Alaska Reads Act Implementation
Starting in January, meetings have been held with stakeholders from around the state to discuss the components of the Alaska Reads Act, gather their input, and answer questions. These Alaska Reads Act webinars will continue until mid-May. Registration and the schedule are available at https://education.alaska.gov/akreads. You can also find recording of past webinars and resource materials presented in each webinar at this site.
Below is the zoom link to the virtual webinars:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83818170015
Many folks have reached out to discuss steps for implementation. The department continues to put resources together to support implementation of Alaska Reads Act. The following one-page step-by-step supports were created with the intent to further support districts as they begin planning for next school year:
There is also a new one page Alaska Reads Act information sheet.
In thinking about your next school year, a great starting point is with the District Reading Intervention component, a required part of the Alaska Reads Act. Consider gathering your team that will make decisions to put plans into place now on this portion of the Act. There is a draft K-3 MTSS Planning template currently available on the Alaska Reads Act webpage.
In addition to organizing your planning at the district level, keep in mind that Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is planning in-person meetings around the state this Spring to provide information and support district teams in planning for next year. A schedule of in-person meetings will be released soon.
If you have questions, reach out to us at: akreads@alaska.gov
DEED's reading work is aligned to the mission, vision, and Alaska's Education Challenge through the Alaska Strategic Reading Plan and Alaska Reads Act. In an effort to support educators, DEED has developed a Reading Resource homepage that links to other reading resource pages as a source of information, communication, and connection to initiatives and work related to the Alaska Reading Strategic Plan and Alaska Reads Act. The intent is having a place for all of Alaska's education stakeholders to go for information and resources.
Follow this link to the newly launched DEED Reading Resources homepage: https://education.alaska.gov/Alaska-Reading-Resources.
State Board of Education Votes to Open Public Comment Period for Alaska Reads Act Regulations
On Wednesday January 25, 2023, during a virtual special meeting the Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development voted to send regulations out for public comment pertaining to the Alaska Reads Act.
The proposed regulations are in response to the passage of House Bill (HB) 114, Education: Schools; Funding; Programs, also known as the Alaska Reads Act, that became law on July 15, 2022 (Chapter 40, SLA 2022). The effective date of this new law is July 1, 2023. The Alaska Reads Act created four new programs in the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development DEED:
The regulations approved to go out to public comment address three of the four programs (an early education grant program; a district reading improvement program; and a department reading program), as well as amendments to teacher certification regulations tied to the Alaska Reads Act. The regulations for the virtual education consortium are forthcoming. A summary of the proposed regulations is available here. The Alaska Reads Act proposed regulations and instructions for providing public comment are available here.
The board will hold a special meeting virtually on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, to vote on approving Alaska Reads Act regulations.
School Spotlight
This month DEED is highlighting Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Take a look at their investment in evidence-based professional development, its application to learning, and the results!
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According to Louisa Moats and Carol Tolman (2019), authors of LETRS: Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, student success depends on informed teachers who use comprehensive, proven, and effective programs and practices implemented with sufficient skill, intensity, and duration (p. 5). This article shares the progress students in our school, Larson Elementary, are having using the program by the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI), Phonics for Reading by Anita Archer, and Rewards, also by Anita Archer. We began two of these programs in September (both UFLI and Rewards) and later, in October, added Phonics for Reading. The programs are taught by two interventionists, Kaylee King and Kristine Toms, who are currently preparing towards teaching careers. My job is to pair the intervention groups with students who need additional supports. We provide interventions for all grades in 30 or 40-minute increments.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) has been instrumental in supporting interventions through providing Instructional Coaches, professional development, and intervention materials. Every elementary school in our district has a dedicated person who serves as an Instructional Coach. Though each coach has many areas to address, one analyzes data and making instructional decisions to support student success.
Last year coaches and some selected teachers were offered LETRS training. We are currently in our second year of the program. The LETRS training has been the best professional development our team has received. Coaches were also invited to the Alaska Reading Symposium, presented by the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). The conference presented valuable information about the reading process. It, too, was paramount to our goal of empowering students with the skills necessary for reading success. Both opportunities enabled us to evaluate our previous intervention programs and improve our reading opportunities for our students. We decided to make a change and use something more explicit and aligned with the Science of Reading (SOR).
Dr. Kristi Graber, DEED ELA Content Specialist, provided professional development webinars on using UFLI through Canvas. The recorded webinars allow teachers and staff to receive instruction in implementing UFLI and Phonics for Reading. UFLI is an engaging, explicit phonetic approach which mirrors SOR. Larson kindergarten intervention students receive 30 minutes of instruction four days per week, first and second grade intervention students receive 40 minutes of instruction four days per week. We progress monitor one day each week. The tables show students’ fall and winter scores for the current year of 2022-2023.
   The Rewards program, written by Anita Archer, is a district-approved intervention in our MSBSD’s Academic Framework for Tiered Plan of Services and part of our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), but our school had never used it. The fourth-grade students in our group, had worked through Lexia (a computer-based intervention) during their 3rd-grade year and had made progress towards decoding but needed more experience with multi-syllabic word reading. Their success with Rewards has been very encouraging.
