ELA Core Curriculum Grant
Project Update
On December 7th, the districts participating in the ELA Core Curriculum grant attended a full day of webinars in which they viewed presentations from each of the comprehensive ELA programs, which fulfilled the grant program's requirements. The district teams used the created rubric to analyze and determine the final four programs chosen as eligible for the grant. The districts chose:
- Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
- Open Up- EL Education
- Benchmark Advance
- HMH Into Reading
On January 27th, leadership teams will come together for a full day of professional development to explore the materials and begin the preliminary work on implementation plans. Concurrently, representatives from each program will be available throughout the day for all educators from participating districts to ask questions and meet virtually to help inform decisions.
The ELA grant supports the adoption of evidence-based and science of reading core materials into 48.7% of Alaskan students' classrooms, a total of 28,690 elementary students. The district's participating in the entire grant program process are:
- Anchorage School District
- Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
- Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
- Juneau Borough School District
- Lower Yukon School District
- North Slope Borough School District
- Petersburg Borough School District
- Dillingham City School District
- Kuspuk School District
- Southeast Island School District
- Galena City School District
Some school districts have previously adopted an elementary ELA core program grounded in the science of reading and are joining the professional development sessions of the ELA grant. The professional development will continue supporting their current adoption and implementation of reading instruction based in the science of reading.
If your district or teachers would like to join future webinars, please get in touch with Kristi.Graber@alaska.gov
State-Sponsored Literacy Screener
“JSD was a paper pencil DIBELS district for the longest time due to budget constraints. However, about five years ago we finally decided to join the digital age. In selecting a provider, we wanted to stay as close to the University of Oregon version of DIBELS as we could, we wanted to be able to conduct assessments with iPads or other mobile touch devices, and we wanted a robust reporting suite where data could be examined by student, class, school, district, and subgroups. Amplify mClass checked all those boxes. We adopted and implemented it in 2018-19. Teachers found the program to be easy to use for both benchmark assessment and progress monitoring. They found it easy to look at collected data. At the district level we appreciated that we could look at growth data between BoY, MoY, and EoY within a number of different contexts through simple report filtering options. We also appreciated that when the University of Oregon moved from DIBELS NEXT to DIBELS 8, Amplify made a seamless move as well. This works great because we do have instances now and then where we still do paper and pencil, and then manually enter the data - and it all matches and so can be easily included with the rest of the collected data.”
Ted Wilson, Director, Teaching and Learning Support, Juneau School District
DEED’s literacy screener pilot program is in full swing. Over 300 teachers and administrators from 17 districts across the state have been trained with mCLASS with DIBELS 8th edition literacy screener. Teachers have expressed excitement and enthusiasm to track student literacy learning quickly and easily. District administration has expressed gratitude for DEED providing the use of mCLASS with DIBELS 8th edition free of charge to districts, providing some relief to their already stretched budgets. Details to come for the Alaska Reads Act Literacy Screener Implementation. Contact Tracy Parker at tracy.parker@alaska.gov with questions.
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Alaska Literacy Blueprint
The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development continues in the process of updating the Alaska Literacy Blueprint. The past literacy blueprint was created and published in 2011. The Alaska Literacy Blueprint will address literacy in Alaska spanning from birth to college level.
The Alaska Literacy Blueprint team is hard at work incorporating input from the stakeholder group. The first portion of the draft will be presented to the stakeholder group at the end of January. The feedback will guide the next phase of the project. The updated Literacy Blueprint is scheduled to be revealed during the 2023 Alaska Science of Reading Symposium in April.
For more information or questions regarding the Alaska Literacy Blueprint, please contact tracy.parker@alaska.gov.
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Alaska RTI/MTSS Refresh
Alaska Staff Development Network, Alaska Council of School Administrators and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development have announced districts participating in the RTI/MTSS Refresh.
Through this two-year project, support will be provided to assist districts in analyzing their current multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) model, ensuring strategies and structure to enhance practices that increase student success. Safe and Civil Schools' coaches will guide district teams in this process.
District teams had their first meetings in December. Their next meet up will be at the 2023 Alaska RTI/MTSS Effective Instruction Conference on January 28 and 29 in Anchorage. Registration is still open for this conference. Click the link above for more information.
It is possible that there will be opportunity for additional districts/schools/individuals to participate in activities, events, and other meet-ups over the duration of this two-year project. If your district, school, or an individual is interested in discussing how your educators might be involved, please contact Doug Gray, dgray@alaskaacsa.org.
Let us explain...
Department of Education and Early Development
Alaska Reads Act Implementation Webinars Scheduled *UPDATED*
Mark your calendar to set time aside for a series of hour-long weekly virtual webinars that will begin on January 12th, designed to take a deeper dive into The Alaska Reads Act. Webinars will be held for each of the four programmatic parts of the Alaska Reads Act, teacher requirements, data collections, and world and Alaska language programs. There are also five “Office Hour for Q & A” webinars with no specific agenda or presentation. Office Hour sessions are meant to address questions or clarifications.
