Auditors to inspect Mat-Su

School disctrict curriculum under scrutiny

EOWYN LeMAY IVEY -- Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- Next week Mat-Su schools will undergo intense scrutiny as an independent auditing group interviews staff and examines textbooks and budget documents to see if the district is doing everything it can to educate students.

The district recently announced it has hired representatives from Phi Delta Kappa, a professional association of educators, to conduct an independent, third-party audit of the district's curriculum. The $75,000 price tag for the districtwide assessment will be covered by state Learning

Opportunity Grants.

The audit will begin Sunday, Oct. 6, when Phi Delta Kappa representatives meet with members of the Mat-Su school board. The auditors' team leader is expected to return to the Valley in

December with a report for the board.

"It's very intense, very involved," Assistant Superintendent George Troxel said. "It is something we have entered into voluntarily, and we're excited about it because we want some really hard feedback from people who are recognized as experts in the field."

The auditors, who are teachers, superintendents and other educators from around the country, have already begun reviewing the district's curriculum guides, lists of courses of study and textbooks and budget documents.

Throughout the second week of October, the auditors will be in Mat-Su to interview staff and visit schools as they continue to analyze the district's instruction program. Among the areas to be considered - school board policies and planning processes, quality of direction given for teaching and learning, consistency and equity in schools and programs, effectiveness of assessments and the use and allocations of budget funds and resources in relation to productivity and quality improvement.

The district entered into the audit knowing that the goal will be to find fault, and Troxel admits it is somewhat stressful.

"I think there is anxiety because the nature of the curriculum audit … is not to commend the district on its successes but to make recommendations on how to improve instruction and student academic performance," Troxel said.

But district officials say the process, while difficult, will go toward improving education in Mat-Su schools.

"Although it will be a cold, hard look at the status of our system, we're eager to begin," Interim Superintendent Bob Doyle said. "A comprehensive, objective analysis of our current practices will be the cornerstone of our district improvement efforts."

The district's budget is regularly inspected as part of a financial auditing process, but this is the first time the Mat-Su school district's curriculum has undergone this kind of scrutiny. And school board member Larry DeVilbiss feels it is about time.

Throughout his tenure on the board, DeVilbiss has been requesting information about the district's curriculum and has shared his concerns about a lack of consistency among schools. While his pleas went unanswered during the last administration, DeVilbiss said, he feels this year's audit is a step in the right direction.

"I'm very pleased about it," DeVilbiss said. "We're probably going to get bad news before we can try to fix things, but at least we'll know."

Other school districts in Alaska, including Anchorage, have also recently opted for this type of assessment, and a recent headline in the Anchorage Daily News shared the results -- "School District scores low in audit." The article led off with, "The Anchorage School District is disorganized and, unless dramatic changes are made, is incapable of closing achievement gaps between white and minority students, according to an Outside auditing team's report …"

DeVilbiss said he doesn't doubt the Mat-Su audit might result in similar headlines, but he said the district needs to identify the problems he feels are reflected Mat-Su students' scores on the state benchmark exams.

"It's a good first step to just see what the curriculum is," DeVilbiss said.