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Alaska to launch $5 million state-run reading academy amid skepticism

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Alaska to launch  million state-run reading academy amid skepticism


The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is set to launch a new reading instruction center for students and teachers, amid concern from some lawmakers that the program appears ill-equipped to meet the needs of the students least likely to achieve reading proficiency.

The budget recently approved by the Legislature includes $5 million for the launch of a reading academy requested by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The state board of education is scheduled to meet Thursday to approve the creation of the program, which has been quietly developed by the education department and the governor’s office with no public input.

Members of Dunleavy’s administration say the $5 million — which was approved by the Legislature as a one-time appropriation — would go toward an Anchorage-based tutoring center called the “Alyeska Reading Academy and Institute,” which would provide reading instruction to children in kindergarten through third grade, and professional development for teachers.

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An initial budget document provided by Dunleavy’s office when he proposed the program in March stated the academy would serve “up to 100 students total” for an eye-catching average of $50,000 per student for supplemental reading instruction.

“For $50,000 a student, you can teach tires to read,” said Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Juneau Democrat who opposed adding the funding to the budget.

In subsequent emails, Dunleavy spokesperson Grant Robinson said the tutoring “will not be limited to 100 students” and will include online learning components for students not based in Anchorage, but Robinson did not provide any information on the total number of students the program — set to launch this summer — will accommodate.

According to one assessment, Alaska students score at the bottom of the nation in reading proficiency. In 2022, less than a quarter of all students in the state were proficient in reading by fourth grade. Members of Dunleavy’s administration say the new academy is part of the solution.

“The Alyeska Reading Institute is rooted in evidence-based practices in the science of reading. It will serve Alaska districts, schools, teachers, paraprofessionals, families, and students regardless of geographic location,” Robinson said by email.

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The academy is set to be located in Anchorage — where one-third of students read at grade-level, according to a 2022 assessment. That may seem low, but children in many rural parts of the state are far less likely to read at grade level. In the lowest-performing districts, which are all off the road system, fewer than 5% of students can read at grade level.

Skeptics question whether the reading academy would effectively address the lagging reading abilities of Alaska children where the need is greatest. Some wondered if the program would be laying the groundwork for the creation of a state-run charter school that would skirt rules that currently require Alaska charter schools to be overseen by local district school boards.

“It appears to be a state-run charter school with questionable accountability,” said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat. “Nobody knows where it’s going to go, so yeah, there was a lot of concern about it.”

Dunleavy — a longtime proponent of “school choice” — has previously advocated for a constitutional amendment that would allow public funding to flow to private and religious schools in the state. But members of his administration have insisted the program is not a charter school. Education Commissioner Heidi Teshner said it would be “more of a tutoring and professional development program for students and teachers.”

‘The philosophy of the governor’

Under a budget plan submitted by the education department, the program would fund 12 new positions, including three administrators, four teachers and four reading coaches. The budget plan also directs $500,000 in annual rent for a 5,000- to 10,000-square-foot space in East or Midtown Anchorage, with areas to accommodate both teachers and children.

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Amid concern from several Senate majority members, the funding included for the academy — which was initially added to the budget by the House on a permanent annual basis — was switched by the Senate to a one-time allotment, meaning that the Dunleavy administration would have to request it again next year if it intends to continue the program.

Sen. Bert Stedman, the Sitka Republican who oversees the operating budget in the Senate, said that approving the academy as a one-time funding item would make it easier for the Legislature to examine how the money is used before deciding whether to make the program permanent.

“I wasn’t that comfortable with that request and that appropriation, particularly when it could use some more transparency, so it was a decision by my office — mainly me — to make it one-time funding,” said Stedman, adding that the changes were made “in the spirit of compromise” with the governor’s office and the House.

“I would not be surprised if the education committees in both bodies take up the subject matter next year,” said Stedman. “You can be assured that there will be a reasonable if not a significant number of legislators that will have some concerns about this.”

Stedman said he saw the Alyeska Reading Academy as “in line with the philosophy of the governor when he was in the Senate.”

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“He was very supportive of charter schools, still is very supportive of charter schools, as far as I know. And myself and the governor, with all due respect, don’t necessarily line up on this issue,” said Stedman. “In my district, the concern isn’t so much with charter schools. Our concern is with public schools and our public education.”

