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Hands Sample for the Transition Team

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Sample #1 -

From Barb H in Fairbanks

Problem Summary
The regulations that have been imposed on state-wide correspondence programs create inequity in the treatment of Alaskan students. If a regulation is sound, it should apply to all Alaskan students, otherwise it should be repealed.

As just one example, students in brick and mortar schools or correspondence programs through local districts have no state restrictions on monies spent on Art, Music and PE instruction. In these programs the individual school board is responsible for making these funding decisions. Yet the state limits what students in state-wide correspondence programs can spend on instruction in those areas.

Suggested Solutions

  • New leadership is the first step of the solution. The people of Alaska have taken that step with the election of Sarah Palin.
  • Welcoming public input is a crucial part of solving the current problem. Thank you for inviting Alaskans to share their voice, and assuring us that you will take time to read it.
  • Future appointments within the Department of Education should be made based on individuals who are willing to listen to the voice of the people.
  • Regulations that treat Alaskan students unequally should be repealed.
  • Before regulating opportunities of ANY Alaskan student in Art, Music and PE, current brain research should be studied to understand the importance of these subjects on brain functioning and ultimately on student performance.
  • If public monies are allotted towards education, that money should be allotted to all schools equally without discrimination in how the school meets the goal of educating it’s students. If a school respects parents, as partners in teaching it should be applauded not penalized.
  • Allow district school boards to make decisions concerning programs they authorize and hold the school board accountable to operate ethically in a manor that demonstrates a prudent use of state funds.
  • Work together with correspondence programs to build accountability and to help parents develop sound educational plans that will provide students with a balanced learning program and meet individual academic needs as they pursue excellence in education.
  • If and when abuses are perceived and substantiated in any district program, deal with that program directly to correct the situation and do not penalize students and programs across the state to correct a local problem.

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Sample #2 -

From SN in Kodiak

Issues

I am primarily concerned about two issues.

First, I feel strongly that if a child is scoring well on the Benchmarks, they should receive credit for classes regardless of what curriculum a parent chooses to use. Eliminating a curriculum that may contain sectarian values, eliminates a large volume of excellent academic material. I am not asking the state to pay for sectarian material. I only want the freedom to use the curriculum that I feel is the best fit for each of my children and allow them to receive credit for learning the material.

Secondly, the portion of allotment that can be used for Art, Music and PE is not adequate to cover those needs. In Kodiak, music, art, dance, karate and other lessons are typically $20 - $25 per half hour lesson. The Art/Music/PE allotment won’t even cover 1 lesson per week. In many cases, families with multiple children re-use curriculum and should be allowed to use a larger portion of the remaining allotment to help their kids experience the world outside their own home. Lessons help our kids to become “balanced” individuals and allow other adults to speak into our kids’ lives.

Suggestions:

I would like to see credit given for all completed classes, regardless of curriculum choice, provided Benchmark scores are proficient or higher.

Restrictions on use of allotment for art, music and PE, for children who are only home schooled, should be eliminated, provided that the Benchmark scores are proficient or higher.

Background:

This is our 20th year, home schooling. Our oldest three children are home school “graduates” and successful young adults. We continue to home school our other three children through two separate school districts. We have home schooled for many years alone and we are extremely grateful for the help and support offered to us by the Alaska state wide programs and local Kodiak school district.

When our oldest son was a home schooled senior, he was shy and introverted. During his sophomore and junior years, he had been involved in helping with the lighting and sound for the community and high school plays. His senior year, he decided that he wanted to take tap, ballet and voice lessons and try out for the lead in the play, Crazy for You. He took lessons, tried out and did, indeed, sing and dance the lead in Crazy for You.

That same year, he took an EMT class and received his EMT certification and also fire fighting training. Six months after graduation he was hired by the Coast Guard Fire Department, where he has worked for the past 4 years. If there had been a restriction on the amount of allotment that could be spent on art, music and PE, back then, my son’s future might have been very different. The lessons gave him the confidence to step out and try something totally foreign to his nature. With six children, we can not provide these opportunities for our children without help.

Thank you for considering our opinions.

