LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
School Board Told Enrollment on Track
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Budget and enrollment numbers for the Sitka School District remain on target, but if Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School’s enrollment falls, the district will lose a sizable amount of funding, the School Board was told at its regular meeting Wednesday night.
“We have two of our schools that are sitting very close to the edge of dropping down to a smaller school size factor,” said Cassee Olin, school district business manager. “And when you run the numbers on that, they can drop anywhere from $100,000 to $125,000.”
If enrollment at Keet should fall by 1.55 students, the district will lose $115,000 in state funding, Olin said.
Size factor-based funding is set under the state public school foundation formula. The small enrollment of Pacific High School is added to Keet’s student count when it comes to determining the school size factor, Olin said. Baranof Elementary School is also close to the school size factor cutoff, but not as close to the line as is Keet, she added.
School District Superintendent Mary Wegner noted that “we were very fortunate we had the enrollment where we had it in the grades.”
In addition to the budget and enrollment reports, SEARHC’s Doug Osborne and the Sitka Conservation Society’s Chandler O’Connell announced to the board that Sitka has won the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Prize. The award is $25,000 for community health initiatives. O’Connell said that only five communities across the country won the award.
O’Connell said Sitka won in part because “we are committed to building a culture of health for all people.”
“The Sitka School District has enacted an evidence-based whole child health curriculum to reduce the percentage of local students at risk for negative health outcomes,” Osborne said. He noted that the work of the school district was one of the factors in winning the prize.
“One of the reasons why we were, as a town, successful... was some of the work that’s been done to be culturally responsive,” Osborne added, “and to recognize and honor the fact that this is Tlingit Aani, Tlingit land.”
Board member Dione Brady-Howard said “we don’t always take into account the historical trauma that our students, grandparents, great-grandparents, that their ancestors had, particularly at the hands of institutions, and particular at the hands of educational institutions, whose major goal for decades or even centuries was forced assimilation.”
The final decision on how the prize money will be used is yet to be made. Osborne said the public can make suggestions online at sitkahealthsummit.org, or in person at a Bringing the Prize Home celebration, 6-8 p.m. Dec. 12, at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi. The celebration is open to the public.
The board also congratulated the Sitka High School cross country team for the Region V victory back in September, and their excellent performance at the state meet. The board also recognized the girls swim team for their fourth-place finish at the state meet in November. Also on the list of teams receiving recognition was the volleyball team, which won at the regional level and earned fourth place at state.
Sitka High senior Aridiane Lindberg, the new student representative on the School Board, said she hopes to focus on student-teacher relationships.
The School Board meets again on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Sitka Health Summit Coalition member Chandler O’Connell gives a certificate of appreciation to Sitka School District Board President Elias Erickson at the board meeting Wednesday at Sitka High School. Sitka recently won the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2019 Culture of Health Prize. Work from the district was featured in Sitka’s application. Included in the application was information about the Wooch.een Pre School; the district’s “Whole Child Health” curriculum; the district’s Cressell Research Grant, which focuses on teaching social and emotional skills to students; a STEPS grant; the district’s support for the Sitka Native Education Program; and new culturally significant classes such as the Native Art program at Sitka High. Also cited were the district’s breakfast program and salad bars in all schools; a gardening and culinary program at Pacific High; and a new career and technical education internship program. Also pictured are district staff, students, and supporters. (Photo provided)
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.