Welcome back to the new year !

Allow me to introduce myself; I am Sherry Girard, the new NEA-Alaska Uniserv Director for Educational Excellence.  As you may know, a large part of my job will be assisting our locals and members meet the challenges of “No Child Left Behind”.  I will be working out of the Anchorage office but will be responsible for the entire state.  I have been doing presentations on NCLB in a variety of settings during this last year.  It is one of NEA-Alaska's goals to make sure that all our members are “highly qualified” by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

As most of you know the information about NCLB is changing almost weekly and I will be trying to create a system within your locals so folks will have access to the most updated information as it occurs.

I am looking forward to meeting local leaders and members and discussing the “Highly Qualified” & AYP status for each local in Alaska.

NEW INFORMATION:

From the FEDS:

The modifications allowed for Alaska after Secretary Paige's visit included: subgroups were increased from 10 to 20; standardized tests can be given in the native language IF the state chooses to develop those tests; and school choice can mean using supplemental service providers instead of transporting students long distances to a school that has made AYP.  

From the State:

The Alaska State School Board will be meeting at the end of September to discuss a variety of issues concerning NCLB. As soon as the Board has made their decisions I will post that information on the NEA-Alaska website. 

          What we can discern at this point is the section dealing with HOUSE is not finished.  The sub-committee put forward their recommendations to the Commissioner and he is moving forward but has not made a decision yet.  So we are still waiting for that portion of “highly qualified” to be determined.

          There have been some changes in the CORE subject areas regarding “Highly qualified”. The State Board has added Social Studies and Speech Communication to the core and has expanded the definition of Arts to include Music, Art and Theatre. It should also be noted that IF vocational and ROTC teachers give a duel credit they also need to be “highly qualified”.

          There is now an additional approved service providers, making the total of 4 (four) for the state and none are approved for any of the urban districts. (Check the DEED website for the current list)

          From NEA-Alaska

NEA and NEA-Alaska are in conversation with Lisa Murkowski to submit amendments to this law during the next session. You might write a short email or letter to encourage her to support these amendments.

          The PRAXIS II exam date has been set by ETS.  The next registration deadline is October 14, 2003 for the November 15, 2003 exam.  Please go to the Praxis website http://www.ets.org/praxis/index.html and use the online registration. Don't forget to note where the test center nearest you is located. The fees for each test are also located on this website. Cut scores for Alaska have not been determined, however, ETS is exploring the idea of having a standardized cut score for each test across the nation. Remember if you teach multiple core subjects you must be “highly qualified” in each subject. 

          The Higher Education Learning Profile (HELP) exam for paraprofessionals is produced by the ERI testing company.  ERI has stated that “paras need to be tested on school grounds or at a recognized testing facility by someone who has experience administering tests (certificated teacher or someone else similarly qualified”. Each school may choose their own test dates.

          We will be offering two separate strands at NEA-Alaska FALL EVENT dealing with NCLB. One session is entitled Organizing for NCLB/ESEA and the other is HELP!  Getting ESP's “Federally Qualified”  Please check the NEA-Alaska website for further information.

          If you are bargaining this year please ask your UniServ Director about model contract language developed by NEA –Alaska regarding NCLB. This model language contains items concerning professional development, tuition reimbursement, employee protection and accountability.

If there is anything else I can do to answer your questions concerning “No Child Left Behind” please contact me.

Sherry Girard
Sherry.Girard@neaalaska.org