ACT is now accepting applications for its 2015-2016 College & Career Readiness Campaign honorees.  Categories are: 1) High School Senior; 2) High School; 3) Community College; and 4) Employer. 

Alaska applications are due no later than November 13, 2015.
Forms and other details are available on the ACT website at http://www.act.org/readinesscampaign/applications.html. 

In a July 17, 2015 Education Week article, author Caralee J. Adams reports on efforts in a variety of states that focus on better career exploration and information for middle school students so that they might make informed choices in high school and beyond. For many, middle-school marks the time when they become disengaged in school or start "opting out" of certain careers, even without knowing much about those careers.  Jason Cascarino, CEO of the non-profit SPARK, says "We need to meet middle school kids where they are. They are going through the process of identity formation and finding their place in the world.”

Some of the highlighted programs include mentorships with college students and the business community.  For details on these programs, read the entire article here.

The Juneau Empire reports on the Summer Boost Camp at UAS in Juneau, a pilot program sponsored by UAS and Alaska’s Learning Network. The program provides mentors for the students as well as featuring Native Alaskan leader guest speakers, in an effort to give the students a broader awareness of career opportunities.

Read the entire article here http://juneauempire.com/art/2015-06-17/college-prep-program-brings-rural-kids-uas.

From the EED Info Exchange Newsletter, July 10, 2015:

Comment on Proposed Regulations Re: College and Career Readiness Assessments

The State Board of Education & Early Development is seeking comment on proposed regulations to allow persons with certificates of achievement to take a college and career readiness assessment and receive a high school diploma. The department also proposes to clarify the circumstances in which students may waive college and career readiness assessments.

The legislature has repealed the requirement that high school students take a college and career readiness assessment, but the new law does not go into effect until the 2016-2017 school year. There will be two graduating classes (Class of 2015 and Class of 2016) that could contain students who were denied a diploma only because they did not take a college and career readiness assessment. The proposed regulations give those students a path to a diploma.

To see a summary and the complete proposed regulations, and to learn how to submit written and oral comments, go to https://education..alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm. Written comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on August 7.

               Also, you may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Eric Fry at eric.fry@alaska.gov or Department of Education & Early Development, Attn: Eric Fry, 801 West Tenth Street, Suite 200, PO Box 110500, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0500. The questions must be received by 4:30 p.m. July 28, which is 10 days before the end of the public comment period. The department will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on https://education..alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm.

Opportunity for Oral Comment on Proposed Accountability Regulations

The State Board of Education & Early Development will provide an additional opportunity for oral comment on proposed regulations related to school and educator accountability. The department proposes regulations to implement statewide student assessments, give school districts more time to implement educator evaluation regulations, and remove requirements that student learning data compose a certain percentage of educators’ evaluations.

The proposed regulations were sent out for written comments in April and May. The board took oral comments at a hearing on June 4. However, the board did not act on the proposed regulations at that time. The proposed regulations are now on the agenda for an audio-conferenced board meeting on August 24. Consequently, the public is invited to submit oral comments at noon August 24.

A summary of the proposed regulations, the complete text, and information on how to submit oral comments will be posted next week at https://education..alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm.

SkillsUSA NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Jane Short, SkillsUSA
Phone: (703) 737-0612
Email: jshort@skillsusa.org

Leah Morton, 18, Chugiak, a student at the King Career Center and an Alaska gold medalist in Commercial Baking was the recipient of a mikeroweWORKS Foundation scholarship to attend the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Ky., June 22-26. Mike Rowe, former host of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" and current host of CNN's "Somebody's Got To Do It," created the foundation in 2008 to, in his words, "give something back and challenge the prevailing definition of a 'good job.' For decades, we have put a premium on a four-year degree, and told an entire generation that trade schools and skilled labor are alternatives to higher education. Hyperbole aside, the skills gap is real. Our infrastructure is crumbling. And, our country is scrambling to put itself back together."

The scholarship provides support for SkillsUSA state contest winners who have insufficient personal resources to travel to and participate in the 2015 National SkillsUSA Championships. The total contribution this year was $95,000 - up from $50,000 in 2014 because of the generosity of not only mikeroweWORKS, but also DEWALT and Cisco Systems, Inc. This year's scholarship award amounts were determined by the geographic travel distance to Louisville, Kentucky. The winners will also have the opportunity to meet with a member of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation staff during the conference.

This is the fifth consecutive year that the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, in partnership with SkillsUSA, has offered scholarships for SkillsUSA members who compete and place first in their state's SkillsUSA Championships and who otherwise would not be able to attend the national SkillsUSA Championships for financial reasons. The scholarship is awarded based on a student-written narrative describing the need for the scholarship and lack of school or community resources. A student may be nominated with a letter of recommendation written by his or her SkillsUSA advisor or the SkillsUSA state association director.

This year, the mikeroweWORKS Foundation had a priority focus on high school and college/postsecondary students who are working toward careers in manufacturing, construction, automotive, engineering and STEM-related trade occupations.

Since 2011, the mikeroweWORKS Foundation has provided scholarship support to 262 SkillsUSA students, representing an investment of more than $261,000 in America's future skilled workforce.

Mat-Su College and the Mat-Su Borough School District’s Burchell High School partnered to offer high school students a two-week intensive summer academy focused on science. The academy was funded by a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, which has also funded other programs at Burchell. Students received high school science credit for successfully completing the academy.

More details are in UAA’s “Green and Gold News” from June 10, 2015. http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/blog/34938/sheep-hearts-and-crime-scenes-spark-interest-in-science/ 

The State Board of Regents and the State Board of Education & Early Development held a joint meeting June 3, 2015. Agenda items included UA’s concurrent enrollment definition and Regents’ policy; UA's College Readiness definition; Alaska teacher education; and K-12 standards and assessments and their alignment with UA.

For more details about the meeting, please visit any of the following:

·         Board of Regents meeting documents: http://www.boarddocs.com/ak/alaska/Board.nsf/Public

·         Board of Education meeting documents: http://education.alaska.gov/State_Board/pdf/15-June-Packet.pdf

·         Alaska Business Monthly Magazine article: http://www.akbizmag.com/Education/UA-Board-of-Regents-meets-with-State-Board-of-Education-and-Foundation-Board-of-Trustees/