By Mica Hutchison

The Copper River School District board held a work session followed by their regular board meeting on September 14.

Work session discussion centered around the Advisory School Board (ASB), outlining the need to further clarify the powers and duties of the role. According to state statute,  “an advisory school board shall advise the regional school board on all matters concerning schools in the community in which the advisory board is established.”

ASB meetings are open to the public, and meeting minutes are brought to the district school board. The focus of the ASB is to support and advocate for students, and they often play a part in shaping handbook changes and creating the school calendar. Kenny Lake ASB still has one position open for a family member of a student who wishes to participate. The school district will also be encouraging student representation on the ASB.

The school board meeting opened with swearing in of new student representatives and a send off for two exiting CRSD board members, president Jaime Matthews and treasurer James Fields. 

Matthews, who served on the board for six years, will continue helping students in the classroom with guidance counselor Jared Dale, offering instruction on real-life business skills and one-on-one interviews. “I look forward to continuing to do that because I love those types of things,” she added.

James Fields leaves the board after 12 years of service. He remains on the Alaska State Board of Education and will continue advising CRSD school board, helping them understand and adjust to changes coming from the state level. Fields aims to help the district innovate, saying “Being on the front side of that, I think, is going to be beneficial to the district and to the students.”

Vice President Katrina Church-Chmielowski reports she met with all incoming student representatives and received the best questions from them she has heard in years. She expressed her excitement for the upcoming year and stressed the importance of the student representatives’ advisory role. “I reminded them that they are all here because they add a unique perspective to the board,” she stated, “and I encourage them to use that perspective and to remind us of that perspective.”

Mathias Chmielowski is the incoming student representative for Slana. The school has two new staff members and nine new students this year, more than doubling the number of new students from last year.

Upstream Learning’s new representative is Mia Bobowski. Carly Daniels is the new Kenny Lake representative. Bella Webb will serve as Glennallen’s student representative this year. Student representatives' reports on school happenings are printed in full within this issue of the paper. 

The school board also reviewed PEAKS testing data from the 2020-2021 school year, noting a high participation rate despite COVID-related disruptions. Aggregate test data is available on the CRSD website, and students received their individual scores.

Superintendent Thérèse Ashton will be taking on the role of athletic director this school year. She has four years of previous experience as an athletic director, and it is a role she enjoys. This year she would like to improve transparency of funding, saying she’d like to make “certain processes a little bit more transparent and easily accessible to the people who it matters to.”

Ashton also reported that computers have come in and are being distributed to high school students. She hopes to hear feedback from students on any problems they encounter and invites them to email her. She would also like to hear if the computers are working out well and any suggestions students may have.

Glennallen school has been struggling to fill open positions, with current vacancies for a custodian and a number of paraprofessionals. Postings with more information can be found on the AlaskaJobs website, and application forms are available on the CRSD website or may be picked up at the district office.

The next board meeting will be held October 12.