‘Slow Looking’ by Nancy Lehnhart at Juneau School District

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In my work as the Elementary Visual Art Specialist for the Juneau School District I have for years puzzled about art being an avenue for complex thinking for students. For the last six years, I’ve been very involved with a grant-funded PD project in the Juneau School District called Artful Teaching. We have a large cohort of teachers learning together through workshops and small collegiate study groups called “Art Labs.” We are exploring arts integration and culturally responsive teaching. One of the areas of learning for us has been through Project Zero Harvard and their Visible Thinking routines and practices. I’m experimenting all the time now with how to deepen thinking through art. The following shares a project around students’ school environments. 

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Alaskan Student Filmmakers Produce “Atmautluak, AK: Our Village Our Home”

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Students in the Lower Kuskokwim School District village of Atmautluak, produced this film as part of the GEAR UP Program at the Joann A. Alexie Memorial School. GEAR UP in LKSD includes: drone pilot certification, filmmaking, culinary institutes, tutoring and college readiness activities. GEAR UP liaison, Jeffery Behelsich supported students as they scripted, planned, interviewed, flew drones, filmed, and edited this introduction to Atmautluak.

The Rural Alaska GEAR UP Partnership is a collaboration between Bering Strait School District, Lower Kuskokwim School District, the University of Alaska, Yuut Elitnaurviat and Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN) designed to address the needs of students in 37 villages in western Alaska.

‘KPBSD Students Swap Valuable Stories with International Peers’ by Kim Leslie + Students

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This spring I worked with the Global Nomads Group (GNG) to bring my KPBSD Distance Education science students an opportunity: The option to participate in a short video-based online course with other teenagers from around the world. As GNG describes it, “youth dig into issues they are passionate about, share their stories, and explore the stories of their global peers at their own pace.” Our students focused on the topics of Ocean Health and Sports, and ultimately created action plans to benefit their local and global communities. They lit up when many of their stories were added to the global repository for their international peers to learn from too!   Continue reading ‘KPBSD Students Swap Valuable Stories with International Peers’ by Kim Leslie + Students

‘Lighthouse Room – A Collaboration Between the School Library and School Counseling’ by Pamela Verfaillie and Shannon Major at Valdez High School

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Students and staff have been under increasing amounts of stress, from the pandemic, social media overload, and a myriad of other causes. This year, the Lighthouse Room was installed in the Valdez High School library (a central location within our building) to help students manage their stress and other mental health challenges.

Continue reading ‘Lighthouse Room – A Collaboration Between the School Library and School Counseling’ by Pamela Verfaillie and Shannon Major at Valdez High School

‘Wrangell HS Makes the Vans High School Custom Culture Art Program Top 50: You Can Help Their Project Win’ by ACSA Staff

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To be awarded the $50,000 grant, the students need your support. The finalists of the competition are selected by vote. You can cast one vote per day until May 6th, by following this link. https://customculture.vans.com/2022/gallery

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To inspire creativity and bring attention to diminishing arts education budgets, Vans Shoes, created the Vans High School Custom Culture Art Program.

Continue reading ‘Wrangell HS Makes the Vans High School Custom Culture Art Program Top 50: You Can Help Their Project Win’ by ACSA Staff

‘Making Learning Visible in Alaska’ by Sam Jordan at ACSA

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For the past two years, four Alaskan school districts involved in a federal Teacher and School Leader (TSL) grant have been working to implement Visible Learning strategies. Visible Learning refers to a body of education research led by Dr. John Hattie that reflects data on what truly works to elevate student learning. The core message of Visible Learning is that teachers are at their best when they are reflecting on the impact of their instructional practices. This is perhaps most effectively summarized in Dr. Hattie’s often-quoted statement, “Know Thy Impact!”

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‘Alaska Alexander Archipelago Tongass to Tidal Science Academy, Port Alexander, AK’ by Julia Trischman

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Have you ever heard of AAATTSA? Alaska Alexander Archipelago Tongass to Tidal Science Academy is a magnet program in the Port Alexander School within the Southeast Island School District. Six high school students from all over the nation flew to Sitka, Alaska, then took an adventurous float plane ride to remote Port Alexander to find themselves fully embracing nature in an off-grid community. 

While living in Port Alexander and attending the Port Alexander School, students were also enrolled in a rigorous 9-week Environmental and Ecological elective course. This course allowed students to dive deeper into the understanding of the Tongass and marine ecology through weekly units and weekly field studies.  Continue reading ‘Alaska Alexander Archipelago Tongass to Tidal Science Academy, Port Alexander, AK’ by Julia Trischman

‘US News & World Report Recognizes Alaskan Middle Schools’ by the Staff at ACSA

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Annually U.S News and World Report releases rankings for the best high schools in the country. This past October, the publication released its first rankings of public middle schools in each state, with 62 Alaska middle schools receiving recognition.

Unlike the high school list, there aren’t national rankings for middle school. The rankings for this list are done by state, based on academic performance in math, reading, and language arts state assessments. Continue reading ‘US News & World Report Recognizes Alaskan Middle Schools’ by the Staff at ACSA

‘Students Prepare to Take Flight in Private Pilot Ground School Elective’ by Nicole Stellon O’Donnell

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Travis Stagg, a physics teacher at West Valley High School in Fairbanks, became inspired to offer students the chance to become pilots by his own love of aviation. After taking a “discovery flight” as a gift from his wife, he went on to become a pilot and certified flight instructor himself. 

Fairbanks International Airport

During his aviation journey, he kept hearing about the need to engage more young learners in training for aviation careers. According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, “763,000 new pilots will be needed in the world by 2039, based on Boeing’s Pilot and Technician Outlook.” Ironically, the number of pilot certificates issued by the Federal Aviation Administration has decreased more than 60 percent since 1980.” (APOA)  Stagg elaborates, “Report after report can be found online about the important role aviation plays in our state’s economy and that there is an increasing demand for qualified people to keep that industry healthy.”  Continue reading ‘Students Prepare to Take Flight in Private Pilot Ground School Elective’ by Nicole Stellon O’Donnell

‘The 2022 Alaska RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference’ by the Staff at ACSA/ASDN

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Alaska’s teachers are some of the most devoted professionals in the country. Almost 1,000 educators from across the state of Alaska chose to spend two or three weekend days in January learning, collaborating, and reinvigorating their practice at the RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference 2022 (and RTI Rural Schools Pre-Conference).  

 What educators took away from the conference was tremendous, and what we heard from them was worth sharing out.  Continue reading ‘The 2022 Alaska RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference’ by the Staff at ACSA/ASDN