In Today's Newsletter
1. Addressing Chronic Absenteeism
2. Coding in Minecraft
3. Cybersecurity Grant Program
4. Pre-Elementary Approval to Operate
5. Team Up with Your Child's Teacher
6. Presidential Scholars and CTE Presidential Scholars
7. District-Wide Early Education Programs
8. Apply Today: U.S. Senate Youth Program
9. Tax Deduction for Teachers
10. Pre-Elementary Assessment Tool
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The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) and the Student Engagement and Attendance Center (SEAC) invite state educational agencies (SEAs) and their partners to join a three-part virtual learning series.
Content: The Overcoming Data Challenges to Address Chronic Absenteeism learning series includes three 60-minute virtual web meetings that will help teams identify data collection challenges, highlight effective data collection strategies and practices, and share promising practices for improving student attendance.
Who should attend? SEAs should select three to five staff to participate as an SEA team. Additionally, each SEA can invite up to five additional partners from LEAs, technical assistance intermediaries, or other organizations who will benefit from joining the series. (We encourage SEAs to identify a lead to coordinate team selection.) All team members should participate in all three meetings to support shared learning, collaboration, and implementation of next steps. Participants can expect short assignments between meetings, including reviewing state data and developing team-wide action steps, to maximize the learning opportunity.
Meeting Schedule: Each session is held via Zoom following the schedule below:
- Session One: Wednesday, August 30, from 2-3 pm ET
- Session Two: Wednesday, September 6 from 2-3 pm ET
- Session Three: Wednesday, September 13 from 2-3 pm ET
How to Register: Please register on Zoom using the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItf-mqrD8rH92Wy9LCF9d8_xBhZBVsFaFf
We ask that each participant register individually to ensure an accurate registrant count. Participants will be grouped with their SEA/State team colleagues in all breakout sessions to offer opportunities for team collaboration.
Please send any questions you may have to SEACenter@insightpolicyresearch.com.
Department of Education and Early Development is excited to announce that the availability of 'Coding in Minecraft' at NO COST to all public schools in Alaska has been extended through the 2023 - 2024 school year!
Coding in Minecraft uses Minecraft: Education Edition to teach block-based coding at levels suitable for students in upper elementary, middle, and high school. The program is designed so that teachers with little or no experience coding can incorporate it in their classrooms.
Many professional learning workshops for Coding in Minecraft are available at no cost to Alaska teachers year-round. The workshops take place over three two-hour sessions, going over the basics of Minecraft, exploring Coding in Minecraft from the perspective of the students, diving into the Coding in Minecraft portal in detail, and presenting best practices on using the immersive program with the students. Teachers can also earn CEU credit by participating in the workshops and post-workshop activities.
Teachers who want to use the program in their classroom can sign up for workshops at https://codingcredentials.com/ak/.
For more information, please contact Faye Tanner (faye.tanner@alaska.gov)
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Dates/Times
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Registration Link
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September PD Option 1
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Tuesday, September 5th
Tuesday, September 12th
Tuesday, September 19th
4 – 6 PM
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Register Here
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September PD Option 2
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Wednesday, September 20th
Monday, September 25th
Wednesday, September 27th
4 - 6 PM
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Register Here
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‘Back to School’ Info Session Option 1
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Wednesday, September 6th
5:00 PM
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Register Here
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‘Back to School’ Info Session Option 2
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Wednesday, September 13th
1:00 PM
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Register Here
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DEADLINE: 11:59 p.m. on August 31, 2023
Our nation faces unprecedented cybersecurity risks, including increasingly sophisticated adversaries, widespread vulnerabilities in commonly used hardware and software, and broad dependencies on network technologies for the day-to-day operation of critical infrastructure. Cyber risk management is further complicated by the ability of malicious actors to operate remotely, linkages between cyber and physical systems, and the difficulty of reducing vulnerabilities. Strengthening cybersecurity practices and the resilience of state and local governments is a vital homeland security mission and the primary focus of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP).
The SCLGP is a reimbursable, federally funded pass-through grant program to assist local and tribal with managing and reducing systematic cyber risk. Must ensure at least 80% is passed through to local governments As part of the local government pass through requirement, 25% must be pass through to rural areas. Per the Homeland Security Act of 2002, a rural area is defined in 49 U.S.C. § 5302 as an area encompassing a population of less than 50,000 people that has not been designated in the most recent decennial census as an “urbanized area” by the Secretary of Commerce.
2022 SLCGP Application Cover Sheet
2022 SLCGP Project Application
2022 SLCGP State Overview and Guidelines
Signatory Authority Form
Per regulation 4 AAC 60.036, all districts with a preschool classroom of 5 or more students aged 3-5 years must annually apply to DEED for Pre-Elementary Approval to Operate.
Applications are due September 15. To submit your application, go to www.education.alaska.gov/earlylearning or click the button below. Once at that website, please click on the link under the heading, “Pre-Elementary Approval to Operate.”
If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Spencer at kristen.spencer@alaska.gov.