School choice — an idea the governor has celebrated — allows public funds to go toward schools outside of the traditional system of public education. Advocates for school choice say that gives more opportunities to students from disadvantaged neighborhoods, where local schools may underperform compared to schools in more affluent areas.

Opponents of school choice say that the approach would be impossible to implement in most of rural Alaska, which is composed of communities too small to support more than just one traditional public school. Siphoning public funds for charter schools, they argue, leaves less for the rural and neighborhood schools that serve some of the least affluent communities in the state.

Soon after he was elected to the state Senate in 2013, Dunleavy introduced a constitutional amendment that would have deleted language from the state constitution barring public funds from going to private and religious schools. The measure never passed.

Dunleavy has publicly said little about his plans for the reading academy. He first spoke about the idea at the same March press conference where he introduced his controversial “parental rights” bill. Since then, he has not made any comments about the academy.

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At the time, Dunleavy said the funding would go to support a bill passed by the Legislature last year to improve reading proficiency through “conferences, trainings, materials and ongoing professional development through the department of education.”

Deena Bishop, the former Anchorage schools superintendent who now serves as Dunleavy’s special assistant for education issues and a point person for the reading academy, did not respond to an interview request.

‘Why don’t you get a YouTube video?’

The Legislature last year approved a bill that created new reading requirements for schools in an effort to improve Alaska students’ reading performance. The Alaska Reads Act implements new teaching methods and testing requirements meant to improve students’ ability to learn, based on a growing body of research on how kids learn to read that advocates say has led to improvements in reading outcomes in other states.

Dunleavy pitched the funding for the Alyeska Reading Academy as part of the implementation of the Reads Act, and as “another tool to meet the educational needs of Alaska’s students in a sustainable and high-quality manner,” according to an email from Robinson.

But some lawmakers said the academy would include provisions that are not only separate from the Reads Act — they directly conflicted with some of the goals of that bill.

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“There was commitment (in the Reads Act) to put reading specialists to help teachers teach reading in the districts that are struggling the most. They would be on the district team. They would live in the region,” said Kiehl, the Juneau Democrat. But the Alyeska Reading Academy, with its Anchorage-based facility and staff, “didn’t come out of the Reads Act, wasn’t discussed, certainly isn’t what we voted for. I’ll be darned if I can see how it’s going to work.”

Teshner told House lawmakers in a March hearing that the program was designed to enable Alaska teachers from across the state to get the certifications that will soon be required under the Reads Act, which goes into effect in July. Teshner said teachers from rural Alaska — where English is sometimes not the primary language spoken at home and instructor turnover is much higher than on the road system — would be able to travel to Anchorage for in-person training during the summertime.

“If you’ve got reading coaches, presumably they are going to have to travel out to these school districts, right?” said Rep. Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent who co-chairs the House Finance Committee, during a brief hearing on the proposal. “Is it fair to say that a big chunk of this $5 million will accommodate travel to rural schools?”

Teshner said she assumes the funding is meant to cover both travel and housing in Anchorage for teachers from rural communities to benefit from the program.

“This highly supports our rural teachers who might not have the opportunities to get some of this training because they are like a one-man shop in some of our really small schools, so allowing them to come in for a week or two in the summertime and take that knowledge back to the district would be highly beneficial to the small communities,” she told the House Finance Committee.

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But the budget proposal from the education department allots only $10,000 for travel. That amount would be insufficient to cover the travel costs to and from rural communities even for a small number of teachers.

Asked how the travel component will be covered, Robinson, with the governor’s office, said that “for in person professional development of educators in rural Alaska, rather than having a group of teachers travel into Anchorage, the program will send an expert to the community.”

“Why don’t you get a YouTube video?” Kiehl asked. “It will be as relevant to the actual experience of teaching kids in the districts that are struggling.”

‘A hyper expensive centralized school’

Teshner said that the program would be run by the department of education, comparing it to the Alyeska Central School, a statewide correspondence program that was run by the department until 2004, when the Legislature passed a bill to end it.

“We’re just basically reinstituting that model, but in a more statewide brick-and-mortar model,” said Teshner.

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The only other brick-and-mortar school operated by the state education department, rather than one of the state’s 54 school districts, is the Mt. Edgecumbe High School, a residential school in Sitka.

“A hyper expensive centralized school that’s not in a district that’s struggling to teach reading? I’m very dubious,” Kiehl said.

