Education

Good teaching, academic challenges and school atmosphere are keys to staying in school for at-risk students, according to research by the Association of Alaska School Boards.

The association has been collecting data for several years from students and staff across Alaska and found that positive school climate helped reduce risk behaviors and increase academic achievement.

Now a focus group study expands that research.

The association looked at differences between Alaska Native and non-native students in middle and high schools who were either engaged or disengaged.

Nearly 300 students and recent drop-outs from 26 rural and urban schools weighed in on what makes students want to stay and succeed in school.

Sally Rue, an association director, says the association found more similarities than differences between the student groups, and personal problems tend to pull students out of school.  Rue says students can form meaningful connections with adults in their schools:

[quote]“When kids have a good climate at school and that breaks down into respectful climate, and caring adults, and good peer climate, and whether they have a voice in the school, when those conditions are present, it’s associated with that school having higher statewide testing results on Alaska’s statewide tests. And that’s what our Alaska data shows and that’s the same kind of thing that you would see nationally in the research.[/quote]

Ruse says the results are not surprising. Juneau School District Assistant Superintendent Laury Scandling says the findings are in line with what she sees in the district, especially similarities between groups:

[quote]“Both of those groups of students appreciate a positive climate, they appreciate being challenged in schools, they don’t want to be babied, they want a strong connection with their teachers and they want respect from their teachers. If students are telling us this works for them, then I think we redouble our efforts as a community and a district to ensure that those facets of the environment are as strong as they can be.”[/quote]

Scandling says the Juneau School District just created a group to review ways to support students socially and emotionally. The group of principals, teachers, counselors and a parent started meeting this month. Several programs in Juneau and across the state already aim at countering the personal and academic barriers that keep students from graduating. Sally Rue says Alaska schools already use the information they collect from students to find out whether or not local programs are helping.

The association will present its findings during its annual conference this weekend at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage.

Move over chicken nuggets, smoked salmon is now on the menu at some Juneau schools.

This past Wednesday, Juneau schools participated in Alaska Local Food Day. The event is intended to celebrate “local, healthy, affordable and sustainable foods,” according to a press release.

For breakfast, students had barley cereal from Delta Junction, followed by a lunch of baked Coho salmon from Taku Smokeries with carrot and cabbage coleslaw from the Mat-Su valley.

Alaska Local Food day is part of the month long National Farm to School Month and falls on National Food Day.

The local food is part of a long term plan to get more local foods on the trays of Juneau students, according to the release. Funding from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development is going towards more of the locally produced food during the 2012-2013 school year.

Newly elected Juneau school board members took the oath of office Tuesday night.

Phyllis Carlson, Destiny Sargeant and Andi Story were sworn in by Juneau Superior Court Judge Phillip Pallenberg. Carlson and Story begin their fourth term; Sargeant replaces Mark Choate, who did not seek re-election. Sargeant served one term on the board from 2008 to 2010.

Choate’s six years on the school board included a stint as president. A resolution of appreciation adopted by the new board stated his service had been “characterized by an unfailing sense of integrity and decency, creative and cooperative teamwork.”

The board also elected officers for the next year. Sally Saddler will continue as president. Sean O’Brien is vice president and Andi Story takes over as clerk.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks realized a dream over the weekend, with the launch of a new arctic research vessel.  The 261 foot Sikuliaq splashed into a river feeding Lake Michigan in Marinette, Wisconsin Saturday.  The 200 million dollar vessel project is largely supported by federal economic stimulus funding. The ship is owned by the National Science Foundation and will be operated by UAF.    The launch culminated decades of planning and advocacy by the university.

It doesn’t take long for a big ship to go from dry dock to afloat.

The Sikuliaq slid sideways from a steel cradle at the Marinette Marine Corporation ship yard into the Menominee River in matter of seconds, a dramatic splash capping a project that took 40 years to get there.

“One of the things that characterizes us is persistence and that paid off,” Vera Alexander says.

Alexander and fellow UAF emeritus marine science professor Bob Elsner are co-sponsors of the ship, who pushed the project throughout long careers at the university and into their retirements.

“We’d been through three major designs of vessels. Each one went to the model testing and there was no money to continue. But the National Science Foundation supported all of these efforts over the years. If it hadn’t been for them it would never have happened. We were on the final design, we had just about got it ready, when the stimulus monies came along and NSF got a bunch and there we were. We were in,” Alexander says.

Alexander and Elsner’s feelings about finally getting the ship transcend simple gratification.

“I would say that is a fairly honest expression of our enthusiasm,” Elsner says.

The pair played key roles at Saturday’s launch, during which cold, wind and rain reduced the expected crowd, and made it tough for Alexander to carry out the ship’s christening. The first bottle of champagne slipped from her hands and it required a few hits to break a backup bottle over the bow.