 After seeing the success with UFLI and Rewards, we began Phonics for Reading with the 3rd-grade students. Tracy Parker, DEED’s Reading Specialist, provided professional development for this program through Canvas. Since we began in October, students have been more engaged and responding very well to their progress monitoring. We are anxiously awaiting their spring scores.
 Each of these students has classroom teachers who provide daily instruction in addition to the interventions they are receiving. Some students, as you can see, have not responded as well to the interventions, but there is a story with every student and score. Their teachers meet regularly to review their scores, see their attendance, and change to their programs as needed. Our goal is to provide every opportunity for each student to be a successful learner.
Resources:
Archer, A. L., Gleason, M. M., & Vachon, V. (2000). Rewards. Sopris West.
Archer, A., Flood, J., Lapp, D., & Lungren, L. (2011). Phonics for Reading Series. Curriculum Associates.
Lane, H., & Contesse, V. (2022). Ufli foundations: An explicit and Systematic Phonics program. Ventris Learning.
Moats, L. C., & Tolman, C. A. (2019). Letrs: Language essentials for teachers of reading and spelling. Sopris West Educational Services.
Thank you MSBSD for sharing about all of this hard work, and congratulations on your amazing journey toward reading proficiency for all students! DEED appreciates you sharing your story!
Have you had great success increasing student reading proficiency with an initiative or strategy in your school? Do you have something you are really excited about as an outcome of a shift to Science of Reading best practices? We are interested in hearing what amazing things are happening in your school to positively impact student reading proficiency and achievement. Please submit your story to the e-mail below. You may be chosen as the next school spotlight in a future edition of the Alaska Reading Newsletter!
Please e-mail your submissions to: Jenn.Miller@alaska.gov
 Follow this link to the new DEED Professional Development webpage:
https://education.alaska.gov/Alaska-Reading-Resources/DEED-Professional-Development
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K-12 Math
Professional Learning Catalog
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This semester DEED is hosting several professional learning opportunities which are available to Alaska educators at no cost to the educator.
If you missed the webinar providing an overview of the opportunities, click here to view the recording. A complete list of opportunities is available in the Professional Learning Opportunities Catalog. Questions? Please contact Joy Abbott at 907-269-6578 or email Joy.Abbott@alaska.gov
Data Literacy PD
The DEED Assessment Literacy sessions resumed on January 17 and are targeted at deepening educator understanding of assessment data. Courses are offered remotely during after school hours. Attend a series of courses and work with the Professional Learning Coordinator to earn UA credit for your commitment. If you attended sessions in the fall, you can still earn credit. Reach out to Athena Hill at Athena.Hill@nwea.org for more information on credit.
Upcoming courses include:
Responsive Learning Cycles (February 21st)
Empowering Learners to Exchange and Use Feedback (February 23rd)
Visit the course catalog to learn more about upcoming offerings: https://dpdol.nwea.org/pl/sa/AK/AK_StatewidePL_Catalog_FY23.pdf
Contact Kelly Manning at Kelly.Manning@alaska.gov for more information about these Professional Learning opportunities.
Alaska Reading Playbook - NEW SERIES!
Great news for Spring 2023!
There will be a new round of the Alaska Reading Playbook webinar series starting for both leaders and teachers.
Please click the following links for registration and information:
Administrators
- Tuesdays, 10:00-11:00 AM
- April 4, 11, and 18,
Educators
- Tuesdays and Thursdays: April 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20
- 4:00 - 5:30 pm
You can click Alaska Reading Playbook for your own FREE downloadable or digital copy! Find archived playbook sessions at https://aklearns.org.
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Alaska Native Language Summit
When: April 27, 2023 from 9 am to 4 pm
Location: William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center 555 West 5th Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501
Description: The Alaska Native Language Summit is a chance to collaborate as language teachers and language workers to address the question: What do our Alaska Native languages need for support? There will also be a workshop that focuses on what is needed to develop Alaska Native language arts, including reading, in a way that directly supports and promotes both written and spoken mainstream use of Alaska Native languages.
Registration: Registration is limited to 200 attendees. Please register through the following eventbrite link: Alaska Native Language Summit Pre-Conference . Lite snacks, water, tea, and coffee will be provided. We will break for lunch, lunch is not provided.
Agenda:
9:00 am Opening
- Welcome Song
- Introduction to what to expect for the day
9:30 am Workshop: What do our Alaska Native languages need as supports?
This is space to meet to collaborate as language teachers and language workers. This is time and space for participants to break out into smaller working groups and collaborate on topics that they are passionate about.
11:45 am Lunch on Your Own
1:15 pm Workshop: Developing Alaska Native language literacy
- Presentation by Department of Education and Early Development about how to work towards developing supports for reading in Alaska Native Languages
- Attendee driven workshop time
This is a space to meet and collaborate on specific reading tools strategies as a group and workgroups.
3:45 pm Closing/wrap up
4:00 pm End of Event
Questions: Please direct any questions to joel.isaak@alaska.gov
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