Checking in with MSBSD Superintendent as schools begin winter break

Students at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District entered their winter break last week, marking the halfway point for the school year. While students begin counting down the days until spring, then summer break, others are taking stock of the school year so far. Before the holiday break commenced, MSBSD Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani discussed the school year thus far, along with progress in his Long-Term Strategic Plan, which he presented during the MSBSD School Board meeting on December 14.

Today, part 1 looks at bussing, PLC Mondays, and the new Houston High School.

The school year did get off to a bumpy start as the new bus service, Durham Student Services experienced staffing issues. As did nearly every other school district in Alaska and the lower 48. In response, the school district authorized rolling bus cancellations that affected traditional education, but not special education routes. Initially, students and families experienced 2 cancellations a week, with MSBSD extending excused absences for any students unable to attend in-person due to bus cancellations.

Meanwhile, Durham Student Services and MSBSD administration aggressively sought out additional bus drivers, even exempting required CDL licensing. The hard work paid off as eventually, 30 local drivers were trained and/or hired since the start of the school year, with 30 more prospective drivers currently in the hiring and training process. Currently, rolling cancellations are now down to once a week.

“We’re not cancelling routes all together like Anchorage and Fairbanks had to,” says Dr. Trani, referring to Anchorage School District’s plan which had 3 weeks of continued service followed by 6 weeks without. Routes were also condensed for efficiency. ASD was able to dissolve the plan but routes have been severely impacted.

Dr. Trani would now like to bring the issue to legislators.

“They need to address that the 5 largest school districts in the state do not have adequate bussing.”

Another issue that impacted the start of the school year was the introduction of Professional Learning Community Mondays, also known as PLC Mondays. The program was implemented as time during the Monday mornings before the start of the school day for educators to solely reflect and adjust instructional practices based on essential standards and specific student needs. For most, they only saw the impact to the start of the school day. For the superintendent, PLC Mondays represent a change in the approach to education.

“This monumentally changes how people think about education, students, and planning,” Dr. Trani said.

He believes the idea of PLC is gaining acceptance and excitement as the school year has unfolded.

“You can feel that change in the conversations about what and how the students are learning. People are changing their attitudes about PLC Mondays; they’re excited.”

In response to parents’ worry about transportation in light of work schedules and has offered early drop-off for families that may be impacted by the change in the school start time on Mondays, though he says not many have taken advantage of it.

His one regret about PLC Mondays? That people lumped the implementation in with the rolling bus cancellations.

“It’s unfortunate, but people are coming around.”

As many have experienced throughout 2022, shipping delays and supply chain shortages have impacted the opening of the new Houston High School.

Building the new high school has been an imperative since the November 2018 earthquake damage rendered the old Houston Middle School structure too costly to repair, making it more economically sound to build a new school. Students have been housed under one roof, the Houston Junior-Senior High School, using portables as needed to accommodate the students.

After demolition in December 2020, construction began in early 2021 as the building was laid out and foundations were poured. Later that year, craning of the steel structure began, with an emphasis on the steel structure being built to be much safer during seismic events.

The new school will also have a career and technical education focus to it, bringing new excitement to the new building.

Lead architect Eric Spangler of BDS Architects said, “With (the new school), it gave us the opportunity to work with the school to transform it with the CTE emphasis.”

The new school had been set to open at the start of the new semester in January 2023, but supply chain shortages have forced delays on completion of the school.

“As of (last) Tuesday, we are still on track to open in March, and are looking forward to spring break to move the class into the new school.”

Next up, looking at student achievement, capital planning, and his outlook for the future of MSBSD.