“It was really hard, I had these gloves on. The second time was better,” Alexander says.

Elsner had it easier, simply pushing a button that released the ship.  Elsner, a marine mammal biologist who long worked with Alaska Native seal hunters, recounted how they helped him settle on a name for the new ship.

“These guys scan the horizon, and they said ‘well this is first year ice and our name for that is sikuliaq.’ And I though gee that’s kind of a nice name,” Elsner says.

The Sikuliaq is designed to travel its namesake waters, first year ice in the arctic and Antarctic.  U.A.F. Chancellor Brian Rogers says the ship’s capacity will broaden research opportunity.

“This ship is special because it’s ice strengthened. It has the ability to go through up to three feet of new ice in places we have not been able to go before on longer voyages, and to really host a large quantity of scientists–nearly two dozen scientists on board. Wonderful laboratory facilities and the ability, using telecommunications, to communicate with students back in the classroom as well,” Rogers says.

The Sikuliaq is the National Science Foundation’s first new ship since 1981.  During a speech at the launch ceremony, N.S.F. Director Subra Suresh recognized the vessel’s significance given increased focus on the arctic.

“At a time when there is a significant change in recorded history that we observe in Alaska, in the arctic area, significant economic, scientific, and other interests-commercial interests in the arctic, nothing could be more timely than the launch of the Sikuliaq at this point,” Suresh says.

The Sikuliaq replaces the NSF’s retired ship the Alpha Helix, which was home ported in Seward, just like the Sikuliaq will be.  U.A.F.’s Seward based Sikuliaq project manager Dan Oliver says it’s a major step up.

“They used to call the Alpha Helix the Ralpha Helix because it rolled so bad. The Sikuliaq has a much better hull shape for heavy weather conditions. In addition, it has an anti-roll tank system to help dampen out the roll when you get into heavy sea state,” Oliver says.

Oliver says the biggest chunk of the ship’s 12 million dollar yearly operating budget is fuel, and being able to stay at sea increases efficiency.  Oliver is also excited about the Sikuliaq’s sophisticated gear and technology, including the latest in sampling and scanning equipment.  U.A.F School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Director Mike Castellini says research projects are already in cue for the Sikuliaq’s first season in 2014.

“There’s one already scheduled to go in July and August back and forth across the Canadian border to bring up deep-water fish from that region, which there’s no ship that can do that right now. So the scientists are so excited. In fact, their answer to me the other day was ‘can’t we have the ship tomorrow? Let’s do it tomorrow instead than 18 months from now.’ Everyone’s really chomping at the bit for it,” Castellini says.

The Sikuliaq has a ways to go before it’s ready for full on service.  The ship will remain in Marinette for outfitting and testing before sailing through Lake Michigan, out the St. Lawrence Seaway, and into the Atlantic next year. It will undergo sea trials and then go through the Panama Canal and up the west coast to Alaska.  It’s scheduled to arrive in Seward in early 2014.

Juneau’s new mayor and Assembly members will be sworn into office on Monday.

Merrill Sanford will take the oath of office for mayor, being vacated by Bruce Botelho.  Loren Jones will take over David Stone’s Assembly District One seat, while Jerry Nankervis will move into the Assembly District Two seat held by Ruth Danner.

Botelho and Stone have each served three terms and could not run for re-election due to term limits.  They are expected to give outgoing remarks.  Danner, who decided not to seek re-election, bid farewell at last week’s Assembly meeting.

Newly elected Juneau School Board members will be sworn in on Tuesday.  Andi Story and Phyllis Carlson were re-elected to their fourth term, and Destiny Sargeant will re-join the board after two years off.  She replaces Mark Choate who did not seek re-election.

The board will have another vacancy in November, when Kim Poole will resign, according to board president Sally Saddler.

After 19 years in Juneau, Poole will be moving to Oklahoma.

Board policy requires the board fill the vacancy in a “fair and expedient” manner within 30 days of the opening.

Saddler says board leaders will meet soon to start the process then notify the public that it is soliciting applications.

“Our policy also says we can ask each applicant to complete a questionnaire that’s developed by the board, or we could have each applicant appear before the board in an open session to provide a statement for answering questions and then we would make the final selection of an individual to fill that vacancy by a vote of those of us who are remaining members of the board,” Saddler says.

She says Poole – who represents the “community point of view” — will leave “big shoes that are hard to replace.”

“I really enjoy her perspective and I think that’s been one of the real values that Kim has brought.  She is a community member but she’s worked with you in this town and she knows them and loves them,” Saddler says.

Poole is currently clerk of the school board and is two years into her three-year term.

The person appointed by the board will fill out the remainder of Poole’s term, which ends October 2013.

