The Seward Schools Site-Based Council has its monthly meeting tonight at 6:30 pm, in the Seward Elementary library. You are welcome to attend.

At a special meeting Tuesday, April 9, that took about 15 minutes, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education approved the FY 13-15 Kenai Peninsula Education Association (KPEA) Collective Bargaining Agreement for district teachers, and separate agreements for support staff, district office administrators and exempt employees.

The teachers, who have worked without a contract for more than a year, received two-percent pay raises in each of the three years of the contract, according to the KPEA. The increase for time worked this year will be paid retroactively.  (***see bottom of article for KBSD response)

Meanwhile, the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and other top staff officers asked for, and received salary increases that ranged from 3.1-percent to 3.57 percent, such as a 3.5 percent increase in the superintendent’s pay next fiscal year, and 3.4 percent in 2015.

Teachers and support staff also got positive changes to the amount they will pay toward their medical insurance. For this contract they will receive a fixed cost for medical insurance regardless of the number of family members covered. Also, in the current year they will pay 20 percent of their medical insurance cost, while the district’s share will be 80 percent. Next year that will drop to a 17 percent share, and in the third year to 15 percent.

“I’m happy we can all move forward and focus on educating kids,” said School Board President Joe Arness afterward. Collective bargaining with KPEA and KPESA began January 10, 2012.

“Yesterday’s approval of our new negotiated agreements is an important step for KPBSD,” said Dr. Steve Atwater, the superintendent. “I look forward to our continued collaborative work to help our students find success.” The KPBSD payroll department is working diligently to process retroactive pay for approximately 1,200 regular employees, the district stated further in a press release.

All but the teacher’s contract were approved by unanimous consent. Bill Holt abstained from voting on that contract, but the remaining members voted for it. Two board members, Sammy Crawford and Liz Downing, attended the meeting, and voted by phone. Crawford was calling in from England, and Downing was calling from Homer. East Peninsula representative Lynn Hohl did not attend.

KPEA President Dawn LaDruce and Margie Warner, President of Kenai Peninsula Education Support Association (KPESA), each spoke briefly, urging the board to support their members’ contracts. LaDruce said 50 percent of her membership had voted, and the vote went overwhelmingly in favor of it. She added that she would like to see the negotiations process done differently next time.

Warner called the contract process “a long-fought battle,” but said that in the end almost 40 percent of the support membership had voted, and that their vote went overwhelmingly in favor of the contract.  The process was a “learning experience,” she said, one that she would like to see done differently next time.

“I just think it’s interesting,” Druce said in a telephone conversation with this reporter prior to the final vote. “It took us 14 months to settle on a 2-2-2. The support employees got two percent, and the district administration, the superintendents gave themselves and the directors a three and a half-percent (annual) increase.”

School Budget Presentation in Seward April 2013. Heidi Zemach photo.

The district officer’s own proposed salary increase had caused quite some conversation among the membership. Particularly as some had felt that their salaries, and potential increases were unfairly blamed by the district leadership when explaining during budget meetings why they might need to make cuts, or dip into their fund reserve balance again.

The School District’s preliminary $148 million budget for 2013-2014, which was estimated based on a 1-percent teacher-salary increase, had a $3.7 million deficit. The district had yet to learn how the state and borough would fund education.  Employee benefits (including Workman’s Comp) accounted for 36 percent of general fund expenditures, with salaries and benefits totaling 81 percent of the budget, said Assistant Superintendent Dave Jones in a budget meeting held recently in Seward. That only leaves utilities, in-kind services, and discretionary accounts for the district to trim from, he said. Jones then explained how each of those too had already been cut to the bare bones.

***The following clarification was sent to SCN by The KPBSD: (more…)

Jim Pfeiffenberger keeps club members strumming together during Tuesday’s Guitar Club practise. Heidi Zemach photo.

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

At lunch time Tuesday afternoon Seward Elementary School’s guitar club members rehearsed two folk tunes they’ve been working hard to perfect. They will perform Woody Guthrie’s famous anthem, “This Land is Your Land,” and Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” before a large gathering of their peers at school Friday afternoon. The guitar club will be the opening act for guest artist Rick Brooks, an accomplished Anchorage fingerstyle guitarist with a background in British folk and American blues.

The students have been learning simple guitar tunes since Thanksgiving under the guidance of local songster Jim Pfeiffenberger and teacher Terri McKnight. The assembly wraps up this year’s guitar program, a small but pleasant extracurricular edition to the music offerings at the school.