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Sample #3 -

Issue:

Two issues concern me:

1) I would like to see the educational leadership embrace the goals and vision that our present Governor possesses. Options for kids' education fosters a healthier society for the future.

2) Whether in a school setting or homeschool setting, each pupil should receive the same funding. Homeschooling parents should not be penalized for desiring to educate their own children.

Suggestions:

1) I suggest a change in leadership with a new commissioner. The chairman of the transition team is a superb candidate with an extensive depth of knowledge, the capabilities of a strong leader, and above all, has the well-being of EACH child as the focus of vision.

2) The regulations that divided "them" (public school) and "us" (homeschooling families) need to be re-examined and changed to reflect the equality that the new Governor supports. (Sarah Palin's response to the AHEA survey to candidates.)

Background:

After 25 years teaching experience in public, private, and home school; special education, regular education, and PE; I have witnessed the swing of the educational pendulum more than I'd like to admit. I like what I see in Sarah Palin and feel that we are moving in a positive direction.

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Sample #4 -

From Heather B. of Anchorage:

Summary of problem:

The following leaves inadequate money for the areas of education it addresses.

“Statewide Correspondence Study Programs”: 4 AAC 33.405 – 4 AAC 33.490.
(4) the total money spent on tutoring or other expenses in fine arts, music, and physical education for a student that does not exceed 15 percent of the base student allocation provided in AS 14.17.470 , whether spent by the district or the parent through a fund account under 4 AAC 33.422.

Proposal:

I propose the percentage allowable be dropped completely off the restriction of 15 percent of the base student allocation from the state regulations per child in Statewide Correspondence Study Programs. While it is understandable for the desire for the government to keep some reigns on the allowable amount for Art, Music and P.E., these tend to be the most expensive courses of study to fund and one can only spend so much on Reading, Writing, Math, History and Science. Of course, Science can be another larger area of expense at first. Once one has their texts of study, there are only so many extras to purchase in these areas; whereas, art, music, and physical education tend to be the areas that are outsourced in a homeschool education.

Again, I propose the percentage allowable be dropped completely as the amount one requires for these three areas are determined by many variables with in each family. If the state is going to continue to keep many of the homeschooling children in the system by allowing their parents to get tax moneys back in the form of education funds for their children, the state ought to understand that the parent deserves their trust in doing what is best for each child and spending that money appropriately with the other current safeguards that are in place to keep tabs on said education monies. As Governor Palin fought for in the race for governor, we have a government of the people for the people and not for the government. If a full deletion of the percent is unattainable, perhaps a compromise of a lager percentage then 15 percent would be equitable to all. 50 percent would be a happier medium and allow children a broader base of activities.

Informational History:

“Statewide Correspondence Study Programs”: 4 AAC 33.405 – 4 AAC 33.490.
(4) the total money spent on tutoring or other expenses in fine arts, music, and physical education for a student that does not exceed 15 percent of the base student allocation provided in AS 14.17.470 , whether spent by the district or the parent through a fund account under 4 AAC 33.422.
(m) The total money spent on fine arts, music, and physical education for a student may not exceed 15 percent of the base student allocation provided in AS 14.17.470 , whether spent by the district or the parent through a fund account under 4 AAC 33.422.

The above are the full regulations that apply to the problem.

Homeschoolers often have multiple children. Let us say one has 4 children, just as Governor Palin and my family does. One will use most of the same curriculum over again with each child reducing the initial cost for each in the reusable curriculums. There are many variables which can change this in degrees but the youngest has the most handed down curriculum, thereby the most funds left for the extra’s that make a truly rich educational experience. Also, if one schools all of their children together, as I and many other homeschoolers do, then most of the things they purchase for science, history and writing will be used by all at the same time or later to degrees depending on the age of the child.

As a whole, homeschoolers average higher test scores on ACT’s and SAT’s. I believe you will find that, for the most part, homeschool parents are very aware of what a child needs to succeed in the world. This is, at least in part, why we take such a vested interest in our own children’s education. It is because we care that we choose to educate them ourselves not due to a desire to neglect them in any way.

