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CLARION
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P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 45, Issue 81
Question How long are you able to keep your New Year’s resolutions? n At least until Jan. 2; n I usually make it into February; n Through the summer; n I’ve kept a resolution until I’ve met a goal or for a whole year; n I don’t make resolutions.
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KPBSD deals with larger classes By KELLY SULLIVAN Peninsula Clarion
This school year, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District teachers have been responsible for educating larger groups of students in their classrooms than in previous years. The 2014-15 school year District Class Size Enrollment report has revealed an increase in class size, meaning a higher pupil-teacher ratio. Interim Superintendent Sean Dusek presented the report to the board of education during a Dec. 1 work session, prompting a discussion among board
members about sufficient staffing in core classes. The report breaks down the district’s 44 buildings that house students into four categories. High schools saw on average .2 more students per classroom, middle schools saw 1.3 more students per classroom, elementary schools saw .3 more students per classroom, and the average of small and other schools combined remained the same. “We made an adjustment, and that’s to be expected, but it wasn’t, in my mind, dramatic,” Dusek said. “Nor should it have been.”
During the presentation, Dusek said it more schools are offering Advanced Placement courses. He attributed the new courses to administrators wanting to better prepare their students for college, and make them more competitive for scholarship opportunities. Soldotna High School principal Todd Syverson said this year’s reconfiguration, which also included Soldotna Prep School and Skyview Middle School, resulted in more students attending the high school. Staffing increased and consequently more courses were offered, he said.
New courses, including world history, were added to the curriculum, journalism and creative writing are now elective options in the class schedule, Syverson said in a previous Clarion interview. However, board member Penny Vadla said she noticed worryingly large English and Social Studies class sizes in the report. “I saw an English class that had thirty students in it, and I really questioned that because that person probably has five English classes, and five English classes times 22 to 30 students is 130 to 150 kids a day,”
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In the news
By BOB SEAVEY Associated Press
Migrant flow from Caribbean spikes A recent spike in Cubans attempting to reach the United States by sea has generated headlines. But the numbers of Haitians and other Caribbean islanders making similar journeys are up even more. And while federal law grants legal residency to Cubans reaching U.S. soil, anyone else can be detained and deported. That law, the so-called wet foot-dry foot policy, and Coast Guard operations related to migrants remain unchanged even as Cuban and U.S. leaders say they are restoring diplomatic relations after more than 50 years. “The Coast Guard strongly discourages attempts to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea. These trips are extremely dangerous. Individuals located at sea may be returned to Cuba,” said Lt. Cmdr. Gabe Somma, spokesman for the Coast Guard’s 7th District in Miami. According to the Coast Guard, in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, U.S. authorities captured, intercepted or chased away at least 5,585 Haitians, 3,940 Cubans and hundreds from the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries attempting to sneak into the country.
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See KPBSD, page A-9
Palin family photo stirs debate
To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com. Results and selected comments will be posted each Tuesday in the Clarion, and a new question will be asked. Suggested questions may be submitted online or e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com. C
Vadla said. “An English class is supposed to teach writing, and they cant possibly do that, even if they do peer evaluations, and do it effectively so that these kids are prepared for college.” Dusek explained that counselors and administrators at individual schools are responsible for scheduling class sizes, and he felt uneasy about advising staff on how many students to put in each classroom. The less frequently offered courses, such as the AP studies, are likely to have larger class sizes to accommodate student interest, he said.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Long nights A long-exposure shot shows light shining in pools on the Kenai Spur Highway after a 4:11 p.m. sunset on Sunday in Kenai.
A photo of Sarah Palin’s young son standing on a dog to reach the kitchen sink is drawing sharp reaction. The image of 6-year-old Trig, presumably preparing to wash dishes, and the reclining and seemingly relaxed black Lab-type animal is posted on the former Alaska governor’s Facebook page. “ May 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a stepping stone on the path forward. Trig just reminded me. He, determined to help wash dishes with an oblivious mama not acknowledging his signs for “up!”, found me and a lazy dog blocking his way. He made his stepping stone,” she wrote. The online response to the one-time Republican vice presidential nominee’s New Year’s Day post was fast and at times furious. There were nearly 70,000 responses liking the photo along with a wide variety of comment. Some blamed Palin, her politics, or called it animal mistreatment. Others offered her support and said the dog would have moved if it had been hurt. The president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals commented Saturday, the Oregonian reported. See DOG, page A-9
Concerns rise over US State closes DEC anti-prison rape law’s fate office in Bethel REBECCA BOONE Associated Press
When Congress passed a law in 2003 aimed at ending sexual assault in U.S. prisons, jails and juvenile detention centers, survivors like Jan Lastocy were hopeful that it would help solve the long-ignored problem. Lastocy and a coalition of inmate advocacy groups and evangelical groups had worked for years to convince policymakers and corrections officials that rape behind bars shouldn’t be accepted, even if the public
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
In this Oct. 17 photo an offender is searched by a correctional officer at the Washington Corrections Center For Women in Gig Harbor, Wash.
had little sympathy for its vic- to this issue and get justice for tims. “I felt vindicated because myself and for all survivors,” I had been fighting so hard, and said Lastocy. for so long, to bring attention See PRISON, page A-9 C M Y
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BETHEL, Alaska (AP) — The state has closed the Bethel office of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, citing budgetary issues and restructuring. The DEC’s spill and response office in Bethel closed Dec. 31, just after the retirement of Bob Carlson, the sole DEC employee in Bethel, KYUK (http://is.gd/EVTtfE) reported. Financial considerations played a role in the decision not to relocate someone to Bethel, said Steve Russell, the DEC’s environmental program manager in Anchorage. He said Carlson’s departure sped the process. Spill prevention and response will now be handled out of Anchorage. Russell said his office already responds to Kodiak, Bristol Bay, the Aleutians and other communities off the road system. Adding the Yukon-Kuskokwim region is not that big of a deal, according to Russell. See DEC, page A-9