Go Beyond Grades is a program launched by Learning Heroes, in collaboration with Univision, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, National Summer Learning Association, and Clear Channel Outdoor at the end of the last school year. This is a public awareness campaign designed to help families team up with their child's teachers and take advantage of summer learning programs. Now, as you gear up for back to school, Go Beyond Grades shares three ways to team up with their child’s teacher, and provides resources and tools to help you get started.
- Help the teacher get to know your child using the “Dear Teacher” Letter.
- Find out what your child is expected to learn this year and have them take the Readiness Check to see how they are doing with grade-level math and reading skills. Get Questions to Ask Your Child’s Teacher About Reading and how to help at home.
- Make a game plan and stay connected with the Parent-Teacher Planning Tool.
The Department of Education and Early Development is seeking applications for both the 2024 Presidential Scholars and CTE Presidential Scholars programs. The state may nominate up to ten (10) male and ten (10) female high school seniors who exhibit exemplary academic achievement, and up to five (5) high school seniors who demonstrate outstanding success in Career and Technical Education programs. Scholars for both programs will be chosen by a commission on the basis of outstanding scholarship, as well as artistic achievement, leadership, and community service.
The programs are open to seniors graduating between January and June 2024 and who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Students at public, private, and home schools are eligible. Only two scholars per school may be nominated.
These are not a scholarship programs; they are recognition programs. Presidential Scholars and CTE Presidential Scholars will receive a medallion at an expenses-paid ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Applications are due by 4 p.m. November 3, 2023. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
For more information and to download student applications, please click the button below or visit: https://education.alaska.gov/RecognitionPrograms/
Questions?
DEED has updated guidance for districts interested in having an approved district-wide early education program (DWEEP).
This approved program leads to 0.5 ADM formula funding for four and five-year-old students enrolled in an approved DWEEP. Please click the button below or visit https://education.alaska.gov/akreads/early-education-programs2.There is an informational document once you click on District-Wide Early Education Program ADM Approval Requirements.
For more information, explore the abovementioned AK Reads website or email earlylearning@alaska.gov.
The Department of Education & Early Development is soliciting applications for the U.S. Senate Youth Program—a national program sponsored by the Federal Senate and underwritten by the Hearst Foundation. It is open to juniors and seniors who hold elected positions in student government during 2023-2024 academic year. Students must be enrolled in a public or private school. State delegates will have outstanding leadership qualities and a strong commitment to public service. They generally rank in the one percent of their states academically.
Each delegate receives a $10,000 undergraduate scholarship and will participate in the USSYP Washington Week in Washington, D.C., March 2-9, 2024, where two Alaska students will join 102 other delegates for an intensive educational program about the workings of the Senate and the federal government overall.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. 25 October 2023. The application packet can be found by clicking the button below or by clicking here.
Only one scholar per school may be nominated. Incomplete applications will not be considered. For more information on the USSYP, please see https://education.alaska.gov/recognitionprograms. The Alaska contact is Dr. Bjorn Wolter at 907-465-6542 and bjorn.wolter@alaska.gov
As the new school year begins, the Internal Revenue Service reminds teachers and other educators that they’ll be able to deduct up to $300 of out-of-pocket classroom expenses for 2023 when they file their federal income tax return next year.
This is the same limit that applied in 2022, the first year this provision became subject to inflation adjustment. Before that, the limit was $250. The limit will rise in $50 increments in future years based on inflation adjustments.
This means that an eligible educator can deduct up to $300 of qualifying expenses paid during the year. If they’re married and file a joint return with another eligible educator, the limit rises to $600. But in this situation, not more than $300 for each spouse.
Who qualifies? Educators can claim this deduction, even if they take the standard deduction. Eligible educators include anyone who is a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or aide who worked in a school for at least 900 hours during the school year. Both public and private school educators qualify.
What's deductible? Educators can deduct the unreimbursed cost of:
- Books, supplies and other materials used in the classroom.
- Equipment, including computer equipment, software and services.
- COVID-19 protective items to stop the spread of the disease in the classroom. This includes face masks, disinfectant for use against COVID-19, hand soap, hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, tape, paint or chalk to guide social distancing, physical barriers, such as clear plexiglass, air purifiers and other items recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Professional development courses related to the curriculum they teach or the students they teach. But the IRS cautions that, for these expenses, it may be more beneficial to claim another educational tax benefit, especially the lifetime learning credit. For details, see Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, particularly Chapter 3.
Qualified expenses don’t include the cost of home schooling or for nonathletic supplies for courses in health or physical education. As with all deductions and credits, the IRS reminds educators to keep good records, including receipts, cancelled checks and other documentation.
All Alaska School District programs are welcome to utilize the Statewide Pre-Elementary Assessment tool, Teaching Strategies GOLD for PreK students.
Utilizing the statewide assessment tool is one of the Early Education Program standards for districts who wish to apply for 0.5 ADM funding for their students.
Please contact Supanika Ordoñez (supanika.ordonez@alaska.gov) to get your district added under the DEED license and to join our monthly statewide support calls.
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