News Release Public invited to KPBSD Key Communicator events
Soldotna, October 17, 2016—KPBSD is hosting three Key Communicator Connect & Collaborate Hours to converse about the KPBSD budget, five year strategic plan, and respond to questions and ideas about our diverse district. Key Communicators gather throughout the year; everyone interested in KPBSD schools is invited to attend:
Tuesday, October 18, 2016, Homer Middle School library, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Thursday, October 20, 2016, Seward High School library, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Tuesday, November 1, 2016, Soldotna High School library, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
“People move in the direction of their conversations and seek accurate stories and information about the school district.” –KPBSD Key Communicator network
Who are KPBSD Key Communicators?
Parents, students, business owners, staff, alumni, grandparents, retirees, everyone who cares about education. Key Communicators help people in their local communities learn more about KPBSD, while also assisting the school district to learn and understand more about what people in our schools and community think, feel, and know. The concept is to promote a continuing exchange between Key Communicators and the school district, creating a loosely connected group of parents and citizens for two way communication and advocacy.
Opportunity
In 2014, KPBSD formed a network of people who are interested in our schools in order to cultivate positive relationships with the school district and in our diverse communities. Conversations happen every day in school parking lots, at the grocery store, via social media, and so forth. Our Key Communicators are informed about school district initiatives, issues, and celebrations through responses to questions, email messages, news releases, and e-news from district office communications. Each school year an opportunity to meet in person takes place. Together we will broaden community advocates. Links KPBSD Key Communicators Questions?Contact Pegge Erkeneff, KPBSD communications liaison, Pegge@KPBSD.org, 907.714.888
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News Release Input needed to solve the state and KPBSD fiscal crisis Soldotna, October 14, 2016—Your KPBSD schools need you to participate in the FY18 budget development process, and assist with solutions to the fiscal crisis in the State of Alaska. Community budget meetings took place throughout the district at 30+ school sites on Thursday, October 13, 2016. It’s not too late to become involved. Parents, staff, students, business partners, community members, and elected officials: KPBSD needs your help so that together we can continue to meet the needs of our diverse students, identify efficiencies, and examine contingencies for decreased funding of public education. Together, we can show how KPBSD is an excellent investment for everyone’s future, and become part of the solution to bring forward a sustainable multi-revenue fiscal plan for our state.
To-do ideas
Watchthenine minute videoshown at the KPBSDcommunity budget meetingsto learn how KPBSD crafts a multi-million dollar budget in response to the fiscal reality impacting all aspects of state government and funding for public education.
View any of the other short videos that explain aspects of funding and budgets*
What can KPBSD provide to help you—and others—understand the fiscal problem and assist with solutions?
Which areas of the district budget, or a school site budget, could be reduced if there is a 3 to 20 percent reduction in state funding revenue to education in 2017-2018?
What are your suggestions to legislators about funding shortfall solutions?
*link includes all videos & PDFs
“As the State of Alaska works to develop a sustainable long-term fiscal plan, our district will continue to provide the highest quality educational experience it can within that state plan. We are asking all of our stakeholders to be engaged in the budget process to help prioritize programs and services to be offered in our district. Some decisions may be difficult, but there are many opportunities, too. Ultimately, our budget process will help inform our state and borough leaders of the needs our schools have to provide an excellent education. I look forward to beginning this discussion and supporting all stakeholders to participate in the district and state planning process.” –Sean Dusek, superintendent
Input will be synthesized and presented to the KPBSD school board during board meetings and work sessions. Links
*link includes all videos & PDFs Provide feedback:
Which areas of your school site budget could be reduced in 2017-2018 if there is a 3 to 20 percent reduction in education funding revenue from the State of Alaska?
What ways can KPBSD legally increase revenues?
Is there anything that KPBSD can provide that will help people understand the fiscal problem and help with solutions
What are your suggestions to legislators about funding shortfall solutions?
