Fairbanks North Star Borough School District

🔵 School Board to Adopt Alaska Native Advisory Board Seat 🔵 The FNSBSD Board of Education, in its commitment to providing an excellent and equitable education for all students, unanimously approved a policy change on Tuesday, June 4, to include an appointment of an advisory board member from the Fairbanks Native Association (FNA). “This is a historic moment for Fairbanks Native Association,” said Melissa Charlie, FNA executive director. “Our leaders, past and present, have long dreamed of having a seat on the school board. FNA will bring a unique perspective that will benefit the success of all students. We take this role very seriously and come prepared to work and advocate for excellent education for all students in this district.” The FNA member shall provide input and advise the School Board on all matters that come before the Board, including sharing their unique perspective on how matters under consideration might affect the Alaska Native community and all district students. The FNSBSD is governed by the Board consisting of seven members, each of whom is elected for a three-year term on a rotating basis. The advisory members, in addition to the Alaska Native seat, include an advisory member from each local military installation in which FNSBSD schools operate, and a member from the regional student council. Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/gDidW9ZD

Champion Minds! On the latest episode of Alaska EdVenture Podcast, Superintendent Dr. Meinert sits down with Academic Decathlon national and state champions from Lathrop High School - Jeffrey Goddard, Elias Carosso, and Joaquin Carosso. youtu.be/aCe4MiRyOwM

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has earned the Certificate of Excellence (COE) in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International. ASBO International’s COE recognizes districts that have met the program’s high standards for financial reporting and transparency. FNSBSD earned the Certificate of Excellence for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended 2023. “In a time of extremely limited financial resources, financial transparency and accuracy has never been more important," said Andy DeGraw, chief operations officer. Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/gksTub4d

Alaska EdVenture Episode #16 with Superintendent Dr. Meinert, features two of our elementary teachers, Jessica Weber, Midnight Sun Elementary School, and Nicole Krenzke, Ticasuk Brown Elementary School. Tune in to learn about the implementation of Walk to Read in our schools to improve early literacy and its impact on school culture: https://lnkd.in/gwFuAm3r

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to our FNSBSD Teachers! Thank you to all the amazing teachers throughout the district who educate and inspire our students every day. Your dedication and hard work is greatly appreciated. "Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be." -Rita F. Pierson Make sure to celebrate and #ThankATeacher this week.

Join Superintendent Dr. Meinert on the Alaska EdVenture Podcast, as he sits down with Georgia Sandgren, Military Student Support Coordinator, and Raul Lopez, Board Student Council Representative and Ben Eielson Junior & Senior High School student, for a conversation about military-connected families in our school district. Tune in for a discussion on resilience, support, and upcoming events to celebrate our military families as we recognize the Month of the Military Child in April. We are thankful for the service and sacrifice of the military families in our community! https://lnkd.in/gZnYty-c

Music in Our Schools, episode #11 of Alaska EdVenture Podcast is LIVE! Superintendent Dr. Meinert is joined by two exceptional musicians and educators, Liesl Wietgrefe, Assistant Principal at West Valley High School, and Erin Janoso, Vice President of Fairbanks Community Band. Together, they discuss music opportunities available in Fairbanks, highlight the significance of music education, the Jump Start Music Program, and the Music in Our Schools Month. YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gE-tFtcY Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gMSrWwQH

Community partners Fairbanks Nissan and SunDog Community Fitness, together awarded over 370 special education staff with certificates of services totaling $128,000! "At SunDog Community Fitness, we are inspired by the commitment of the Special Education Staff to our community," said Les Nichols, owner of Sundog Community Fitness. "This initiative is our way of saying thank you and encouraging them to prioritize their health and well-being." Certificates include oil changes and inspections from Fairbanks Nissan, free one-month coached functional fitness classes at Sundog Community Fitness, and a complimentary In-Body, body composition test. "It is extremely gratifying to be able to thank our hard-working special education staff in this way and to spotlight their dedicated service to the Fairbanks community,” said Kate Hall, executive director of special education. Thank you to our incredible partners for their generosity and support in recognizing the hard work of our special education staff! https://lnkd.in/g_akW53f

Earn a free college credit and start your journey toward becoming a teacher! The UAF School of Education is offering a one credit course open to all FNSBSD support staff, substitutes, and community members. Led by Instructor Michael Angaiak, the course will be held February 19–21 at the West Valley High Library. Interested applicants must be fully registered with UAF before the class starts. Register online at www.alaska.edu/uaonline/ Optional UAF registration assistance will be available February 1, at 6:00 p.m. via ZOOM. Contact Colleen Angaiak [email protected] for assistance. For more information, contact Tara Pletnikoff at [email protected]

“At Arctic Light Elementary we serve a unique population of students that come to us from all over the world," said Principal Blackwell. "Our students are almost all military-connected and bring diverse experiences that make our school amazing. Our staff works hard to make every student and family feel welcome and accepted at our school. We love building relationships with our students and families to help ensure their success at school." Arctic Light Elementary school was selected as a Category 3 of the National ESEA Award–a school that has shown excellence in serving special populations of students. This video will be presented with their award recognition at the 2024 National ESEA Conference. Congratulations Arctic Light Elementary! Read more at https://lnkd.in/d-Ar7_cN