Webinars are open for those in charge of implementation of the requirements. Please note that for District Reading Intervention webinars there is an additional webinar the following day meant specifically for stakeholders that lead world and Alaska language programs.
Sessions will be recorded and available on https://education.alaska.gov/akreads for those that are not able to attend. We will also post slides used in the presentation along with draft materials presented.
Below is the zoom link to these virtual webinars:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83818170015
Alaska Reads Act Implementation Webinar Schedule
 
 Alaska Center for the Book
The Alaska Center for the Book has launched two programs to promote literacy across Alaska. The Statewide Reading Challenge began in January. It celebrates works by Alaska Native authors and creators. This program offers an excellent opportunity to introduce students to Alaska Native voices through classroom readings, storytelling, library searches, and more. More information can be found at https://www.alaskacenterforthebook.org/.
The Alaska Center for the Book is accepting submissions for the 40th Annual Statewide UAA/Anchorage Daily News Creative Writing Contest. The contest began in 1981, the brainchild of newly arrived UAA English professor Ronald Spatz, who wanted to encourage new writers of all ages. He coordinated the contest with the Anchorage Daily News team until 2010. Since then, the Alaska Center for the Book has served as the coordinating partner, providing hundreds of volunteer hours to manage entries, judging, and contacting winners—the best part of all.The contest closes on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. More details can be found at https://www.adn.com/creativewritingcontest/.
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School Spotlight
This month DEED is highlighting Kenai's Mountain View Elementary who was highlighted in the Peninsula Clarion news in December. DEED reached out to Assistant Principal, Hannah Dolphin, to learn more about their reading instruction improvement journey.
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Our journey started last year with our interventionist, Katie Schneider asking Karl and I about getting LETRS training for our staff. Katie and I dove into researching the program and writing up a pitch to our district to fund our staff (or the whole district) to participate in LETRS training. Karl and I advocated strongly with district office staff (to the point where they may have avoided us at meetings). Our director of Elementary Education, Eric Pederson and Federal Programs Coordinator, Jessica Scogin were patient with our frequent pitches and requests and listened to us throughout the 21-22 school year.
In April of 2022, a large majority of our district’s administration and school administrators attended the Alaska Science of Reading Symposium. After gaining knowledge there, our initiative was a go! Our district offered LETRS Training to administrators and teachers to begin during the 22-23 school year. Many staff members took advantage of the LETRS training offered through the state as well. Right now, we have 10 staff members actively participating in LETRS training.
At Mountain View, we universally screen all students using AIMSweb and MAP in the Fall, Winter, and Spring to identify students who are at risk or in need of more individualized support in math and/or reading. After we have identified students who are below the 25th percentile in reading, we do a diagnostic assessment, using a phonics screener, on each student to target their specific skill deficit and use that information to decide on the best intervention to support them. Each student who is receiving a math or reading intervention is progress monitored weekly or every other week, this data is used to monitor the progress of students and determine whether or not the intervention is working.
We didn’t stop there. The majority of our primary staff advocated strongly for more early literacy curriculum supports. Specifically, they wanted more explicit phonics instruction. Katie Schneider dove in to help again, and had researched both West Virginia Phonics and UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute). With support from our district, we purchased UFLI manuals and materials for our intervention staff, our Title I staff, and our K-3 teachers. Our K-2 teachers are also using Heggerty for phonemic awareness. We are in the process of compiling a school-wide decodable library using our Title I funds.
We are passionate about reading instruction here at Mountain View Elementary and are excited to continue our journey.
Thank you Assistant Principal Dolphin for sharing about all of this hard work, and congratulations to Mountain View Elemetary on its amazing journey toward reading proficiency for all students! DEED appreciates you sharing your story with us!
Read the Peninsula Clarion article here: "Mountain View Students Demo Literacy Curriculum at School Board Meeting"
Have you had great success increasing student reading proficiency with an initiative or strategy in your school? Do you have something you are really excited about as an outcome of a shift to Science of Reading best practices? We are interested in hearing what amazing things are happening in your school to positively impact student reading proficiency and achievement. Please submit your story to the e-mail below. You may be chosen as the next school spotlight in a future edition of the Alaska Reading Newsletter!
Please e-mail your submissions to: Jenn.Miller@alaska.gov
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K-12 Math
Professional Learning Catalog
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This semester DEED is hosting several professional learning opportunities which are available to Alaska educators at no cost to the educator.
If you missed the webinar providing an overview of the opportunities, click here to view the recording.
A complete list of opportunities is available in the Professional Learning Opportunities Catalog.
Questions? Please contact Joy Abbott at 907-269-6578 or email Joy.Abbott@alaska.gov
READING RESOURCE WEBPAGE - Launching soon!