Parents, staff, students, business partners, community members, and elected officials are invited to attend the districtwide community budget development meeting on Thursday, October 13, 2016, 6:00 p.m.,* at these KPBSD school sites:
Aurora Borealis Charter School – K-Alt main meeting room; Chapman – Mr. Sharp’s room; Cooper Landing – Classroom 4; Fireweed Academy – Big Fireweed; Homer High School – Homer High Library; Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science – Library; K-Beach Elementary – Room 18; Kenai Alternative – K-Alt main meeting room; Kenai Central High School – KCHS Library; Kenai Middle School – KCHS Library; McNeil Canyon – McNeil Canyon School; Moose Pass – Seward Middle Auditeria; Mountain View Elementary – Library; Nikiski North Star – Room 13; Nikolaevsk – Room 11; Ninilchik School – Library; Port Graham – Room 2 – Secondary Classroom; Redoubt Elementary – SoHi Library; River City Academy – ELA Room; Seward Elementary – Seward Middle Auditeria; Seward High School – Seward Middle Auditeria; Seward Middle School – Seward Middle Auditeria; Skyview Middle School – Room B104; Soldotna Elementary – Library; Soldotna High School – SoHi Library; Soldotna Prep – SoHi Library; Sterling Elementary – Room 162A; Susan B. English – Commons area; Tebughna – Room #12; Tustumena – Library; West Homer Elementary – Homer High Library *variances
October 13, 2016: Homer Flex – 5:30 p.m., ELA Room; Hope – 3:45 p.m., Sandra Barron’s room; Nikiski Middle-High School – 5:30 p.m., Library; Paul Banks School – 3:15 p.m., Paul Banks Lounge
October 17, 2016: Homer Middle School – 3:30 p.m., Conference Room; Nanwalek – 4:30 p.m., Room 110, Secondary Room
October 19, 2016: Kachemak-Selo, Razdolna, Voznesenka – 4:00 p.m., Voznesenka School October 25, 2016:Soldotna Montessori –5:30 p.m., Room 414
“As the State of Alaska works to develop a sustainable long-term fiscal plan, our district will continue to provide the highest quality educational experience it can within that state plan. We are asking all of our stakeholders to be engaged in the budget process to help prioritize programs and services to be offered in our district. Some decisions may be difficult, but there are many opportunities too. Ultimately, our budget process will help inform our state and borough leaders of the needs our schools have to provide an excellent education. I look forward to beginning this discussion and supporting all stakeholders to participate in the district and state planning process.” –Sean Dusek, superintendent of schools
Participant input will be synthesized and presented to the KPBSD school board during November and December board meetings and work sessions.
Link KPBSD Finance Department
News Release Southern peninsula school start and end time options Soldotna, October 12, 2016—Changes to school start and end times will begin in August, 2017, and in order to inform and gather input, three southern peninsula community meetings will take place in November. The same content will be presented at each meeting. Parents, KPBSD staff, students, and community members are invited and encouraged to attend a community meeting of their choosing:
Tuesday, November 1, 2016, 6:00 PM, Ninilchik School
Wednesday, November 2, 2016, 6:00 PM, Homer High School
Thursday, November 10, 6:00 PM, Chapman School, Anchor Point
Following community meetings and feedback from community members, on Tuesday, October 4, 2016, school principals met with district administration and staff to develop three options for new school start and end times in the southern peninsula. The preferred option from all school administrators is “X”. However, two additional options were also developed. Option “Y” adds ten minutes to start and end times, and option “Z” is most problematic, swaps the start times, and tiers schools without like needs. Next steps:
The transportation department analyzed X, Y, and Z options, and transportation routes for X and Y are viable.
School administrators will share the three options with site councils, and gather input.
November community meetings will be an excellent time for a shared conversation and discussion.
Principals will evaluate input and make final recommendations to district administration.
KPBSD transportation will make certain bus transportation for the chosen option is viable.
The district anticipates completion and a final decision before winter break so that parents and communities can begin to plan for the changes that will start in August, 2017.
News Release Community Budget development meetings – October 13, 2016 How to best prioritize programs and services in KPBSD? Soldotna, October 3, 2016—Does a quality education and the future success for every young person living on the Kenai Peninsula matter to you? If so, KPBSD needs you to participate in the budget development meetings taking place at 31 KPBSD school sites on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at 6:00 p.m.* Here are two reasons why:
Learn how KPBSD crafts a multi-million dollar budget in response to the fiscal reality impacting all aspects of state government and funding for public education.