Alaska’s high school graduation rate has been slowly but steadily improving in recent years, as educators implement programs targeted at the most at-risk students.

Today, we wrap up our three-part “American Graduate” series with a look at some of those programs.

The first two stories explored some of the social and economic impacts of dropping out and reasons why students choose not to finish high school.

Partnering with Students

Schools are finding success by focusing on individual students, improvements to student health, and community partnerships.

Students at Juneau’s Yaakoosge Daakahidi Alternative High School are brushing up on their note-taking skills in a class called AVID. That stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It’s for students who want to go to college, but need a little extra support to get there.

Eric Rivera is an 18-year-old former dropout, now a senior at Yaakoosge. He came back to get a high school diploma so he can go to college, where he plans to major in business or music.

“I will go to college. A lot of people say I want to go to college or I plan to go to college, you know, but I will go to college,” Rivera says.

Even though he got a GED last year, Rivera’s determination to graduate could pay dividends in the future. While most colleges and employers will accept a GED in place of a high school diploma, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that GED recipients attend postsecondary programs at lower rates than high school diploma earners. And once in those programs, completion rates are lower for those with a GED.

Rivera says he was never a bad student, but admits getting into too much trouble while growing up.

“Getting into fights, partying, I was on probation, and I would always get sent away out of town and go do programs and miss a lot of school and just not really have time to make it up,” Rivera says.

Students like Rivera, who struggle at larger institutions, often find success at alternative schools. But many challenges still exist.

Risky Behavior

The Centers for Disease Control’s biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey has shown alternative school students are more likely to engage in risky behaviors like tobacco use, binge drinking, and sexual activity than their traditional school counterparts.

In 2008, the state Department of Education and Early Development responded by starting the “Alternative Schools Healthy Students Initiative.”

Todd Brocious co-manages the program, which helps participating schools develop strategies to address students’ risky behaviors.

[one_half][box][quote]“I will go to college. A lot of people say I want to go to college or I plan to go to college, you know, but I will go to college.”                                                                           -Rivera[/quote][/box][/one_half]

“A collection of them are addressing as a priority, for example, suicide and building structures of support and assessment and screening, outreach to local mental health providers. We have schools addressing substance use and abuse. We have a site addressing isolationism. So, there’s a broad spectrum of identified priorities,” Brocious says.

Yaakoosge is one of 13 schools statewide currently participating in the initiative. The Department of Education provides each school with an annual grant, and help setting up a specifically tailored program aimed at improving student health. Brocious says all of the schools partner with local nonprofits, government agencies, health care providers and businesses.

He says that’s leading to better performance in classrooms.

“Our sites are frequently reporting increased attendance, increased graduation rates, increases in the number of credits earned by students, an increase in the number of health courses being offered, increased services to homeless students. The list goes on and on. It’s really impressive work they’re accomplishing,” Brocious says.

Intervention

The Juneau School District’s C.A.R.E.S. program also relies on community partners.

C.A.R.E.S. stands for Credit Achievement Recovery & Employability Skills. Students who fail a class can go to the program to recover those credits. Some students simply make up the coursework they failed to complete in the first place. Others need a different approach.

For example, students who fail a science or math class can get credit for participating in one of the Juneau Economic Development Council’s various STEM AK programs, which focus on Science Technology Engineering and Math. Bob Vieth is a STEM Education Specialist with JEDC.

“We need to reach out to high school students – to all students K-12 – to show them that there are possibilities in terms of career options in those fields, to show them that those fields can be fun and to help them feel a sense of accomplishment on their own part,” Vieth says.

Former Juneau Douglas High School Principal and C.A.R.E.S. coordinator Bernie Sorenson says a lot of credit recovery programs emphasize computer-based classes. But she thinks that defeats the purpose of getting students excited about school.

“They need the kind of program that we offer that gets them involved in their community, in their self,” Sorenson says.

C.A.R.E.S. works with all three Juneau high schools, as well as students who home school or attend classes at juvenile detention programs.

Funded by a five-year federal grant, the program started in 2009 with 128 students compared to more than 380 last year. Sorenson says the biggest growth has come from underclassmen working to make up lost credits before they become an insurmountable barrier to graduation.

“Prevention on top of intervention,” Sorenson says.

Educators say various programs like these are leading to slow but steady progress in improving the graduation rate, and the numbers back them up. According to the state Department of Education, the graduation rate in Alaska has increased from 61.4 percent in 2005 to nearly 70 percent in 2012.

American Graduate

Find out more about the American Graduate Program, find links and hear interviews with Juneau students and educators here.

Part 1 – Statistics offer a grim look into the future of high school dropouts

Part 2 – For many students, an unsteady home life puts education out of reach