Voting Record
To Editor: I would like to voice my concern of the voting record of Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. Jonathan talks of his membership with the Bush Rural Caucus and how he can align himself with this group. His voting is a very different from this caucus. He was given an F grade by the Alaska Business Report Card group which I encourage you to look it up. It can be seen that Jonathan votes with the downtown Anchorage group and the downtown Fairbanks representative.
All of Southeast except downtown Juneau is a rural area and have always voted in opposition to Anchorage and this has done us very well. If our representative is nothing more of an extension of Anchorage we will lose more and more each year. Downtown Anchorage and Fairbanks representatives have never been good supporters of our Alaska Marine Highway System.
So I ask you do we want someone representing you that will align himself up with those that are not good for Southeast Alaska?
Larry Crews, Sitka
Senior Center Van
Dear Editor: Twenty years ago when I arrived in Sitka I walked all over town. I walked to my volunteer jobs, doctor appointments, shops and any other place I needed to be.
To use the senior van never crossed my mind. But now that my body has caught up with my age, I find that I need the van many times a week. I am so thankful for this service. I would not be able to do what I do without it.
Brian, the dispatcher, is so pleasant and helpful. The drivers are the greatest and go beyond the call of duty. I feel like they are friends. Even when my plans change at the last minute they manage to get me to my destination. Next week I will move to Seattle and must learn the bus routes to get to where I want to go. I will miss you all so very much. Thank you for all you have done to make my life easier.
Betty De Cicco, Sitka
Early Vote for JKT
Dear Editor: This week I’ll be voting early and voting for Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. Some letters to the editor have suggested we need a different legislator who will be “at the table.” According to the Legislative Finance Division website, in 2013 (FY14), District 34 (our district) had the third highest total for capital money of all 40 legislative districts in Alaska. Third place out of 40! In 2014 (FY15), we had the fourth highest sum. We did pretty well and Jonathan knows the legislative process and the people involved.
Jonathan is a thoughtful and independent voice. He was born and raised in Sitka and has been a fine representative of our town and our district. He has embraced the value of service before self. He always has. When I first met Jonathan he was building a bicycle shelter for SEARHC as his capstone Eagle Scout project. Later he went to Yale and started a number of programs that have brought young people and energy to Sitka. As a representative, he makes himself available, he works very hard and most important of all he works for everyday Alaskans.
JKT is a great representative who has received the seal of approval from the nonpartisan public education advocacy group Great Alaska Schools, been endorsed by the United Fisherman of Alaska, and earned the respect of people throughout our district.
For the sake of our city and our state, let’s send Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins back for another term.
Doug Osborne, Sitka
In Response
Dear Editor: This in response to the recent letters from Mr. Welsh pertaining to how our school district is addressing students who are under performing in relation to ethnicity and/or economic constraints. I respectfully disagree with several of his assessments and solutions.
For clarification, we have two in our family that attend SHS. I gauge public schools on how pro-active they are to the multitude of challenges they face daily in a country with a significant spectrum of ethnic, economic and socially diverse students that enter school doors each day. Students that carry with them the baggage of what has transpired in their lives off campus. That spectrum means we have no perfect public school in this country, the variables too many, the challenges too great.
Where Sitka is different from many is they are indeed making an honest, dedicated and concerted effort to address these academic imbalances. Yes, the State assessment reflects little progress by our district as noted by Mr. Welsh. It is an immeasurable challenge for any district to rapidly overcome problems which in some cases have been generations in the making, in realm out of district control. In the ideal, perfect world, public schools would reach out to each and every student’s specific needs with near 100 percent success. In the real world there are factors that hugely impact a student’s academic success; the largest by far is what occurs off campus.
Off campus is a realm deeply private and a realm public schools have little to no control over. Mr. Welsh refers to the district’s program to” improve the home environment of the students in the affected group. This is a laudable effort.” I agree 100 percent. They actually care enough to step into a realm that is indeed much out of their control. Then he states “however, such an emphasis suggests that the schools do not accept responsibility for making improvements under their own roof.”
With due respect, I strongly disagree with that statement. It implies our district is somehow being complacent in this very critical and valid problem. He expresses that the district need, to focus on Culturally Responsive Teaching, listen to the students, adjust to their specific needs. This is far easier said than done. In reality, public schools must balance and implement their curriculum to address as broad of a demographic group as possible. To ask of them to tailor-fit to each and every student’s academic need is a great thought but nearly impossible to achieve.
We are gifted in Sitka that we have Pacific High School, one of the state’s best and most successful alternative schools that does in fact offer the model of teaching Mr. Welsh refers to, thanks to a responsive and caring district. He states “we are not getting improvements for these students with what we are currently doing. We need to add something to our efforts.”
What needs to be added to the effort is changing what occurs off campus. During the school year, the average student spends one-third of their weekday hours at school. Regarding educational growth, the district is heavily responsible for what occurs or does not occur during that time. Then there is the two-third of the student’s weekday hours spent away from school, plus weekends. Once the student is off campus, which is the majority of the time, the district has no ability to direct their life.
Ideally all students grab their backpacks, head to a safe, secure, functional home. Homes that have a supportive, engaged adult presence, regular meals, clean clothes, adequate study and sleep hours imposed regardless if they arc rich or poor. Reality says otherwise.
Sadly, there are students in Sitka that once they leave campus that engage in destructive activities and behaviors despite the very best efforts of caring parent(s) or district staff. I am not implying the district wash its hands of their responsibilities, the facts are – they are trying hard to address these academic imbalances. In order to see these statistics change requires clear identification of what is an on-campus problem and what is an off-campus problem. One cannot solve the other, yet both are required for success.
We have seriously dedicated teachers, staff and resources constantly re-assessing ways to do better. Being a public entity, our schools bear the full brunt and blame for problems and failures far beyond their control. They are an easy and convenient target that allows for deflection of responsibility. I feel confident in our community and schools to find solutions. Keep on the forefront what is an on-campus problem or off- campus problem, they are two very different environments requiring very different solutions. Ownership is key.
Eric Van Cise, Sitka