Provide feedback: Which areas of your school site budget could be reduced in 2017-2018 if there is a 3 to 20 percent reduction in education funding revenue from the State of Alaska. What are your suggestions to legislators about funding shortfall solutions? What matters, what doesn’t?
“As the State of Alaska works to develop a sustainable long-term fiscal plan, our district will continue to provide the highest quality educational experience it can within that state plan,” said Sean Dusek, superintendent. “We are asking all of our stakeholders to be engaged in the budget process to help prioritize programs and services to be offered in our district. Some decisions may be difficult, but there are many opportunities too. Ultimately, our budget process will help inform our state and borough leaders of the needs our schools have to provide an excellent education. I look forward to beginning this discussion and supporting all stakeholders to participate in the district and state planning process.”
Parents, staff, students, business partners, community members, and elected officials are invited to attend the districtwide community budget development meeting on Thursday, October 13, 2016, 6:00 p.m.,* at these KPBSD school sites:
Aurora Borealis Charter School – K-Alt main meeting room; Chapman – Mr. Sharp’s room; Cooper Landing – Classroom 4; Fireweed Academy – Big Fireweed; Homer High School – Homer High Library; Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science – Library; K-Beach Elementary – Room 18; Kenai Alternative – K-Alt main meeting room; Kenai Central High School – KCHS Library; Kenai Middle School – KCHS Library; McNeil Canyon – McNeil Canyon School; Moose Pass – Seward Middle Auditeria; Mountain View Elementary – Library; Nikiski North Star – Room 13; Nikolaevsk – Room 11; Ninilchik School – Library; Port Graham – Room 2 – Secondary Classroom; Redoubt Elementary – SoHi Library; River City Academy – ELA Room; Seward Elementary – Seward Middle Auditeria; Seward High School – Seward Middle Auditeria; Seward Middle School – Seward Middle Auditeria; Skyview Middle School – Room B104; Soldotna Elementary – Library; Soldotna High School – SoHi Library; Soldotna Montessori –Room 414; Soldotna Prep – SoHi Library; Sterling Elementary – Room 162A; Susan B. English – Commons area; Tebughna – Room #12; Tustumena – Library; West Homer Elementary – Homer High Library *variances
October 13, 2016: Homer Flex – 5:30 p.m., ELA Room; Hope – 3:45 p.m., Sandra Barron’s room; Nikiski Middle-High School – 5:30 p.m., Library; Paul Banks School – 3:15 p.m., Paul Banks Lounge
October 17, 2016: Homer Middle School – 3:30 p.m., Conference Room; Nanwalek – 4:30 p.m., Room 110, Secondary Room
October 19, 2016: Kachemak-Selo, Razdolna, Voznesenka – 4:00 p.m., Voznesenka School
“Our annual budget is one of the most important things we do each year,” said Dave Jones, assistant superintendent of instructional support. “It is important for people to understand the need to pass a multi-revenue fiscal plan this session. We want to give our parents, staff, students, and community members a chance to learn about our budget, participate in the process, and offer input. The meeting on October 13 will be an important step in the process to develop the FY17 budget. We hope to see a large turnout at all our schools across the district.”
Participant input will be synthesized and presented to the KPBSD school board during November and December board meetings and work sessions.
Link KPBSD Finance Department
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Golden Apple Award | October 3, 2016 Mrs. Julieanne Super
Mrs. Julianne Super is a “super” volunteer in the classroom, with cocurricular activities, and school events. “I have the opportunity to work with many fantastic parents and community members who volunteer in our school, but one person stands out above the rest,” said Kari Dendurent, Homer Middle School principal. “I’ve have had the opportunity to know Julieanne over the past three years, as well as two of her children who have attended HMS. Julieanne has worked in so many areas of our school, faculty members each wanted to reflect about her volunteerism.”
Dan Calhoun, 8th grade math and algebra teacher says, “She is always so positive and cheerful. Julieanne has been volunteering in the Homer schools for the past twelve years. At Paul Banks Elementary School she performed many classroom duties and tasks. At West Homer Elementary she volunteered most of her time in the math classroom. At Homer Middle School, she volunteers in the math classroom as a tutor. She is reliable, consistent and great with students! I appreciate her clear, concise and accurate assistance for all students at all ability levels. In addition, she is willing and capable to do any task she is asked to assist with.”
Jen Booz, 8th grade science teacher and cross country running coach states, “She has volunteered for cross country for both years when her son, Andy, was here. She is always willing to do whatever is asked—no matter what. For our home meets, she often took on the role of volunteer coordinator since I couldn’t be with the students all of the time. She even ended up assigning jobs to parents who showed up to help. Julianne was able to run the finish line table, which is the most challenging job of the meet, and involves taking runners’ names and places, then matching them with their times. She also provided snacks for the runners and helped clean up after the meets.”
Amy Johnson, band teacher shares, “Julieanne has been a great help to the Homer Middle School Band program for the past five years. She comes in to help copy music and programs for all of our concerts, as well as helping to sort uniforms, music, and anything else as needed. She does the webcast for every single concert that Homer Middle School puts on.”
Nurse Janette states, “She will come and assist at the drop of a hat. She is amazing! She has helped with many health screenings and is always the first person I call. She even helps with picture day! Plus, Julieanne is the first person Marilyn, our school secretary, calls. And, ‘we fight over her.’”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Mrs. Julieanne Super for her dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future.
Link
Celebrating Pauline Mills, KPBSD 30+ year secretary, 1984 – In her words…
I started my first day of work on my birthday August 7, 1984, as a secretary for the Federal Programs, bilingual, small schools, and russian villages. Then the district added Migrant Education to our office that year with the SERCC office (Alaska’s Educational Resource Center) from Juneau. I stayed in this position for nine years before transferring to Tustumena Elementary School as a school secretary, where I am today!
My first task #innovation
When I interviewed for my first position, I saw an Apple IIe sitting on a cart! I asked the interviewer if I happened to get the job … would that be my computer? He got very excited and said, “Do you know how to use it?” I said, “Yes” and he said, “You have the job and that will be your computer!” We further discussed that I would computerize the whole office.
“You have the job and that will be your computer!”
“When I started, my first task was to create a database with the students and then put everything else on the computer. I went to the Apple Store and after talking to a salesman we decided that Filemaker would be the software I needed. The Bilingual Program’s Plan of Service was about 300 pages. They had so much white out on the document, I couldn’t fathom how the secretary before me used the typewriter and white out to make changes each year. Migrant Education was new as well, so I computerized that program and went from school to school and sometimes to other districts to help get the program started. I traveled a lot to the small schools and Russian villages either to help with office procedures or computer set up.” “After the first year … Happy to have this office computerized and organized! I love my job!”
Tustumena Elementary #golden
I remember being very nervous about applying for the school secretary position at Tustumena School because their secretary, Mrs. Jackinsky, had been there since the school first started. She was somewhat of a legend! If I got the position, I would be the second secretary the school ever had and there was going to be some pretty big shoes to fill.
It has been very nice to live and work in the community where your children were raised and went to school. It is amazing to see students return for a visit or come back with children of their own that will start attending the same school. They say, “Hey, Mrs. Mills, I can’t believe you are still here.” Makes me feel kind of old because I remember them from when they were in kindergarten.
There are so many stories and memories, etc. that I could share, but what sums it all up is the students, staff, parents, and our PTO have made this job one of the best jobs ever … that is why I stayed so long … over thirty years!
The students, staff, parents, and our PTO have made this job one of the best jobs ever … that is why I stayed so long … over thirty years!
“I am very proud of our staff that have been with our district for so many years. The lives they have made a difference with are incalculable. I truly appreciate what they have given the children of this district and hope they continue their careers with us for many more years! Thank you so much for helping our students and schools grow!” –Sean Dusek, superintendent
“iPads for Orcas” Celebration Rolls Out New Learning Opportunities for Port Graham School
Wednesday, September 21, 2016, rolled out iPads for Orcas, a festive celebration in Port Graham School. Students, staff, community, and guests gathered in anticipation for every student to be presented with their very own iPad for use in school. Before presenting the devices, Principal Kleine explained to the joyful audience how this project came to life.
