As Alaska develops its State Plan for submission to ED for approval, ESSA provides the opportunity to conduct meaningful and timely consultation with education sector stakeholders across the state. In addition to the required and established processes for encouraging and aggregating public comment, DEED is initiating the formation of additional stakeholder opportunities to ensure broad stakeholder involvement in development of Alaska’s State Plan.
All Alaskans will have multiple opportunities to provide input and feedback on the State Plan at various stages of development through an online survey. At a minimum, options and considerations and public comment periods on the draft State Plan will be posted online for public review. Additionally, numerous resources and materials will continue to be made available on DEED’s ESSA website.
Five identical webinar presentations on the ESSA State Plan were held by DEED in May and June 2016. Watch the webinar presentation on the ESSA State Plan. The PPT slide deck is available under the Presentations section at the bottom of this page.
DEED encourages Alaskans to visit the Draft State Plan tab to provide input and feedback on the State Plan.
A 43-member group of stakeholders representing school districts, educational organizations, and educational partners across the state who will review and provide recommendations on the options related to the three areas of the State Plan. Nominations for committee membership were submitted by superintendents and educational organizations and partners. Final membership selection was completed by DEED to ensure a balance of stakeholder representation based on requirements set out in ESSA.
The Advisory Committee membership representation includes the following:
DEED meets with the Advisory Committee on a monthly basis via webinar for in-depth presentations and discussions on the implementation of ESSA and the current work at DEED that intersects with ESSA. These webinars provide a valuable opportunity for DEED to deliver progress updates to the Committee and engage their expertise and critical thinking. The Committee is an important partner in helping to communicate the ongoing work to the public, serves as content experts, and helps educate Alaskans.
Focus Groups are job or interest-related groups of stakeholders that join together as part of an organization or for an interest-related conference. Examples include, but are not limited to: the Association of Alaska School Boards, Alaska Parent Teacher Association, Alaska Federation of Natives, Tanana Chiefs Conference, Alaska Association of Student Government, Alaska Superintendents Association, Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Alaska Staff Development Network Spring Leadership Conference.
Overview presentations on the three key elements of the State Plan will be made to Focus Groups through live and recorded webinars and in-person working conferences. These presentations will take place until approximately the end of June 2016. Input and feedback opportunities on the key State Plan elements will be made available to Focus Groups through in-person surveys, online voting tools, and online surveys.
Since December 2015, DEED has:
The table below outlines the various stakeholder meetings that DEED has engaged in, as well as meetings planned for spring 2017.
| Date | ESSA Activity |
|---|---|
| January 2016 | Formation of ESSA Advisory Committee |
| February 17 – April 6, 2016 | ESSA Advisory Committee meetings (five weekly meetings via webinar and one face-to-face meeting in Anchorage) |
| March 19, 2016 | Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB) Meeting |
| April 7-8, 2016 | Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN) Spring Leadership Conference |
| April 13, 2016 | ESSA Briefing to the Senate and House Education Committees |
| April 18-20, 2016 | Title I Coordinators and Title I Committee of Practitioners |
| April 22, 2016 | Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) Delegate Assembly |
| April 29, 2016 | Alaska Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Annual Convention |
| May 11, 2016 | Combined ESSA Advisory Committee Meeting and Post-Spring Leadership Conference follow-up webinar |
| May 25 – June 13, 2016 | Public-at-large ESSA State Plan presentations and discussions (five identical webinar presentations and online discussion forum) |
| May 24-27, 2016 | Alaska School Leadership Institute (ASLI) |
| June 22, 2016 | ESSA Advisory Committee meeting |
| August 1, 2016 | Alaska Superintendents Association (ASA) Summer Fly-In |
| August 5 – 12, 2016 | Public-at-large presentations and discussions on ESSA vision (four separate webinars) |
| August 5, 2016 | Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Meeting |
| August 11, 2016 | Hispanic Affairs Council of Alaska |
| August 16, 2016 | Introductory Letter to Alaska Tribal Government Leaders |
| August 31, 2016 | ESSA Advisory Committee meeting |
| September 13-15, 2016 | Alaska State Board of Education |
| September 15-16, 2016 | Alaska Special Education (SPED) Directors Conference |
| September 21-24, 2016 | Alaska Superintendents Association (ASA) Fall Meeting |
| September 22, 2016 | Alaska Governor's Council on Disabilities & Special Education (GCDSE) Education Committee |
| September 28, 2016 | ESSA Advisory Committee meeting |
| October 13-15, 2016 | Alaska Association of Student Government (AASG) |
| October 14-16, 2016 | National Education Association-Alaska (NEA-AK) Fall Event |
| October 19-20, 2016 | Alaska Technical Advisory Committee |
| October 20-22, 2016 | Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Annual Conference |
| October 22-25, 2016 | Alaska Principals' Conference |
| October 26, 2016 | ESSA Advisory Committee meeting |
| November 10-13, 2016 | Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB) Fall Academy |
| November 30, 2016 | ESSA Advisory Committee meeting |
| December 4-7, 2016 | Alaska Association of School Business Officials (ALASBO) |
| December 7, 2016 | ESSA Briefing to the Senate and House Education Committees |
| December 19, 2016 | DEED’s Early Childhood Monthly Webinar |
| January 26-27, 2017 | Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Education Summit |
| April 21-22, 2017 | Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN) Spring Leadership Conference |
The Governor, the Alaska Legislature, and the Alaska State Board of Education & Early Development will receive regular updates from DEED leadership on the ESSA stakeholder engagement process via in-person and webinar presentations. Alaska state leadership will also be responsible for considering policy changes based on State Plan recommendations.
Materials related to the timeline and requirements of ESSA:
Documents and tools that support stakeholders in building a knowledge of the timeline and requirements of ESSA: