Rep. Kawasaki’s Juneau Note: Budget Times, College, and Brrrrr….
November 18, 2011
Things are really starting to roll as the holidays are approaching. The next legislative session is just around the corner, and the Interior Delegation has been meeting with constituent groups of the Fairbanks North Star Borough on their legislative priorities and funding requests.
While Alaska remains one of the only states in the nation to have a positive financial outlook, it is still impossible to fund everything brought before the Legislature. As a resource state, we have to consider the volatile nature of our cash reserves and look into solutions that plan for a sustainable future. This is the advice we give to organizations requesting support from the state, and this is advice the Alaska Legislature should heed itself.
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Note from Rep. Gara: Looks Like Winter’s Here To Stay E-News: Will the Guv. Do The Right Thing and Opt Out of NCLB? UAA Oil Debate Monday, and More
November 10, 2011
I can’t lie. I’d rather be fishing than scraping the ice off my car, and shivering on my mountain bike with studded tires. But the miracle of extended fall seems to be over. Nice miracle while it lasted.
Tuesday I had a huge amount of fun at a great non-profit event: Arctic Entries. You should go sometime. Arctic Entries is a community effort to get seven Alaskans per month to tell stories. I told mine – about bad karma – and the time I had to fly fish with chicken. Not very fly fishing purist of me, but it was on a trip to Peru, and that’s all they had. Or I didn’t know how to say “flies” in Spanish. Anyway – you can find out about upcoming shows at arctic-entries.com. Proceeds go to Anchorage’s domestic violence shelter, AWAIC.
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Rep. Kawasakai’s Juneau Note: Welcome Back to School! Education Priorities, Early Learning
September 1, 2011
School started last week, welcoming over 14,000 kids into the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Anyone living in the neighborhoods or taking their children to school will have noticed the increase in car and foot traffic around these areas.
Please remember to slow down and beware for flashing yellow lights that keep our kids safe this school year. School zones are marked at 20 miles an hour for safety.
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Rep. Chris Tuck’s Community Connection: Recent Compass Piece Highlights Potential Improvements in Education
August 30, 2011
For many Alaskans, going back to school is an exciting time of year. Students are excited to see their friends and take on new challenges. And parents are proud — even sometimes a bit relieved — as their children get back on the bus after a busy Alaska summer. It’s a fresh start, a chance to build on past experience and an opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge.
But parents and teachers know that the learning doesn’t stop when the students aren’t in school. And what youths learn at home, at camp, or out in the Alaska outdoors can have a big impact on how a child performs in the classroom. Just as those experiences cannot, and should not, be standardized, students are not standardized either. As any parent knows, what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another. And not all kids share the same opportunities or challenges.
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Op-Ed from Rep. Pete Petersen: School funding should be inflation-adjusted
August 24, 2011
As students go back to school, it is a good time to reflect on what we expect from our education system and how to meet those expectations. As technology, globalization and a changing economy create new challenges and opportunities for Alaskans, it is important that our schools provide all students with the education they need to succeed in the 21st century world.
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