State law requires the state board of education — made up of Dunleavy appointees — to oversee policy and regulation changes for the Department of Education and Early Development. But that board has yet to formally review the Alyeska Reading Academy proposal.

“This is all new to the board. This is the first crack of the board looking at it and seeing it,” said James Fields, chair of the board, referring to the two-day meeting set to begin Wednesday in Kenai, when board members are scheduled to vote on formally establishing the reading academy.

Fields, who meets regularly with the governor, said Dunleavy first mentioned the idea of a reading academy to him late last year.

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“He was just floating an idea and said, ‘What do you think?” said Fields. “I’m always going to be up for trying to help literacy instruction. If he wants to fund more literacy instruction — great.”

Asked about the administration’s decision to launch the reading academy in Anchorage, Fields said, “You’ve got to start somewhere.”

“For all I know, he’s planning on trying to set up satellites,” Fields said, though he added that he doesn’t “necessarily think the intent is to have this thing last forever.”

For now, uncertainty remains over the details for the $5 million appropriation. A webpage for the program states only that more information is “coming soon,” leaving skeptics with a litany of unanswered questions: Which students will have the opportunity to participate? How will it help teachers in the most challenged districts?

“I don’t think anybody really knows exactly what we’re getting for this,” said Wielechowski. “It could be a good thing. I just think there’s some unknowns.”

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Alaska

Western Alaska storm and southerly flow drives warmth back into the state

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Western Alaska storm and southerly flow drives warmth back into the state


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Gusty winds and heavy snow has begun to spread into Western and Southwest Alaska, with a surge of warmer air. Temperatures in Southwest Alaska is already 10 to 35 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. This warmth will spread across the rest of the state through the weekend, with some of the most pronounced warmth along the Slope. We’ll see many areas this weekend into next week remaining well-above average.

SOUTHCENTRAL:

Temperatures are slowly warming across Southcentral, with many areas seeing cloud coverage increasing. While we could see some peeks of sunshine today, most locations will see mostly cloudy conditions. While we can’t rule out light flurries for inland locations, most of the precipitation today will occur near the coast. Snow looks to be the primary precipitation type, although later this evening a transition to rain or wintry mix will occur. This comes as temperatures quickly warm across Southcentral.

We’ll see highs today in the upper 20s and lower 30s for inland areas, while coastal regions warm into the 30s and 40s. The southerly flow aloft will remain with us for several days, pumping in the warmth and moisture. As a result, Kodiak could see over an inch of rain today, with gusty winds.

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While most of the precipitation this weekend remains near the coast, inland areas will see the best chance for wintry mix Sunday into Monday. Little to no accumulation is expected.

The key takeaways for this weekend, is snow transitioning to rain, with some gusty winds likely for parts of Southcentral this weekend.

SOUTHEAST:

Another fairly quiet day is expected across Southeast today, outside of some light snow near Yakutat. We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures remaining on the cooler side. Parts of the Northern Panhandle may stay in the upper 20s today. The stretch of quiet weather will stay with us through the first half of Saturday, followed by an increase in precipitation and winds. This upcoming system may bring some heavy snowfall to Southeast, so be prepared for that potential this weekend. Temperatures warm into next week, back into the upper 30s and lower 40s for many areas.

INTERIOR:

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While temperatures this morning have bottomed out as low as -30 near Fort Yukon, temperatures will warm into the weekend. A wind advisory for the Alaska Range goes into effect at 9 Friday morning, where winds up to 60 mph will warm the Interior. Temperatures today for many locations will warm into the single digits, with some of the greatest warming arriving Saturday through next week. It’s likely we’ll spend most of next week with temperatures in the 20s and 30s, with the warmest locations near the Alaska Range. While we will largely stay dry, there is a chance for some light snow arriving Sunday night into Monday.

SLOPE/WESTERN ALASKA:

Temperatures will remain slightly above average for parts of the Slope today, with warming winds to build into the Slope this weekend. This comes as our area of low pressure in the Bering Sea continues to move farther north. Be prepared for gusty easterly winds along the Slope, leading to blowing snow and reduced visibility. We’ll see temperatures quickly warm well above average, with highs climbing into the 20s and 30s along the Slope into next week. While some snow is possible through the weekend, the heaviest activity will occur for the Brooks Range. We’ll see the potential for 4 to 12 inches of snowfall, with the highest amounts occurring along the southern slopes of the Brooks Range near Kobuk Valley. Winds could gusts as high as 45 mph, leading to greatly reduced visibility.