Until just a few years ago, Port Graham was not only geographically isolated—technology more typical of what students on the road system experience was not available, as the internet was exceedingly slow. In 2014, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District subsidized a microwave broadband upgrade in Nanwalek and Port Graham, allowing much faster access. As students and staff watched neighboring Nanwalek School enter a new way of learning through the Apple ConnectED Grant, staff and site council supported efforts for iPads to become a reality for Port Graham students. Through requests, Port Graham School was awarded donations from two corporations that important to Port Graham residents. Chugach Alaska Corporation donated $10,000, and through the Paluwek Heritage Foundation, Port Graham Corporation provided $4200, the remainder of the funds that would have provided a 1:1 implementation. However, Port Graham experienced a population explosion this fall, growing from the expected 29 students to 36! Determined to put ipads into every student’s hands, the staff opted to use rollover funds from the school budget for the remaining iPads.
Principal Kleine expressed thanks to everyone who helped this innovation, and invited students to be like the orcas for which they were named. She invited them to swim into the digital world, exploring safe places on the internet, and apps that would help them increase their skills. She encouraged them to dive as deeply as they dared into their research, learning to think more deeply as well. In this celebratory environment, she asked everyone to be partners in this new way of learning, and “to keep a joy of learning in our school, using our strength of helping each other as we leap into this new world of technology!” Teacher Devin Michel read the vision statement for the project, encapsulating the ideas by asking students to “Develop the way we think, the way we work, and the tools we use to expand our minds.”
As words of gratitude and invitations to learn were presented, students were signaled to express their joy with kazoos and pompoms whenever Principal Kleine sounded her tambourine. Finally, each student’s name was announced in a commencement-like manner, and elementary teacher Ms. Devin Michel presented each with an iPad, followed by congratulatory hand-shakes from Second Chief Martin Norman, site council secretary and staff member Heather O’Domin, and secondary teacher Colby Way. Title VI tutor Camille Parry guided students in front of a poster thanking Chugach Alaska and Port Graham Corporation. After a group photo, and cake, students went to classrooms to turn on their iPads and take their new devices for a spin. The activities were riddled with smiles and laughter as the “iPads for Orcas” came to life!
Story contributed by Nanwalek School and Port Graham School Principal Nancy Kleine
Celebrating Dave Daniel, KPBSD 30+ year teacher, 1986 – In his words…
“They will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
“Our children are our future, literally. They come from all possible walks of life, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all types of living conditions, and with their own unique gifts and challenges. The number one thing an elementary teacher needs to remember is, ‘They will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.’ I’ve been saying that for many, many years, and it has proven more times than I can recall in my students.”
#iAmKPBSD history
In 1986, I started teaching at William H. Seward Elementary School, the same school I had attended. Many of the same teachers were still teaching on staff! I taught 4th grade for two years, and was fortunate in that Roger Sampson was my principal and an excellent mentor. In 1988 I moved to Kenai, and began teaching at Mountain View Elementary.
Room memories:
Room 8: three years of 4th graders
Room 19 for twenty years! Three years with 6th grade; 15 years with 5th grade, and then back to 4th grade.
Portable: two and a half years with 4th grade
Room 14: my current classroom to this day!
When I think over my career in the KPBSD, I especially recall:
#Golden student…
I really appreciate those students who came to realize, I genuinely cared about them as people. Many of them come and visit me still to this day, or drop me a note now and again. This is especially rewarding, because often they are students that may have needed a firmer hand at times. Just this year I received a poignant note from one young man who is on the threshold of graduation. Evidently he was asked to consider those who had helped him through the rough patches, and he thought back to me. Then he took the time to write me a nice letter thanking me for the times I would pick him up for field trips, or go the extra mile for him in some other way. It was nice to know it had a positive and lasting impact on him.
