CAEPR

Dual enrollment programs provide access to college-level courses to high school students prior to graduation, often helping students become more successful in high school and easing their path to college. Between 2008 and 2017, University of Alaska (UA) dual enrollment programs experienced an 85% increase in student enrollment and, among those who graduated from high school, 41% went on to attend a UA institution within a year.

Using U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Alaska ranks 6th in per-pupil education spending, however the ranking is deceptive since it doesn’t take into account the high cost of delivering education and high cost of living in different places in Alaska. When these costs are considered, Alaska’s per-pupil spending is about average, according to Dayna DeFeo, director of ISER’s Center for Alaska Education Policy Research. 

Diane Hirshberg, along with Charlene Stern, co-chair of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Nolan Klouda, director of the University of Alaska’s Center for Economic Development, will be working with partners in the Neets’ąįį Gwich’in communities of Vashrąįį K’ǫǫ (Arctic Village) and Vįįhtąįį (Venetie) to explore Indigenous and non-Indigenous educational pathways necessary to sustain and develop economic, political, and social goals of indigenous communities. 

Soon, Alaska Native elementary students in 14 rural Alaska communities will be studying Drones in ways to both connect their science education to their communities and increase their engagement in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. These are among the objectives and goals of a newly awarded  National Science Foundation Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant, “Drone Research and Opportunities for Native Elementary Students" or  DRONES. 

ISER Professor of Education Policy Diane Hirshberg is co-editor of the new book, Including the North: a comparative study of the policies on inclusion and equity in the Circumpolar North. Nearly four million people live in the Arctic, including indigenous peoples, northerners, and those who’ve recently arrived.

ISER's Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) Director Dayna DeFeo presented to a national audience of teacher educators, higher education administrators, and policymakers on innovative ways that Network for Excellence in Teaching (NExT) survey data may be used to inform policy, practice, and cross-institutional collaboration. 

Researchers at ISER's Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) have recently published two articles examining issues important to Alaska's teachers.

• It’s more than just dollars: Problematizing salary as the sole mechanism for recruiting and retaining teachers in rural Alaska, by Dayna DeFeo, Diane Hirshberg, and Lexi Hill. This article, published in the Alaska Native Studies Journal, argues that improving teacher retention in Alaska’s rural schools will require both adequate pay and attention to working conditions. Full text available for download.

• Statute and implementation: How phantom policies affect tenure value and support, by Dayna DeFeo, Matt Berman, and Diane Hirshberg.  This article, published in Educational Policy, discusses how teachers and principals understand, inflate, or underestimate tenure protections, and how those interpretations affect the perceived value and effectiveness of the tenure policy itself. Abstract available for download, full text available for purchase.