Heavy snow is impacting Western and Southwest Alaska this morning, with winds gusting up to 50 mph. Numerous winter weather alerts, as well as a coastal flood advisory is in effect. The heaviest snow will fall for the Seward Peninsula and east of Norton Sound, where up to a foot or more of snow is to be expected. The heaviest amounts will fall today, with the activity set to lighten up through Sunday. In addition to the snow, gusty winds will lead to areas of blowing snow. Visibility could be reduced down to less than half a mile at times. As southerly flow continues to pump in warmth, we’ll see a transition from snow to rain later today into Saturday for parts of Southwest Alaska.

ALEUTIANS:

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Gusty winds and heavy rain will fall through the Aleutians today, where up to .75″ of rain is possible. As the area of low pressure moves north, we’ll see a new low form just south of the Eastern Aleutians. This will lead to additional rain and winds into the weekend. Winds could gusts upwards of 50 mph through the Eastern Aleutians and through the Alaska Peninsula. With ridging to our east, more rain and winds remain with us into early next week. There is the potential that the Pribilof Islands see a return to snow Sunday, as colder air moves into the Bering Sea.

OUTLOOK AHEAD:

Well above average warmth will stay with us as we close out January. While one more short-lived cold snap is possible, we may have to wait until February before we tap into warmer conditions. Temperatures through the close of January will keep average monthly temperatures 5 to 12 degrees above average for much of the state. The overall trend still favors a wetter pattern, although with warmer weather the southern parts of the state will favor more rain or a mixed bag of precipitation.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend.

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Alaska

Alaska governor, ally of Trump, will keep flags at full-staff for Inauguration Day • Alaska Beacon

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Alaska governor, ally of Trump, will keep flags at full-staff for Inauguration Day • Alaska Beacon


Alaska will join several other Republican-led states by keeping flags at full-staff on Inauguration Day despite the national period of mourning following President Jimmy Carter’s death last month.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced his decision, which breaks prior precedent, in a statement on Thursday. It applies only to flags on state property. Flags on federal property are expected to remain at half-staff.

Flags on state property will be returned to half-staff after Inauguration Day for the remainder of the mourning period.

The governors of Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Alabama, among others, have announced similar moves. 

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U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said on Tuesday that flags at the U.S. Capitol would remain at full-staff on Inauguration Day. 

Their actions follow a statement from President-elect Donald Trump, who said in a Jan. 3 social media post that Democrats would be “giddy” to have flags lowered during his inauguration, adding, “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out.”

Dunleavy is seen as a friend of the incoming president and has met with him multiple times over the past year. Dunleavy and 21 other Republican governors visited Trump last week in Florida at an event that Trump described as “a love fest.”

Since 1954, flags have been lowered to half-staff during a federally prescribed 30-day mourning period following presidential deaths. In 1973, the second inauguration of President Richard Nixon took place during the mourning period that followed the death of President Harry Truman. 

Then-Gov. Bill Egan made no exceptions for Alaska, contemporary news accounts show, and no exception was made for Nixon’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., either. 

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A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office said the new precedent is designed to be a balance between honoring the ongoing mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter and recognizing the importance of the peaceful transition of power during the presidential inauguration. 

“Temporarily raising the flags to full-staff for the inauguration underscores the significance of this democratic tradition, while returning them to half-staff afterward ensures continued respect for President Carter’s legacy,” the spokesperson said.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

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Federal disaster declaration approved for Northwest Alaska flooding

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Federal disaster declaration approved for Northwest Alaska flooding


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – President Joe Biden announced the approval of federal disaster assistance on Thursday for recovery efforts in areas that sustained damage from flooding and storms in October 2024.

Those areas include the Bering Strait Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA) and the Northwest Arctic Borough area where many structures were damaged by a severe storm from Oct. 20-23, 2024.

Jerry Jones and his two children were rescued Wednesday after being stranded overnight on the roof of their flooded cabin about 15 miles north of Kotzebue during a large storm impacting Western Alaska.(Courtesy of Jerry Jones)
Kotzebue Flooding
Kotzebue Flooding(Michelle Kubalack)

In a press release, FEMA announced that federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work to the state of Alaska, tribal and eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations.

The announcement comes just a few days after Biden released the major disaster declaration approval for the August Kwigillingok flooding.

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