AHFC Response
Dear Editor: A March 11 Letter to the Editor gives readers the impression that Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s Moving To Work Rent Reform plan is a base for evicting tenants from its public housing.
To clear up any misunderstanding; the purpose of the MTW plan, launched in January 2014, is two-fold:
1.) It guarantees Alaskans who are elderly or have a disability stability in housing through our newly formed Classic program, in the Classic program a family will pay 28.5 percent of their income in rent. Under this new program, many residents may see a lower shelter burden (or cost for housing) as we move from the traditional 30 percent to 28.5 percent of their income calculation.
2.) It gives tenants who are able, younger than age 62 and without a disability, the incentive to work. Families in our Step program are encouraged to join the workforce and contribute more toward their housing costs. These families will see a gradual increase in their rent and a smaller subsidy from AHFC over a five-year period. We have committed staff to assist families by providing opportunities for job training, education, job applications and financial guidance to make sure that participants successfully move into work.
AHFC is charged by the State of Alaska to provide Alaskans access to safe, quality and affordable housing. It’s our mission and we take it very seriously. Nearly 10,000 families across the state have told us they need our assistance. Rent Reform is a way to help serve more Alaskan families. I encourage anyone with questions about our public housing programs to visit our website, www.ahfc.us.
Cathy Stone, Anchorage,
Director, Public Housing Division
HB77
Dear Editor: I went to a meeting to hear what the hubbub was about House Bill 77. What I learned was that there are proposed changes to the state Constitution to disallow Alaskan stakeholders, which we all are, from participating in land, water and resource decisions. This includes Tribal groups, fishing groups, landowners, conservation groups, etc.
This bill erodes the cornerstones of democracy to expedite and streamline. The language is vague as to scope and discretion of whoever is current director. Bad decisions will have a long life without consequence. Public and group organizations must have a voice in these issues to maintain the system of checks and balances that will ensure prosperity and opportunity for future generations of Alaskans.
There were lots of fishermen and Sitka Tribe of Alaska persons who spent hours testifying against this bill. Democracy is fragile when your voice is silenced. Speak up while you can.
Ken Corson, Sitka
iPads, Critical Thinking
Dear Editor: Technology is basic infrastructure today, as basic as electric lights. The Sitka School District has done a superb job in investing in internet access, wireless networks, and reliable equipment. We should apply the same standards to devices for student use.
Dr. Bob Whicker, formerly of Apple and now director of the Alaska Association of School Boards Consortium for Digital Learning, presented in November to Sitka’s Chamber of Commerce on the Statewide One to One Digital Learning Initiative, which would provide iPads (or other mobile devices) to all 130,000 students in Alaska.
This program would cost $25 million, per year, for training and to lease the iPads ($200 a year each). Teachers would receive a mobile device and a laptop. Districts would pick up 40 percent of the cost and all costs of implementation.
This program also requires a vast amount of professional development – 30-40 hours per teacher, per year.
The AASB Statewide One to One Digital Learning Initiative is now the Personalized Learning Opportunity Grant Program, currently moving in the Legislature as SB 100.
Why would you spend all this money and time on an iPad program? Dr. Whicker and other advocates claim that one to one programs “transform” and “improve teaching and learning.” It came as a surprise to me, but for all the hype, one to one programs actually have no record of boosting academic achievement, or as Dr. Whicker states in “One to One 101,” “a rise in standardized test scores have not been consistently shown as a result of participation in a 1 to 1 technology project.”
When this is pointed out, Dr. Whicker and other advocates say that of course it has no impact – it is just tools. It’s all in how it’s used. Which is how we should look at iPads or any other piece of technology – not as something that will “improve teaching and learning,” which they don’t, but as a useful piece of equipment.
Dr. Whicker told the group that a pilot one to one program in Alaska produced huge gains in literacy, which would be news; but, according to the report (which can be found by searching “Full Report of iPads for Literacy Alaska”), no meaningful data was actually collected. The “results” are students’ progress in the software program itself, which was proportional to the amount of time they spent using it. In any case, the software does not require the use of iPads.
iPads are just one choice for accessing the internet and educational materials, and for creating content. They have benefits, like a light weight and a good display, and drawbacks, like high cost, and the difficulty of integrating into a PC environment. They can’t be used to access educational materials that use Flash. They are not much good for writing and revising or for computer science, so you still need laptops.
If we don’t want to go backwards when it comes to internet access, networks, and teacher and student computers, we have to set priorities – we can’t afford to buy into hype, for iPads or any other kind of educational technology.
We need to do the research, and work with the teachers, to ask which, if any, student devices will provide the most value. For example, should we focus on strategically filling in our laptops for the high school, or add a layer of tablets? Are devices for early elementary grades worth a teacher?
Technology is expensive, and important. Expenditures need to be planned, and weighed against other uses of our limited budget. Thank you.
Rebecca Poulson, parent
Family Read-a-Thon
Dear Editor: The Friends of the Library would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the following people for making the Family Read-a-thon a big success: Thank you, Mr. Joe, for providing an exciting musical break, thank you, McDonald’s, for donating ice-cream coupons for participants, and thank you, Kari Sagel, for making delicious chicken noodle soup. Last but certainly not least, we would like to say a great big thank you to the members of community who showed up to show their support for the library. Together we can make the new children’s room amazing!
Friends of the
Kettleson Memorial Library