We have 4 children. I was a science major in college and love to teach science. Their father is a computer systems, network, and storage guru; so, technology is well addressed. His second loves in educational areas are linguistics and music. We do incredible things in history and science; we have the best writing program and our favorite math curriculum, excellent literature and programs for reading and grammar. It’s truly amazing what our children are capable of writing. Our 5th grader plays the piano for music. Our 9 year old has an incredible singing voice and after 2 years of piano I switched her to voice lesions. The music lessons also help her in reading. Our 6 year old enjoys the general music education we do, but can’t yet focus long enough that piano or guitar (his instrument of choice) would be currently fruitful.

The children all take weekly swim lessons. They have taken climbing, ice skating, soccer, dance, and basketball. We use a very good music teacher for piano and voice and she is also reasonably priced per the competition. Yet there is not quite enough money to pay for the music and the swimming. Swimming in the most reasonably priced activity that they can participate in for physical education and they excel in it. The girls also clog which we pay for out of pocket. Art, we also pay for out of pocket and luckily I am not with out knowledge in the area or their art education would be sadly addressed. The problem is they need more art than what we can afford on our budget. Our 9 year old is gifted in art, as she is in singing, but I would not dream of dropping singing or swimming. She needs the sports so she can sit long enough to do book work as many children do. Singing gives her the self appreciation and the confidence from excelling in something she does best.
The children have more money that would be well spent on art curriculum or a class here or there but there is nothing more available to spend for our 5 and 4th graders due to the high cost of music and the low percentage of there allotment that is available for art, P.E., and music. Please change the law that gives us only 15 % to use on these 3 expensive areas. Education can’t be funded properly under those parameters. Thank you for your time and thought. I look forward to seeing the positive changes Governor Palin makes in Alaska.

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Sample #5

As a longtime homeschooler the direction the Dept. of Education has gone over the past few years in regards to reinterpreting laws has put undue burden on homeschoolers and homeschooling programs state wide. The cap on the music, art, and PE in state programs needs to be removed to accommodate different learning styles, and needs of each student. The inequity between the state programs and the school district programs should be removed and all programs should be treated equally. The new interpretations have literally taken out the “home” in home schooling and attempt to change homeschoolers into a one size fits all school.

Homeschoolers are unique in the way they homeschool just as each family is unique. Each family has its’ own values and goals. Because we pay for our own religious-based curricula that typically is even more advanced than state standards we should be able to use it and get credit for it just as we used to. If families pay for their own curricula or use very little funds for curricula the family should be able to use the funds for other subjects even if it is all music because all students do not fit the same learning style and do not have the same interests.

We have homeschooled our two children for 15 years using the old Alyeska Central School correspondence program, Interior Distance Education of Alaska (IDEA) a state wide program and have homeschooled independently. We have remained with IDEA since we started with the program when it was in its second year because of the tremendous help and support they have given us in meeting the educational goals our family has for our children. One of my children is gifted and completely independent and the other is severely intellectually and physically disabled so I have had a wide variety of experiences. Homeschoolers on a whole have become experts in combining community involvement with distance education to meet each student’s individual needs, learning styles and interests and the new way the regulations have been interpreted over the past few has greatly hamstrung those efforts. A few years ago I made a presentation with my daughter Kristin Hamerski and a homeschooling friend Jeannie McKinney to The South Central Foundation’s Family Wellness Warriors Conference explaining how learning centers throughout the state would greatly facilitate distance education and to also help the State of Alaska comply with The No Child Left Behind Act providing an alternate school. Senator Lisa Murkowski was in attendance and I think she has been working to get more funding for Distance education. Access to the internet in rural Alaska and in our cities needs to be developed so that students and families in those areas can take advantage of the world of learning that is out there. The University of Alaska has many distance education classes and students in rural areas that can stay home for the first year or so of college or supplement their high school education with distance education classes. Our state and school district based homeschool programs have already worked through most of the challenges but now find themselves going backwards with more and more of the challenges coming from new interpretations and restrictions from the State. It is my wish that the Governor would change the direction and support homeschoolers rather than restrict them by appointing homeschool friendly individuals to various positions of influence so that we can again begin to move forward in education. I would like to see the State provide scholarships to students who can’t afford private education and to disabled students so that they too would have the option of attending private school. Arizona provides a great model for school choice and I would like to see this investigated for our state.

 

 
 
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