#Golden staff…
I have been extremely blessed over the years to teach with many, many staff. Some have been memorable for their amazing abilities, dedication, love for students, wisdom, or sense of humor. I will never forget Alice Johnson and Jan Daniel’s efforts to help me loosen up and be less regimented. I was an extremely inflexible young teacher who lived by my lesson plan book and the clock. Alice made it her personal goal to cure me of this and would regularly bring her children into my class … Unannounced … to read our combined classes a story during my math lesson, or something else that made me flex. Jan on the other hand regularly hid my lunch in the staff lounge when I was not paying attention. I never knew it was her until the day she retired. Really, you just don’t expect that of such a sweet, kind, and lady. At least I didn’t, and I would accuse everyone else of doing it. She never said a word till we were celebrating her retirement.
What’s best for kids?
Then there was Jim Dawson. Jim started calling me sir the day I met him. I could not figure out why and told him to stop, because I was sure I was not that much older than him. We were the same age. Jim was the PE teacher at Mountain View, and over the years he became my friend, and the principal. He taught me it was okay to take educational risks and think outside the box, if the students would benefit. He taught me to do my best and not sweat the rest, and he was the first person I ever heard say, what’s best for kids? It shaped the way I looked at my students, and my profession. It helped me to develop my tag line on all my emails over these many years, They will not care what you know, until they know how much you care.
A forever memory … #compassion #MakeaDifference
I will never forget the terrible day our class returned from a fieldtrip, and one little girl’s mom was very late coming to pick her up. The police arrived and explained that mom had been rushing back to Kenai when she lost control of her car and was fatally injured. There was no other family in the state for this little girl, besides her young brother. I had to break the news to her, and held her for hours as she cried and cried. I made a call to a close classmate’s mom, who came and took her home. She stayed with this family until her grandparents were contacted. Our little classroom community, and a local congregation, cared for her and her grandparents until all arrangements were made. Then she and her brother went home with the grandparents. That young lady is 22 years old now, and over the years she reached out to me, and even came back once to reassure us all she was doing okay. A teacher often finds themselves doing so much more than the rest of the world even begins to understand. Dave Daniel, Mountain View Elementary, early 1990s, likely 1993
Investing my time in the KPBSD… #31years #PublicEducation
It has given me more perspective than many. I have seen so many programs, teachers, administrators, and curriculums come and go. The one common factor that has always been constant and made the biggest difference in any child’s education, is having a qualified teacher in their lives. The standards, programs, and assessments have never been as important as a community of dedicated professionals working collaboratively to help our students reach their potential. This was true 31 years ago, and it is today, as well.
Then and Now…
There was a time when the teaching reading, writing, math, science, and social studies well was good enough. Believe it or not there really was.
“I am very proud of our staff that have been with our district for so many years. The lives they have made a difference with are incalculable. I truly appreciate what they have given the children of this district and hope they continue their careers with us for many more years! Thank you so much for helping our students and schools grow!” –Sean Dusek, superintendent
News Release KPBSD Board of Education seeks applicants
Soldotna, September 19, 2016—KPBSD seeks applicants to fill a vacant school board position in District 8 (Homer) through October 2017.
A nine member board serves the diverse Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, which spans 25,600 square miles, educates nearly 8,700 students, and has more than forty schools. This vacant school board position requires residency in Assembly District 8, located in the southern Kenai Peninsula. This geographical area includes schools in the Homer, Alaska. Responsibilities For information on the role and responsibilities of board members, review the Bylaws of the Board on the KPBSD website. http://bit.ly/SchoolBoardBylaws Qualifications Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, a qualified voter of the State of Alaska and a resident of the Kenai Peninsula and District 8 for 180 days. Term of Office Appointment will begin October 3, 2016. Appointee will stand for re-election at the regular election in October 2017. To Apply Applications are available through the KPBSD website, or at the District office. The vacancy will remain open until filled. However, applications will be reviewed at 12:00 noon, (AKST), on September 27, 2016, and if there are viable applicant(s), the position will be closed.
Questions? Contact Debbie Tressler, 907-714-8836, dtressler@kpbsd.k12.ak.us Links
