Category: Academics

‘Putting Books Back at the Center of ELA in Rural Alaska’ by Alex Roberts

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“At the center of this work is a simple belief: students in rural Alaska deserve strong literacy instruction. They deserve powerful books. They deserve stories from outside their own world, and they also deserve to see Alaska, Indigenous voices, local communities, and rural experiences reflected in what they study.”

When Bering Strait School District (BSSD) started looking to replace its outdated and out-of-contract 6 through 12 ELA curriculum, the goal was simple. We needed something that worked. We needed something that increased student engagement and put the focus back on reading and writing, not isolated skills or snippets of stories. We also had to face the reality of rising curriculum costs, extreme underfunding, and the major expense of running schools in rural Alaska. Continue reading ‘Putting Books Back at the Center of ELA in Rural Alaska’ by Alex Roberts

‘Alaska Blueberries as an Alternative pH Paper’ by Adrian Suladay

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In Alaska, learning often begins with what is right outside our door. Our land, culture, and environment provide endless opportunities for meaningful, hands-on education, and in our science classroom, Alaskan blueberries have become an unexpected but powerful teaching tool.

This year, students at Tok School in the Alaska Gateway School District explored how locally harvested Alaskan blueberries can serve as an alternative to traditional pH paper. What began as simple curiosity quickly turned into an authentic scientific investigation that blended chemistry, environmental science, and cultural relevance.

Continue reading ‘Alaska Blueberries as an Alternative pH Paper’ by Adrian Suladay

‘History Has Never Not Been Important’ by Stephanie Meek

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Stephanie Meek is the 2025 Alaska James Madison Fellow

History has never not been important. Today is no exception. Students need history to understand the present as much as they need it to understand the past. The skills taught in history, specifically what we like to call “thinking like a historian,” teaches students to not just think critically, but it teaches them the purpose and importance of doing so. Learning history teaches students about contextualization, analyzing sources, continuity and change over time, cause/effect, how to make comparisons, and how to effectively develop an argument. All these skills transcend the discipline and are essential to all other areas of studies/subject matter. Today, students have more access to unverified resources than at any point in history and history classes provide students the skills needed to evaluate information (consider origin, purpose, content) and come to evidence-based conclusions. History reminds us that we are all connected and because of that fact, there is an intrinsic value in looking at multiple perspectives. All these components of learning history are why it is important for students to learn it. Continue reading ‘History Has Never Not Been Important’ by Stephanie Meek

‘Is It Library Time?’ By Principal Cherita Williams

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A recently converted storage space in Buckland School in the Northwest Arctic Borough School District.  Principal Cherita Williams spent part of the summer of 2023 prepping a new library space in order to promote literacy, and even more importantly, a love of books and reading in her school.

When Principal Williams arrived in Buckland School, there was a small library, but students did not use it and the books were old and outdated. She also saw that an area used for general storage could be smartly repurposed to serve as a bigger library space. As a long-time educator with her own love of books, she set out to update and transform students’ access to high quality books and a matching space dedicated to reading. Continue reading ‘Is It Library Time?’ By Principal Cherita Williams

‘Five Years of Celebrating Alaska’s Incredible Education Community’ By Sam Jordan at ACSA

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When the Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA) first started the work of blogging about the great things happening in classrooms and schools across Alaska five years ago we wanted to balance the dialogue about education in our state. It can be so easy to get stuck in the logistics of how schools are funded or organized. The brilliance of a public school systems, however, is and always will be at the ground level, in classrooms, where a dedicated, creative and kind educator takes on the task of kindling the fire of learning in a young person. Continue reading ‘Five Years of Celebrating Alaska’s Incredible Education Community’ By Sam Jordan at ACSA

‘Tide Rising for All Children’ by Dr. Randy Trani, MSBSD

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“All boats rise and fall on the same tide.”

Dr. Randy Trani has had a strong belief in this quote, throughout his lifetime. He strives to implement this on a daily basis at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD), for all students.

A recent online lunch and learn meeting provided Dr.Trani the chance to share achievements and to commend staff and students on the strides made by MSBSD.  ‘Lunch and Learn’ are a time for collaboration amongst staff, administrators and the community surrounding students. Lunch and learning are a quick way to share, observe, update and ask questions directly in an informal setting. Continue reading ‘Tide Rising for All Children’ by Dr. Randy Trani, MSBSD

‘Sudoku and the Library Standards’ by Pamela Verfaillie

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The updated Alaska school library standards are not just about books. They are based on the six foundations of Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore and Engage. Some or all of these foundations can apply to and enhance ALL educational experiences, including the Sudoku board found in the Valdez High School Library.

VHS Library Associate Pamela Verfaillie was approached by math teacher Rachel Hamilton, thinking that she might be interested in a giant Sudoku board (seen on Teachers Pay Teachers). Mrs. Hamilton was right. They purchased one of the available TpT Sudoku kits and created a 2’x3’ station in the library. It is frequently in use and puzzles sometimes need to be changed out more than once in a day (it is set up so students can do that themselves).

Continue reading ‘Sudoku and the Library Standards’ by Pamela Verfaillie

‘Ayagyuaput Pitekluki Caliukut / WE WORK FOR THE SAKE OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE’ by Natasha Haycock-Chavez at ELOKA

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When Mark John, Cultural Advisor of Calista Education and Culture (CEC) and Elder from Toksook Bay, talks about his work with CEC, he stresses the importance of engaging youth and documenting knowledge and place names for future generations. Mark John has been working with colleagues at CEC to document Yup’ik place names for decades. The Yup’ik Elders he works with believe that sharing knowledge freely across generations is an important part of Yup’ik culture. Yup’ik Elders are eager to teach young people the rich history and names of places of their homeland, including camp and settlement sites, rivers, sloughs, rocks, and ponds. Place names hold stories and knowledge important for language and cultural retention.

Mark John shares the place name documentation he has done with Calista Education Council (CEC) at the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA) meeting held in Fairbanks, Alaska (2023).

Continue reading ‘Ayagyuaput Pitekluki Caliukut / WE WORK FOR THE SAKE OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE’ by Natasha Haycock-Chavez at ELOKA

‘Cultural Exchange at the Heart of Teaching Success’ by Juvy Pamunag

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Uvlaalluataq! (Good morning in Iñupiaq)

Maayong Buntag! (Good morning in Bisaya)

Shungnak School is a culturally responsive institution where Iñupiaq language is present in everyday instruction.

Hi! My name is Juvy Magsanay Pamunag, a J1 teacher from the Philippines. I am from Mindanao region, and I speak Cebuano colloquially known as “Bisaya”. This is my 2nd year teaching in the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, and I teach ELA and Social Studies to grades 6 to 12 learners in Shungnak School. Continue reading ‘Cultural Exchange at the Heart of Teaching Success’ by Juvy Pamunag

College Tour Time!: LKSD GEAR UP Students Visit Alaskan Post-Secondary Programs by ASDN Staff

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LKSD GEAR UP students visited the Troth Yeddha’ Campus at University of Alaska at Fairbanks

Students from Rural Alaska don’t often get the opportunity to participate in college tours. Weather, distance, and logistics are a challenge when your hometown is accessible only by small plane or boat. Thanks to the support of the Rural Alaska GEAR UP Partnership, 19 students from villages served by Lower Kuskokwim School District got the opportunity to go on a statewide tour of post-secondary programs at UAF, UAA, APU, and AVTEC. Continue reading College Tour Time!: LKSD GEAR UP Students Visit Alaskan Post-Secondary Programs by ASDN Staff