The Petersburg School Board will meet Tuesday to consider a new senate bill circulating in the Alaska Legislature called the Alaska Reads Act. The Reads Act would create a statewide K-3 reading program designed to improve reading outcomes. It looks to screen students from kindergarten through third grade and intervene when students or schools are having trouble.
According to Governor Dunleavy’s website, Alaska’s students rank last out of all 50 states in fourth grade reading performance. Last year, only 37% of Alaska’s third graders were proficient in reading on the statewide assessment test.
Petersburg Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter and School Board President, Mara Lutomski, have been in Juneau going over the Reads Act and will be talking about what they’ve learned during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The school board will also be hearing about a new policy on pandemic-epidemic emergencies, which is an optional policy that the Association of Alaska School Boards is recommending. The local board policy committee has reviewed the proposed policy and recommends that the full board adopts it.
The school board will also hear about a proposed calendar for the next school year. Staff members have provided input on the calendar and Superintendent Kludt-Painter has created a schedule for the school board to consider. The proposed calendar looks very similar to recent years.
To start the meeting off, there will be a student presentation for a new afterschool program at the Stedman Elementary School called Girls Who Code. The program is for girls 3rd through 5th grade. According to the club’s leader, Kellii Wood, it’s designed to encourage girls’ interest in science and technology through coding and computer projects. It also encourages them to support each other by creating projects together.
Also at the meeting, the school board members will hear administrative reports from the superintendent, the principals, and the activities director.
The school board meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the middle and high school library. KFSK will broadcast it live.
