidates for Juneau School Board fielded questions Thursday about their priorities, testing, teacher pay and the budget situation at a forum held by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce.

Most of the candidates expressed concern about college and career readiness, and all of them acknowledged the challenge of attracting teachers and compensating them enough given the high cost of living. Responsiveness to the community and transparency also seemed to be a priority for several candidates.

Jeff Redmond

Jeff Redmond is a long-time Alaska resident who moved to Juneau two years ago. He studies education and English at the University of Alaska Southeast and has a 3-year-old daughter.

He spoke about the importance of connecting the education system to the community and the need for transparency. For student assessments and evaluating teacher performance, he emphasized a balance between quantitative metrics and flexibility.

“I think teachers need enough space to be creative, and that constant analysis and assessment may detract from the magic of teaching,” he said.

He suggested curtailing charter school expansion as a possible cost-saving measure, but said he would consult with experts on further budget issues.

Andi Story

Andi Story has lived in Juneau for 28 years and is in her 12^th year on the Juneau School Board. She has three children who went through the school system.

She emphasized increasing the quality of instruction through continuing support of teachers with professional development.

“The number one in-school factor that increases student learning is the teachers’ skill set and their relationships with their students,” she said.

When asked about the fiscal situation, she emphasized ensuring adequate funding for the district, adding that administration costs had already been cut “down to bare bones.” She also suggested smaller class sizes for younger students and working with the community partnerships like reading tutors.

Josh Keaton

Josh Keaton has lived in Juneau for 15 years, where his two children attend Mendenhall River Community School.

He spoke about the importance of community responsiveness and transparency for the school board. He also favors qualitative over quantitative analysis of teacher performance.

Rather than just looking at a number, he suggested asking questions like, are “the students leaving the class excited about learning?”

He also suggested smaller kindergarten through second grade class sizes, programs for gifted students, college and career readiness as a priority, and encouraging learning at home. While he said he does not currently have a deep enough understanding of the budget to suggest specific cuts, he does advocate increasing funding for schools.

Jason Hart

Jason Hart has lived in Juneau for 17 years and has one child in fourth grade at Mendenhall River Community School.

One of his priorities is making the school board more available and responsive to the community.

“I’d like to bridge the gap between the community and the board,” he said.

He also mentioned the importance of pre-K and wants to restore funding for sports programs. He expressed skepticism about the reliance on test scores as the sole measure of student learning and feels they do not adequately account for individual learning styles.  While he did not offer any specific suggestions for the budget, he mentioned the importance of carefully allocating the money available.

Emil Mackey

Emil Mackey has a masters in education from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a  doctorate in public policy. He has worked as a student affairs professional for the University of Alaska and the University of Arkansas. While he does not have children, he says if he does, he would enroll them in Juneau public schools.

When it comes to the budget, Mackey advocated increasing efficiency.

“We do not control our revenue sources, but we do control our expenditures,” he said.

His suggestions included possibly combining junior and senior high schools. He said that high school facilities are underutilized compared to overcrowded lower grades.

He favors exploring voluntary specific college and career tracks for students, community partnerships with the University of Alaska and local unions, and incentivizing retirement for more senior teachers, who earn more than newer teachers.

Election day is Oct. 6.

The Juneau School District has won a $500,000 grant to incorporate more art into the classroom.

The funding from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation is for two years. Director of Teaching and Learning Ted Wilson says the funding could continue for up to 10.

He says the grant will provide professional development for K-12 teachers.

“Train teachers on just artful thinking, what does it mean to think artfully when you’re presenting your curriculum? Then some of the work will be, how do you integrate art into your classroom, into the daily activities of your class?” Wilson said.

The grant will bring in visiting artists, including people from The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Former University of Alaska Southeast chancellor John Pugh was honored Thursday during a naming ceremony of the freshman residence hall.

The dormitory opened in the fall of 2014 and was dedicated this past May. The UA Board of Regents approved naming it the John R. Pugh Residence Hall at its June meeting.

Pugh started working at UAS in 1987. He served as dean of Arts and Sciences before becoming chancellor in 1999. He retired last May.

The Board of Regents is in Juneau for a regular meeting. The body is taking public testimony at the UAS Recreation Center Friday at 10 a.m.