The five boys who showed up for practice Tuesday strummed together in a tight ensemble as they sang, playing on the straight beats the first time through, then on the offbeat or chuck of the  “boom chuck,” which sounds even cooler.

“Guitar’s awesome,” said Brendan Alan McMurray. “We practice once a week, and we learn… and you can impress your family members.” “I like guitar because you get to perform for others, you get to play songs, and it’s fun when you play songs,” said Sam Koster.

Pfeiffenberger had some trouble getting the boys to sing out, as they were shy, and more focused on their guitar playing. But the adrenaline may kick in at show time, and if they don’t sing louder, their young audience may well join in and help out, especially if their leaders decide to project the words on an overhead screen.

“Remember, the girls will be watching,” warned Pfeiffenberger, eliciting shy smiles, and at least one boy to suggest that they should exchange their acoustic guitars for electric ones.

Two of Pfeiffenberger’s sons are in the guitar club. The club has had as many as 13 or 14 participants over the course of the five-months, he said, but interest has waned as other activities beckon, leaving this core group of around five or six who chose to stay with it. Jim likes to bring guest performers into the school to inspire the students generally, and to show them where they could go with their instrument if they stick with it.

Pfeiffenberger, who works for the National Park Service, performs in a long-standing group called “Good Dog” that he co-founded more than a dozen years ago with vocalist Liesl Davenport-Wheeler. They performed at the 2012 Seward Arts and Music Festival, and often take their act elsewhere around the state.

Brooks will perform a public concert at the Resurrect Art Coffeehouse on Friday, April 12 at 7 pm, an event sponsored by the Seward Arts Council. Brooks is an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist with a background in British folk and American blues. He performs and teaches in Anchorage and is a perennial instructor at the Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp.

Come help paint the Library Museum mural panels today and Sunday at the cruise ship terminal! Snacks and goodies provided by some wonderful volunteers ( thank you Mary Daniels and Mary Huss).  Meet Nichole Feemster, the local artist, and help with the completion of the mural panels that will be placed on the South side of the Library Museum.

All supplies are provided, just wear comfortable clothes that can handle a little paint and comfy shoes.  Adults and teens welcome.  We are offering community service time to all Seward High students that come by complete a time slot.  Painting will take place at the cruise ship terminal.  Thank you to the Alaska Railroad and the City of Seward for their help with the location to do this community event!

Special thanks to the folks already signed up, public can come and drop in to give a hand anytime, we will be there.  A good way to ignore the new snow outside.  Or, just stop by to see the work in progress. She has her color drawings out for viewing of the entire project.  We’ll have the coffee on!

This is the largest mural to be worked on in Seward and Nichole Feemster has been busy.  She needs some extra hands to get the final panels ready.

Saturday, April 6 ~ 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.  (drop ins welcome)

Sunday,  April 7 ~ 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.- need some hands for clean up and break down @ 2pm!!

Cruise Ship Terminal

By Heidi Zemach

Attorney Mark Choate and Seward PTSA President Al McCarty discuss the lawsuit. Heidi Zemach photo

Mark C. Choate, a Juneau attorney with 33 years of experience and a passion for education, will file a lawsuit Friday against the State of Alaska to reclaim School Trust Lands on behalf of all Alaska public schoolchildren, with the help of some committed Seward PTSA board members as plaintiffs. Seward PTSA President Al McCarty told a small gathering at a special meeting Monday April 1^st that the landmark lawsuit has the potential to improve school funding throughout Alaska, as similar efforts have done in several other states.

The plaintiffs will ask the Alaska Superior Court Judge in the First Judicial District in Juneau to declare that there have been violations of the trust responsibilities, including a fiduciary duty to protect the land.  It also asks the judge to declare a breach in the management of the trust as there’s never been a valuation of theschool trust lands, resources and minerals that are not recoverable, and that there now must be an accounting so the trust can be made whole.

Choate, who has fought several major class-action lawsuits on a pro-bono basis, estimates that the legal part of the case could take 3-5 years. But more difficult and time-consuming will be bringing about the changes that a legal win would help establish. These include creating an independent school trust lands board to manage the fund and assure that the trust lands are being used at its highest fiduciary value; and an independent advisory board to assure that the board is fulfilling its mission.

“We don’t anticipate it being easy, but we anticipate it being successful,” Choate said.

