ON PARADE – Children dressed as their favorite animals hold a Sitka Spruce Tips 4-H Club banner as they march down Lincoln Street on Earth Day, Monday. The Parade of Species was held in recognition of Earth Day. It was hosted by Sitka Conservation Society, University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the Sitka Sound Science Center. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly its regular meeting Tuesday approved dou [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
“We want to hear from the public, what they value i [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
Sitka schools were notified at around noon today that the city administrator had re [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Sitka High’s track and field athletes faced off aga [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Alaska is getting an infusion of nearly $125 million to build and [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
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By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
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By DAVID A. LIEB
The Associated Press
A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion in [ ... ]
By NATHANIEL HERZ
Northern Journal
Alaska’s three-member, bipartisan congressional delegation is sid [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 23
At 3:14 a.m. a downtown bar report [ ... ]
Vaughn Blankenship
Dies at Age 91
Vaughn Blankenship, a longtime Sitka resident, died Tuesday at SEARH [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With about a month left before the end of the regular [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The city will hold a public meeting Wednesday for pub [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
With only days to go before the statewide Native Yout [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
The Daily Sitka Sentinel and KCAW-FM Raven Radio won awards Saturday at the [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
To address a surge in mental health problems among young Alaskans [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
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City to Conduct
Relay Testing
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Another lawsuit that has implications in Southeast Al [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly on Tuesday will consider final reading o [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Competing in their first home games of the season, Si [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Citing what they characterized as unacceptable risks to wildlife [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
The Yup’ik village of Newtok, perched precariously on thawing permafro [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Gov Seeks Public Input On Native Tribal Schools
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska’s governor wants public input on an upcoming bill to set up a legal framework for Alaska Native tribal governments to operate K-12 schools, officials said.
Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy plans to introduce the bill during the next legislative session, The Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday.
Tribes would be asked to enter into agreements with the state called compacts to operate the schools, education officials said.
The state education department plans to hold a series of community meetings this month and in early 2020 to hear Alaska residents’ comments and questions, officials said.
“This is a new thing, and we want to make sure we’re going about it in a way that engages the public and our tribes,” said Joel Isaak, a tribal liaison for the education department.
The schools would be open to all students and “offer a unique, culturally rich combination of Western and millennia-old tribal educational models,” the education department said.
Dunleavy believes compacts with Alaska’s tribal governments could improve academics, such as helping students reach benchmarks in reading and math.
“I think this is an opportunity to involve the tribes in the educational process of their tribal members,” he said.
The compacts are not cost-saving measures, but rather an effort to improve academic outcomes from school attendance to dropout rates, education department Assistant Commissioner Niki Tshibaka said.
Supporters hope the education system will improve if tribal governments are given the choice to have more control over schools.
“This is as much about empowerment as it is about schooling,” said Sandra Kowalski, a state board of education member.
The new model could mean more culturally relevant lessons and community involvement in classrooms, which could contribute to better student performance, advocates said.
“I believe if our students see themselves in the educational system, and their values and their cultural beliefs are represented in their learning and their school, they have a better sense of achieving in life and our academic outcomes will also improve,” Kowalski said.
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20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
Michael Stringer, environmental specialist for Sitka Tribe of Alaska and a founder of the community garden, takes the concept of Earth Week literally. This weekend he hopes others will share his appreciation for “earth” and things growing in it by joining him in preparing the community garden just behind Blatchley Middle School for another growing season.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
Classified ads Houses for Sale: Price dropped to $36,500 for 2-story, 4-bdrm. carpeted home on Cascade. Kitchen appliances, drapes, laundry room, carport, handy to schools.
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