MEDIA ADVISORY

The first of six public discussion forums on improving public education in Alaska will take place Tuesday, June 27 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Four of the state's top educators will meet to discuss "The State of Standards Implementation in Alaska," connecting teaching methods and academic standards to the Alaska Quality Schools Initiative.

UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind, who along with UAF Summer Sessions is hosting forums scheduled through July 13, will be joined Tuesday evening by UA President Mark Hamilton, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Superintendent Jim Holt and Science Specialist Cyndy Curran with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

The forums will complement the Standards and Assessment Institute, a three-week development program offered by UAF Summer Sessions that focuses on enhancing knowledge directly linked to improving student achievement in an education system built on academic standards, assessment and accountability. The Alaska Quality Schools Initiative is a results-based system of school accountability recently integrated into primary and secondary Alaskan school districts.

Other topics planned for the public discussion forums include teaching with standards in a cultural context, using standards-based assessment in primary grades, documentation and ensuring that standards are being met, and standards-based portfolios and projects. An informal reception will follow each forum.

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CONTACT: Jaclyn Hendrix, UAF Summer Sessions, at (907) 474-7021.

JCS/6-26-00/00-090ma