Lynn Hohl, of Seward, an Alaska PTA officer who is also the east peninsula representative on the Kenai Peninsula Board of Education, was surprised to learn in 2004 that an estimated 11 million acres of school-trust lands had been designated throughout Alaska since 1915, to be used in perpetuity for the benefit of funding public schools. Hohl is a former real estate appraiser who was familiar with the Alaska Mental Health and University of Alaska lands trusts, but had never heard of the school trust lands, which were all but forgotten byhistory.

Seward PTSA President McCarty learned of the trust when he became the legislative chair.  He later served as the Alaska PTA Legislative Vice President where he lead advocacy efforts in Juneau and Washington DC in support of the public school land trust.

Some 45 million acres of reclaimed children’s trust lands, set aside by the federal government, managed in trusts (worth more than 35 billion) are currently helping to fund schools in states throughout the Lower 48 including Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, Arizona and Mississippi, according to Children’s Land Alliance Supporting Schools, or “CLASS.”  But by 2005, almost half of the original trust lands had “been diverted, squandered, wasted, and shamelessly embezzled,” CLASS said in its educational video.

Choate, who had served 15 years on the Juneau Board of Education, agreed to file a lawsuit at the urging of his persistent friends Al and Lynn, on Alaska children’s behalf.  He too believes it wrong that so much time and effort must be spent every year trying to secure funding for public education. With billions of dollars more in state revenues potentially leaving the state’s coffers with the new oil tax reform and tax credit bills, Alaska’s public school boards and PTAs anticipate even tougher school funding battles in the future, he said.

What has happened to the Alaska’s Children’s Trust Land in is complicated, but some background may help.

The idea of establishing trust land for children came with the nation’s founders more than 200 years ago, as an effort to give every township America a place for a public school, and land to help support education. The townships were established through the federal survey system. A township is a square of 6 miles on each side, or 36 square miles total. A section is a mile on each side and contains 640 acres.  The federal government promised the public school children of Alaska every Section 16 and 36, including mineral rights, in the Territory of Alaska in federal ownership not already reserved for another use in 1915.  There are 508 townships in Alaska, and the state’s total land and water area covers 424,491,520 acres. 

In 1959 at Alaska Statehood, the Federal government granted the remainingsurveyed sections 16 and 36 to Alaska for support of the public schools. This grant totaled 105,000 acres, but a great deal of the lands to be set aside are not included in the total, Choate said.

In 1978, the Alaska legislature combined the school lands with other State lands to be managed in unison. To offset the income loss of the land taken, .5% of revenues from all State lands are now deposited into the Public School Trust Fund. In FY 2005 this fund was worth $317 million. Its interest and dividends go to schools via the school foundation program.

Some beneficiaries with lands involved in the consolidation, such as Mental Health and University trust advocates, filed suit and recovered their lands, comparable lands and monetary compensation. The schools did not, however legal action was taken to determine the extent to which schools were harmed. In 1980, an additional 75,000 acres was promised through Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to make up for land not obtained at Statehood. Selection of the ANILCA lands was completed in 1992.

Kasayulie v. State of Alaska was filed in Anchorage Superior Court in 1997 on behalf of rural western Alaska schools. It charged there was disparity between rural and urban school districts in obtaining reimbursement of school construction costs, and that the state had failed to properly manage the school trust lands and the school trust fund.

On Sept. 1, 1999, Judge John Reese ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on both school facility and school trust issues. His ruling stated, in part: “The Court holds that the State has breached its duties as a trustee of the public school lands.” Judge Reese also ordered an appraisal be made of the trust lands, but to date that has not happened. “This was a huge decision,” Choate said. Unfortunately, he said, the lands trust was a secondary issue, and in 2011, Citizens for the Educational Advance of Alaska’s Children (CEAAC) the group that brought the lawsuit, accepted a settlement for their facilities and “walked away” from taking the land trust outcomes any further.

The judge’s ruling created some important legal precedents that will help lay the legal groundwork for Choates’ new case.  He feels confident about its chances because so much was already determined by the Kasayulie ruling, and because all of the other states’ children’s land trust cases have all been won in favor of the beneficiaries, public school children.

The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit ask the judge to declare that all public school lands should be managed, and this time to assure that the children’s trust is gaining the full potential from the value of the land, and also that natural resources, including sub-surface minerals are received and retained for the trust. If the public hunts, camps, or fishes on the land, the state could require they pay fees for its use, for example. Or if a private business is, or has been drilling or mining on the land, it would be required to pay extraction fees to the trust. With the amount of trust land and natural resources extracted, “the potential’s phenomenal,” McCarty said.

