Conference benefits, honors schools

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District made a considerable showing last week at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (EED) 2010 Winter Education Conference — “Building Alaska’s Future – One Student at a Time” Jan. 13-15 in Anchorage.

Alaska administrators and educators, state representatives and guests from out of state assembled at the Anchorage Hilton for three days to collaborate and reflect upon the last year in Alaska academia, and it has been a substantive year for the MSBSD. From the 2010 Alaska Teacher of the Year Jackie Johnson of Pioneer Peak Elementary in Palmer giving the general session keynote speech on Friday, to MSBSD administrators and teachers presenting to attendees throughout the conference, your school district was repeatedly recognized for the hard work and commitment put forth toward helping students achieve to their highest potential.

During the statewide EED conference, participants were able to gain perspective as to how each district fits into the statewide spectrum with regard to school improvement. We all strive to improve the functionality of our schools to increase student learning, and we are all at different stages of this process. Collaboration with other schools and districts through these efforts is integral to success — the least efficient way to improvement is to continually re-invent the wheel.

Attendees participated in round-table sessions that covered everything from state library resources for schools, to Alaska’s cultural standards, to the examination of curriculum alignment framework. As it turns out, many districts in Alaska are looking to the MSBSD as an example of efforts that may be paying off, especially in the area of curriculum alignment. That is, aligning district curricula (the content to be taught within a course, e.g. Algebra I or English I) with state standards to ensure that each student is receiving the information he or she needs.

Beginning in 2005, the MSBSD began a six-year cyclical process to write curriculum that is in alignment with state educational standards, select materials to support and deliver that curriculum, provide professional development for teachers to effectively implement the curriculum and, finally, review and assess each content area. These efforts are led by the district office and implemented by teams of district representatives, administrators and teachers. The EED conference helped some MSBSD representatives understand that, although there are still significant challenges to overcome, we are headed in the right direction.

This year, two Mat-Su schools were recognized at the conference: Ron Larson Elementary as 2009 Blue Ribbon School and Glacier View School as Title I Distinguished School for exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years. These two schools were two of five schools statewide that were asked to present at the conference on Friday. Teams of administrators and teachers from both schools were given the opportunity to facilitate an informational session regarding their schools and how their faculty implements strategies to ensure student success. Presenters from Larson and Glacier View agreed that the only unfortunate aspect of giving the presentations was that they were unable to attend the other school’s session.

Just prior to the conference’s closing ceremonies, attendees met in district teams to reflect upon what was learned and discussed throughout the proceedings. It was also an opportunity to share ideas to take back to each district. The consensus in the MSBSD room was that the conference was a positive experience and that participants were thankful to be able to gain new perspective regarding the activities of other districts, as well as what is happening in our own district. It was noticeable that when the day was over, as people filtered out of the Hilton’s Alaska Ballroom, each participant was ready to head back to a school site or the district central office with sparkling new ideas and information that will help support Alaska’s future — one student at a time.

Claudia Berkley teaches at Glacier View School.