DEED will be launching a brand-new updated Reading Resources website on or prior to February 1st, complete with links to webpages concerning many reading-related topics in Alaska. Information ties to how the Alaska Reading Strategic Plan and Alaska Reads Act support work is integrated into the ultimate goal of raising reading proficiency in Alaska. Stay tuned for updates. We could not be more excited to be able to offer this resource as support to our stakeholders!
AKLearns
AKLearns is one of our education information webpages. Watch for an update coming soon regarding reading initiatives, and professional development. There will be links to resources, etc. It will be your “one stop shop” for evidence-based reading.
Please visit AKLearns.org and bookmark it to check back frequently to view the PD calendar for upcoming sessions. There will be many options throughout this school year.
The Alaska Reading Playbook and related webinars can be accessed from AKLearns.org. AKLearns is maintained in partnership with Region 16 Comprehensive Center.
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Keep an eye out for upcoming...
- Alaska Reads Act Guidance for School Districts
- Additional Science of Reading Professional Development
- Updated 2023 Alaska Science of Reading Symposium details
- Alaska Reading Strategic Plan Presentations and Project Updates
- Launch of the Alaska Reading webpage - your one stop shop for all things reading
More Professional Development Opportunities
Canvas Courses Available
The live Fall Professional Development series highlighting Heggerty, UFLI, Phonics for Reading, Core Reading, and Core Multiple Measures is complete. Credited Canvas courses (1-3 CEU's) are available for those wishing to dive deeper into the content. For questions, please contact Tracy Parker at tracy.parker@alaska.gov or Kristi Graber at kristi.graber@alaska.gov.
Data Literacy PD
The DEED Assessment Literacy sessions resume on January 17 and are targeted at deepening educator understanding of assessment data. Courses are offered remotely during after school hours. Attend a series of courses and work with the Professional Learning Coordinator to earn UA credit for your commitment. If you attended sessions in the fall, you can still earn credit. Reach out to Athena Hill at Athena.hill@nwea.org for more information on credit.
Upcoming courses include:
Assessment-Empowered Classrooms (January 17th)
Responsive Learning Cycles (February 21st)
Visit the course catalog to learn more about upcoming offerings: https://dpdol.nwea.org/pl/sa/AK/AK_StatewidePL_Catalog_FY23.pdf
Contact Kelly Manning at Kelly.Manning@alaska.gov for more information about these Professional Learning opportunities.
Alaska Native Language Summit
When: April 27, 2023 from 9 am to 4 pm
Location: William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center 555 West 5th Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501
Description: The Alaska Native Language Summit is a chance to collaborate as language teachers and language workers to address the question: What do our Alaska Native languages need for support? There will also be a workshop that focuses on what is needed to develop Alaska Native language arts, including reading, in a way that directly supports and promotes both written and spoken mainstream use of Alaska Native languages.
Registration: Registration is limited to 200 attendees. Please register through the following eventbrite link: Alaska Native Language Summit Pre-Conference . Lite snacks, water, tea, and coffee will be provided. We will break for lunch, lunch is not provided.
Agenda:
9:00 am Opening
- Welcome Song
- Introduction to what to expect for the day
9:30 am Workshop: What do our Alaska Native languages need as supports?
This is space to meet to collaborate as language teachers and language workers. This is time and space for participants to break out into smaller working groups and collaborate on topics that they are passionate about.
11:45 am Lunch on Your Own
1:15 pm Workshop: Developing Alaska Native language literacy
- Presentation by Department of Education and Early Development about how to work towards developing supports for reading in Alaska Native Languages
- Attendee driven workshop time
This is a space to meet and collaborate on specific reading tools strategies as a group and workgroups.
3:45 pm Closing/wrap up
4:00 pm End of Event
Questions: Please direct any questions to joel.isaak@alaska.gov
Alaska Reading Playbook
Did you miss the Fall opportunity to attend engaging, FREE webinars to learn about the Alaska Reading Playbook and its importance to reading improvement across the State of Alaska? Don't worry! Plans are in the works for a Winter Alaska Reading Playbook series. Stay tuned for details!
In the meantime, click Alaska Reading Playbook for your own FREE downloadable or digital copy! You can also find archived playbook sessions at https://aklearns.org.
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Don't forget to also check out https://aklearns.org/ for current and future professional development opportunities. BIG UPDATES COMING SOON!!!
Help Spread the Word!
Alaska Educators, we need your help! Please help us spread this information by subscribing below to receive this monthly newsletter. When you receive this newsletter, please forward it to teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and any other educational professionals /organizations that would benefit from this information. You can sign up for email updates on other topics from DEED at this link. Thank you for your service to the students of Alaska!
The Academic Support Team is here to help!
Contact any team member below for assistance with Alaska Reading Initiatives.
Alaska Reads Act inquiries go directly to akreads@alaska.gov.
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VACANT
Education Associate, Academic Support Team
Come join our team!
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