The best idea, he said, is to establish an independent trust board, separate from the state to assure that the trust is not managed according to the political whim of whoever is in power at the time, and that the trust fund is not raided by the state for its own preferred funding purposes.Board members also would not be political appointees, but would be carefully selected for their areas of expertise, such as in managing fishing, mining, recreation, or timber lands. An independent advocacy group would be created to assure that the board is fulfilling its mission.

PTA had earlier asked Choate to file a friend of the court brief on the trust lands issue while the Kasayulie case was underway, Hohl said. But after the plaintiffs settled, and after eight years of lobbying state administrators and lawmakers proved fruitless, they decided to follow the lead of the Mental Health and University Trust folks, and bring the Children’s Trust issue into court.

Resources:

Children’s Alliance

 http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/press-room/full-press-release.html?pr=5921

 Alaska PTA Resolution School Land Trust And Funds

A Promise to Keep: The Alaska Public School Trust Fund Abstract May 2005

A Promise to Keep: The Alaska Public School Trust Fund 2005

History and Status of Alaska’s Public School Trust Land Abstract 2009

History and Status of Alaska’s Public School Trust Land 2009

Timeline Info on Alaska Public School Lands Trust

Anchorage Daily News Compass Piece by E. Dean Coon

Rick Brooks will perform fingerstyle guitar at the Resurrect Art on Friday, April 12 at 7 pm.

Anchorage guitarist Rick Brooks will perform a solo concert at the Resurrect Art Coffeehouse on Friday, April 12 at 7 pm. Brooks is an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist with a background in British folk and American blues. He has studied with Duck Baker and performed with such guitar luminaries as John Renbourne, Laurence Juber, and Mike Dowling. He performs and teaches in Anchorage and is a perennial instructor at the Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp.

In addition to his evening performance, Brooks will be at Seward Elementary school for some classroom visits on Friday. His appearance is being coordinated as part of the culmination of this year’s Seward Elementary Guitar Club, an extracurricular club coordinated by teacher Terri McKnight and volunteer Jim Pfeiffenberger. “I love to bring someone like Rick into the Guitar Club to demonstrate to the kids where they could go with this instrument if they stick to it,” says Pfeiffenberger. “The Seward Arts Council was kind enough to sponsor an evening concert while he is here. He’s really probably the premier fingerpicker in all of Alaska.” Admission to the Friday evening concert will be $10.00 per person.

Brooks will also be offering a two and a half hour guitar workshop on Sunday, April 14 that will cover developing fingerstyle skills. An intermediate knowledge of guitar is recommended for participation in the workshop. Contact Jim Pfeiffenberger at pfeiff@gci.net for details on the workshop.

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, the KPBSD Title 1 Pre-K will be wrapping up a wonderful start to a new program here in Seward.  There has been a tremendous amount of growth in the students this year and the staff is very excited to see how they progress in kindergarten next year.   However, there are still some questions as to what the program is all about.  Here is some information about the Title 1 Pre-K Program that is being offered at the elementary school.

 What is Title I?

The KPBSD Title I program is made available through federal grants to improve the academic achievement of students in schools of high poverty. High poverty schools are determined through the free and reduced lunch enrollments and Seward Elementary qualifies. The Title I program is designed to help students be more successful in their classrooms, specifically in the areas of language arts and math. Title I funds are available for teachers, materials, and support services for schools that qualify under No Child Left Behind guidelines.

 Title I Pre-K Eligibility

The Pre-K program is available to ANY CHILD who will be 4 by September 1, 2013.  At the Pre-K level, each child is given an assessment, which is used to help determine kindergarten readiness skills. Those students who show a need for additional support in social and emotional growth, reading readiness, or motor skill development qualify for the program.  The Pre-K program offers small group instruction using a variety of teaching methods and materials. The classroom teacher works closely with each family to support early learning.

Family Involvement

Although family involvement is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged.  There are many opportunities for families to volunteer and participate in the Pre-K program both in the classroom and at home.

KPBSD and Title I place great importance on family involvement in the education process. Research confirms that student success is greatly determined by families who are partners in their children’s education.  Families play a dominant role in influencing a child’s confidence and motivation to become a successful learner. When students see that education is important to the adults in their lives, it becomes important to them as well. The reward for becoming more involved in the education process is a more successful, safe and self-confident student.

With all this information in mind, we are starting to think about the program for next year.  Assessments for the program will be held Tuesday, April 23 from 9:00am-2:45pm.  We will also be holding an Open House on Friday, April 12 from 3:15pm-3:45pm at the elementary school in room 118.  This is a chance for anyone in the community to visit with the staff and parents and learn about the great things we are doing to get kids ready for kindergarten.  Come ask questions and check out our learning environment.  Applications for the program are available at the school and assessments are being scheduled.  If you have any other questions, please call the elementary school at 224-3356.

