SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
School District Superintendent Frank Hauser says the school year is off to a great start, and he’s hoping the positive energy he sees will continue to grow throughout the year.
“I’m excited about coming back to school, and the energy – the positive feel – that’s out there right now,” said Hauser, who’s in his second year as superintendent. “We really have had a great start to the school year, students and staff are excited to be back. And it’s just nice to be back to, you know, a normal school year.”
Close to expected enrollment, a full complement of extracurricular activities and a new computer program to better connect parents, schools, teachers and students across the district, were among the positive points he cited as he looks ahead to the next nine months.
Frank Hauser. (Sentinel Photo)
Hauser was eager to share information about the district’s new academic portal, called Canvas, which will be used for teachers, students and parents in all the schools. In the past, there were a number of different programs and parents had to learn them all as their kids went through the different schools.
Hauser said he hopes Canvas will be easier for all to use, and build connectivity between schools and home. Assignments, deadlines, messages between parents and teachers, missing homework, grades and progress can be tracked through the program.
“The parents and team who selected Canvas appreciated its ease of use and navigation, accessibility, and completeness of information,” the school district website says.
For Hauser, it’s about more than that.
“Education is really a partnership between the student, the school and the parents,” he said. “And I think Canvas is a way that provides us that tool that’s shared by all of us. And so I’m excited about that.”
Hauser sees the new program as a way to continue building connectivity following the “isolation and a lot of disconnect” of the 2020-21 school year, when scheduling and sickness kept all students from being able to attend school together during the pandemic.
“It just seems really important to get people connected again,” he said. “How do we use the technology we learned through the pandemic to actually bolster and support academics ... Canvas is kind of that next extension of that work we did during the pandemic and online learning. There’s a lot of good opportunities with the technology we have, so how do we continue to develop that?”
Hauser said the response from the school community has been “extremely positive” so far.
Another positive sign at the start of the school year is the rise in enrollment figures, which has an impact on funding the district receives from the state. At the last school board meeting Hauser said it appeared that enrollment might be 37 students below the 1,125 projected in the budget.
That figure has risen to 1,120, just five below projections. The official number for per-pupil funding will be determined in the official count in October.
“We’re right about where we were toward the end of last year,” Hauser said. “I’m feeling pretty good about enrollment – with the new (U.S. Coast Guard) cutter being homeported here and the expansion of SEARHC.”
While many districts in the state are facing teacher shortages, Hauser said the 10 teaching positions that were open in Sitka have been filled. Interviews are scheduled this week for the remaining paraprofessional vacancies.
He said buses are running the routes to get kids to school, with some delays caused by construction on Sawmill Creek Road. The district is working with the road contractor to minimize the impact, Hauser said.
In general, Hauser said, he’s pleased that his first year as superintendent ended on a positive note, with the return to full-day, in-person instruction for the entire school year, resumption of the school and extracurricular activities that were curtailed, and plans to address the learning losses from 2020-21.
He said kindergarten and first grade have already seen massive progress on that front. “Our focus is going to continue to build on that academic growth we saw last year,” Hauser said. He said another goal is to focus on keeping students engaged, both academically and with extracurricular activities.
Reflecting on last year, Hauser counted the district’s pandemic response as a success, with schools remaining open the entire time, whereas districts in other parts of the state with similar infection rates were going to online learning.
“We were able to keep in-person instruction continuing and our students in the buildings,” he said. “And I really credit that to the work that we did, and the partnerships we have with local medical providers working with us.”
The district has rolled back last year’s COVID mitigations, but asks parents to keep students home when they’re sick, including those with COVID, flu or cold symptoms. Hauser said the district has COVID tests available by parent request, and with a signed parent consent form.
Parents also received a link for a CDC Quarantine and Isolation calculator to determine how long students need to isolate or if they need to quarantine before returning to school. Masks continue to be optional “but please follow recommendations of the calculator if your student chooses to return from isolation or quarantine on Day 6 rather than Day 10,” the district said.
Hauser said his first year was a good one, and counts himself lucky to be serving as Sitka’s superintendent. Toward the end of last school year, he was a finalist in the Anchorage School District search for a new superintendent.
“I spent 23 years in the Anchorage School District, I have deep ties to the district, and spent the majority of my career there,” he said. “When I chose to come to Sitka I didn’t apply to any other districts because I wasn’t interested in going anywhere else. The only other district I would’ve considered was the Anchorage school district. When the position came open I talked with the board, and appreciate the support and understanding they had. My wife and i still have family there.”
His time in Anchorage included work as a music teacher, supervisor and director at the district office, assistant principal and principal.
Hauser said he’s enjoying his current job and not looking at job opportunities elsewhere.
“I’m focused on the Sitka School District, that’s my focus now, and I’m going to give 100 percent to the district, moving forward and doing great things here.”
