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Ed Guild Spring feature:
Chugach School District, Debbie Treece, K.I.D. Coordinator
The Chugach School District Office is based in Anchorage, Alaska. It encompasses 22,000 square miles including Alaska Native and non-native communities throughout Prince William Sound. With 250 students and 44 faculty and staff, CSD delivers instruction in education from preschool up to age 21 in a comprehensive, standards-based system. Education occurs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Instruction is delivered in the work place, in the community, and in the home and in school.
In 1994, under the supervision of a new superintendent Roger Sampson, the Chugach School District began re-inventing its educational model to raise the test scores of their students who were scoring in the bottom percentile on state testing (Chugach School District). At that time, only 10 % of their students could read at grade level. Few students attended college or completed their postsecondary education. Through the implementation of a performance based system their students’ test scores improved greatly. In 2008, 84% of students were proficient or advanced in Language Arts and 81% were proficient in Mathematics on Alaska’s standards based assessments; 100% of Chugach graduates meet or exceed graduation levels in all academic areas, as well as Career Development, Personal/Social/Service, and Technology standards. Chugach recognizes the different qualities and abilities of their students and structures their program to meet individual students’ needs with a K-12 standards based educational model. Graduated students are currently working, joining the military, or attending universities, such as University of Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks; University of California, Berkley, University of Hawaii, Humboldt State University, and Texas A & M.) Chugach’s standards-based system includes:
- Performance-based education where students acquire both the breadth and depth of knowledge and have the freedom to move at their own pace.
- An Individual Learning Plan for each student.
- Developmental standards continuums in the ten content areas that the communities have identified as essential are: Mathematics, Technology, Reading, Social Sciences, Writing, Culture and Communication, Personal/Social/Service, Career Development, PE/Health and Science.
- A shared vision including listening to and incorporating ideas and concerns of parents and members of the community to help build a dialogue and the success of the educational model. It should be noted that each community and school is different so this model can be tailored to fit the individual designs and cultures of different communities.
 (Chugach School District)
- Multiple Assessments for students including:
- Contextual Assessments
- Analytical Assessments
- Student Self Assessments
- Skills Assessments
This model (click to view) is also a great way to help meet the needs of the gifted learners in the community as Alaska does not provide funding for gifted education. Students advance through the continuums at their own individual developmental pace, aiming to meet or exceed the graduation level in each content area. Gifted students can reach proficiency level in these areas earlier in their educational careers and are then able to move to a post-secondary educational phase, including receiving dual credit for college courses.
The Chugach School District includes a variety of other educational opportunities for its students. The Voyage to Excellence program, also known as Anchorage House, provides students and families not only educational advancement but life skills as well. The goal of this residential program is to “provide students with opportunities to apply what they have learned in school to real life situations.” This is done by implementing progressive stages which build up from five days to three to ten months.
In addition, Chugach’s Home School Extension Program provides homeschooling opportunities utilizing a unique standards-based approach to meet the individual needs of each child. These outreach services are provided to families within and beyond the school district boundaries
within Alaska.
Presently, 12 school districts, both in and out of Alaska, are at various stages of replicating the Chugach Education Model. “Our schools are our community centers,” says Debbie Treece, Knowledge, Information and Data Coordinator, “and this educational model has become a part of the culture in the community.” To learn more about Chugach’s unique programs and effective educational model visit their website
http://www.chugachschools.com/.
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Davidson Institute Updates
Davidson Young Scholar Applications Available
The Davidson Young Scholars program helps profoundly
gifted students discover others with similar
interests and abilities, utilizing their unique
skills and talents to maximize their educational
potential and make a difference in the lives of
others. Students and their parents are supported in
the areas of educational advocacy, social and
emotional development, and talent development.
For more information on the Young Scholars Program, or to download an application, please visit
http://www.davidsongifted.org/YoungScholars/.
Davidson Academy of Nevada
Located on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, the Academy is the first public school of its kind for profoundly gifted students. If you know a student who is interested in applying to The Davidson Academy, the application for 2010-2011
will be available in September at
www.DavidsonAcademy.UNR.edu.
In addition, informational tours of The Davidson Academy of Nevada will be hosted on a monthly basis (Dates TBD). Visit
www.DavidsonAcademy.UNR.edu/Explore where you can also sign up for the Academy’s monthly eNewsletter. If you would like more information about the Academy or the tours, please email
explore@davidsonacademy.unr.edu.
New & Improved Davidson Gifted Database Launched
The Davidson Institute recently launched the Davidson Gifted Database, formerly known as GT-CyberSource, at
www.DavidsonGifted.org/DB. The renovated site features improved, easier search capabilities for articles, resources and state policy pages to help students, parents and educators pinpoint a wealth of gifted information.
With this change, all previous links to articles, resources and state policy pages have changed. To locate the new links users can:
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Search for the title, or keywords, with accurate results using the new Google Search Box
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Use the Browse by Topic lists for Articles and Resources
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Email
administrator@davidsongifted.org for assistance
You can also access the Davidson Gifted Database from the Davidson Institute’s home page at
www.DavidsonGifted.org – just look for “Database” in the top menu bar or footer information.
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