Alexis Kaferstein

Title 1 PreK Teacher

Seward Elementary

Come help paint the Library Museum mural panels April 5, 6 & 7.  Meet Nichole Feemster, the local artist, and help with the completion of the mural panels that will be placed on the South side of the Library Museum.

All supplies are provided, just wear comfortable clothes that can handle a little paint and comfy shoes.  Adults and teens welcome.  We are offering community service time to all Seward High students that sign up and complete a time slot.  Painting will take place at the cruise ship terminal.  Thank you to the Alaska Railroad and the City of Seward for their help with the location to do this community event!

Sign up in person at the Library Museum or call 907-224-3646 and give your name, email and a phone contact.

Friday, April 5 ~  5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday, April 6 ~ 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.***

Sunday,  April 7 ~ 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.***

***Need folks for these slots!!

 The Library Museum Volunteers

This week only, the scheduling for high school classes will be revised. (See the chart below)  Students are asked to be on time for testing.  This is mandatory attendance for all 9th and 10th grade students for the Standards Base Assessment (SBA) and the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE).  Upper class students, grades 11 & 12, will follow the afternoon schedule.  For more information call the Seward high school office at 907-224-3351.

Seward High blog site: http://sewardhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/

Seed of Faith Christian Preschool is open for Enrollment for the 2013-2014 school year! Please turn in an application to the Seward United Methodist Church with Deposit. Any questions can leave a message at 224-7368.

By Heidi Zemach for Seward City News

Middle School Principal Jason Bickling addresses gathering at last month’s meeting on the topic. Heidi Zemach photo

The Seward Site-Based Council, which advises the Kenai Peninsula Board of Education on Seward school matters, voted unanimously last Thursday night to recommend that the board reconfigure the school staffing to allow the sixth-grade class to move into Seward Middle School.

That option would boost the middle-school’s enrollment, and thereby increase the number of core teachers, electives, and sports-related activities that could occur at the school. These options were dwindling due to low student enrollment. If next year’s enrollment continues to decline as projected, electives would be all-but eliminated, administrators had argued. Core subject teachers would be stretched thinner, and they would continue to have to cover library and P.E. duties, while the principal would also assume teaching duties.

The non-binding site council vote on March 21^st came shortly after the March 18^th deadline for participation in an online community survey about all six staffing options presented, which had 226 respondents. Respondents included 94 (non-teaching) parents/guardians, 47 community members, 45 students, 27 teachers (who aren’t parents) and 13 non-teacher employees.   Each rated the options in terms of how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the scenarios presented, with 1 meaning they Strongly Agreed and 5 being they Strongly Disagreed.

There were 6 options:

-         Status Quo (K-6, 7-8, 9-12)

-         Reconfiguration (K-5, 6-8, 9-12)

-         Reconfiguration (K-6, 7-9, 10-12)

-         Reconfiguration (K-8, 9-12)

-         Reconfiguration (K-2, 3-8, 9-12)

-         Reconfiguration (K-6, 7-12)

Some 51 percent of respondents strongly agreed with the reconfiguration that moved the sixth grade into the middle school, and 22 percent simply agreed, bringing the total combined agreement to 165. By contrast, 12 percent strongly disagreed, and 6 percent simply disagreed with that option, bringing the combined number of people in disagreement to 39.

Participating teachers, employees and students were close in numbers in agreeing to the sixth grade move, with only a slightly lower buy-in by community members and parents.

Seward’s three principals had promised at a community meeting last month that parents, staff and community members would be afforded the opportunity to discuss their feelings about the effects of moving sixth-graders into a middle school setting on their children and their learning. But the district survey questions focused soley on the administrator’s previously-stated implications on staffing, electives and activities, rather than on the more social implications of the move.

The middle school debate team offered that aspect of the debate by providing a 30-minute parliamentary-style debate on the pros and cons of the move during the site-council meeting.* (go to next page for more details.)

Although local administrators, such as SHS Principal Trevan Walker believe the proposed change could be made as soon as the coming fall with swift administration and board approval, Joe Arness, the board of education president told this reporter a move of this kind is generally a much slower process.

(more…)

Will you help? Be a worker or be a sponsor!  Please tell us how you will help at http://bit.ly/ZcAZAK. Thanks!

Seward Town Hall Meeting

Saturday, March 23^rd

4 pm – 6 pm

Representative Mike Chenault

Speaker of the House

Please join in the discussion at a

town hall meeting with your

local state representative on

Saturday, March 23^rd, from 4 pm to 6 pm

at the Seward Library Museum located at 239 6^th Ave.

If you have questions call the Kenai office at 283-7223.

Join the Club Today!

There is still time and space to grab a place in our local coding club. If you are a student between the ages of 12 and 19, become a member of Seward’s own computer coding club and learn how to code!

“Building Better Thinking in Bits & Bytes”

Dates: April 1 – May 20
Time: Monday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:30
Location: Seward Community Library
Leaders:  Leigh Ray, Valarie Kingsland

If you would like to be part of this fun club, please fill out the interest survey today at www.sewardcodeclub.com. If these times do not work for you, please fill out the survey and let us know what time would be better for you.

Why Code?

IMPORTANT REMINDER *** YOUR VOICE, OUR SCHOOLS  SURVEY CLOSES TOMORROW!!

Please take it soon if you haven’t yet, as the members of the Seward Schools Site-Based Council need &  value your input. It is a confidential survey. Demographic information in the survey is gathered for the purpose of understanding the audience that replied as a whole.

Join the Club Today!

“Building Better Thinking in Bits & Bytes”

Are you a student between the ages of 12 and 19? Become a member of Seward’s own computer coding club and learn how to code!

Dates: April 1 – May 20
Time: Monday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:30
Location: Seward Community Library
Leaders:  Leigh Ray, Valarie Kingsland

If you would like to be part of this fun club, please fill out the interest survey today at www.sewardcodeclub.com. If these times do not work for you, please fill out the survey and let us know what time would be better for you.

Why Code?

IMPORTANT REMINDER *** YOUR VOICE, OUR SCHOOLS  SURVEY CLOSES Monday, March 18th!!

Please take it soon if you haven’t yet, as the members of the Seward Schools Site-Based Council need & value your input. It is a confidential survey. Demographic information in the survey is gathered for the purpose of understanding the audience that replied as a whole.

News from the public meeting

 Posted with the permission of the Seward Schoolyard Habitat blog

Matt Gray, of the Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance, led a community meeting Wednesday night at the High School to share the short- and long-term plans for the Seward Schoolyard Habitat Project. People packed into Carlyn Nichol’s science classroom to learn more about the project, filling every seat in the room. After Matt opened the meeting with a brief overview, Heather Fuller, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, presented a PowerPoint to explain the nuts and bolts of the funding and requirements for such a project. She gave examples of other schools on the Peninsula that are pursuing schoolyard habitats, as well as examples of projects well underway in the Wasilla/Palmer area.

Jenn Haugh, a Kindergarten teacher, explained how teachers will build upon each other’s projects across all three school campuses. She also gave examples of how teachers might align the curriculum to the schoolyard habitats and use them as outdoor classrooms, giving teachers fantastic opportunities for place-based education.

Carlyn Nichols, a science teacher at both the middle and high schools, detailed the trail systems that exist around the three schools. She talked about how these should be maintained, enhanced, and connected. She envisions having a trail system that has interpretive signs to help both students and community members get the most out of walks, jogs, or skis through the old-growth forests. Thinking like a scientist, Carlyn pointed out how lucky we are to have such amazing habitats in our own back yards. Heather Fuller echoed that idea, and added that one of the goals of this project is to make these habitats accessible to everyone.

To present a vision for the native species garden planned for the elementary school, several of Bob Barnwell’s students gave a Prezi.com presentation. (Click for website article and their presentation)

Full-color, large and small maps were placed around the room for people to look at as ideas were discussed. For the last 20 minutes of the meeting, people met in small groups to brainstorm more ideas for the schoolyard habitats.

If you are in middle or high school, consider becoming a member of Seward’s own computer coding club and learn how to code! We will begin after Spring Break. More details will be advertised in the schools and on Seward City News soon. We will be using a variety of resources to teach computer programming, depending on age, experience, and interest. If you’re interested, join the group, and find out more by visiting these links.

“Building Better Thinking in Bits & Bytes”

IMPORTANT REMINDER *** YOUR VOICE, OUR SCHOOLS SURVEY CLOSES Monday, March 18th!!

Please take it soon if you haven’t yet, as the members of the Seward Schools Site-Based Council need & value your input. It is a confidential survey. Demographic information in the survey is gathered for the purpose of understanding the audience that replied as a whole.