Sharing Alaska Native Knowledge for (and with) youth
The “Sharing Our Knowledge” conference, a four-day event highlighting and celebrating Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Alaska Native history, language, education, and traditional ecological knowledge took place in Sitka, March 29 – April 1. The multi-disciplinary conference had Alaska Native tradition bearers, academics, elders, fluent speakers, and about 70 youth in attendance.
Photos courtesy of Peter Metcalfe
Watch various sessions from the conference online, including the Aanka Xoodzi book panel, for perspectives and insight into these fascinating Native cultures and what they continue to provide for the fabric of Alaska.
The gathering is an opportunity to take stock of the present, honor the past, and carry forward cultural knowledge and heritage into the future . For complete conference information, including photos and session topics, visit: http://ankn.uaf.edu/ClanConference2.
Conference panel for Aanka Xoodzi (l to r): Liz Dodd, Paul Marks, Ernestine Hayes, Nora and RIchard Dauenhauer, Kassie Littlefield, Keri Eggleston, Roby Littlefield, Ethel Makinen, Marsha Hotch. Panelists discuss the process of producing Hayes’s Tlingit language version of Town Bear, Forest Bear.
Imagination Library hits new high page 2
Youth-led Summer Projects page 3
Fairbanks Kuspuk Club page 4
Kids These Days • summer 2012 •
Summer Reading page 5
YAHA looking for teen opinions
Youth (ages 14-18) have the opportunity to join the Youth Alliance for a Healthier Alaska and other teens across the state to voice their ideas and opinions. You can help shape the way the State of Alaska responds to important teen issues such as substance abuse, suicide, violence, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and nutrition & fitness. Applications are due no later than 5pm July 31st, 2012. FInd out more, and apply, here.
Imagination Library enrollment hits new high
KTD• 2
from Best Beginnings Alaska
A children’s literacy program continues to expand in Alaska, with 18,029 children now enrolled in 29 Imagination Libraries serving 93 communities. In the past year, alone, Imagination Library has sent 191,910 books to Alaska children. New Imagination Libraries were launched in April in Togiak, Yukon Flats, Copper River Valley, and Anchor Point. Delta Junction launched its Imagination Library in May. Valdez expects to start theirs this summer, with Galena and Tanana in process. Imagination Library mails a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child from birth to age 5 who signs up for the program in their community, regardless of family income. There is no charge to participating families. Best Beginnings and local communities raise funds to pay for the books, mailing costs, and family engagement activities. The Dollywood Foundation manages the book delivery system.
www.BestBeginningsAlaska.org
Now...and Then When Best Beginnings took on the mission to expand Imagination in April 2009, there were just five affiliates – in Nome, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Hoonah, Wainwright, and Southeast – with 3,673 children enrolled. It now reaches over 18,000 children in 93 communities!
Best Beginnings’ approach is that Imagination Library is more than a book delivery program. It’s a way to get whole families and communities involved in early literacy – and help to ensure children begin school ready to succeed.
Kids These Days • summer 2012 •
Alaska Teen Media Institute recognized by the Alaska Press Club
Second Place for Best Education Reporting (RADIO) titled, “Advertising in School” by Aviva Hirsch (Note: This story aired on “Kids These Days.”) Second Place for Best Profile (RADIO) titled, “Hi, I’m Matt” by Max Jungreis Listen to ATMI shows and share your voice at: www.alaskateenmedia.org
Second Place for Best Ongoing Public Affairs program (RADIO) Third Place for Best User-Submitted Online Package (ALL MEDIA) titled “What was the last thing that made you really happy?” For more information on the awards, visit alaskapressclub.org or listen to past award-winning stories at the ATMI website.
www.alaskaice.org
The Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement (Alaska ICE) offers $500 cash awards for qualified youthled service projects three times a year. Eligible projects involve youth-adult partnerships that plan and carry out community-based service activities. The window for summer projects has closed, but if you’d like to be placed on the application list for fall, contact Bridget Smith at (907) 463-1660 or bsmith@aasb.org. For community service ideas, check out some of our past projects from 2010 and 2011. A Few Recent Service Projects Seward: Donations to a Community food bank Old Harbor: Choose Respect March to strengthen the values of our families and the values of our people. Sutton: Sharing healthier ideas for for family nutrition Cooper Landing: Building a greenhouse and making trail improvements including new benches and birdhouses
Kids These Days • summer 2012 •
KTD• 3
Apply for a Youth-led Community Project stipend
Pearl Creek Kuspuk Club lifts students, builds relationships Culture and art are two key ingredients for social and academic growth. At Pearl Creek Elementary in Fairbanks and many schools throughout the state, they also help to make learning fun and relevant for students. Pearl Creek Elementary School teachers Jackie Martin, Mary Maisch, and Kristi McEwen created Generational Threads: Kuspuk Club as another way to infuse the arts and culture into their school to inspire students.
Photos courtesy of Malcolm McEwen
The teachers received an Arts TOPs stipend from AASB in June 2011. They decided to form a sewing group for sixth grade students with adult mentors to help along the way. “Our goals were to provide opportunities for youth to participate in creative and cultural activities, to work with positive role models, and to experience the effects of a caring school community,” Maisch shared.
KTD• 4
The six-month project (started in October) had the club meeting weekly, with seven students (one boy and six girls) and six adults (three teachers, one parent, and two volunteers) working closely together.
The project culminated in a potluck celebration held at the end of March. Students proudly wore their handmade kuspuks and performed a traditional Yup’ik song and dance for the audience. “We are hoping to provide a similar opportunity for a new group of students in the coming year,” said Maisch. “We are very grateful to AASB for the successful launch of this wonderful project for our students.”
Spark Opportunity Challenge announces winners The Spark Opportunity Challenge was a national social media campaign designed to spotlight youth-driven solutions and identify new ideas from young people from all walks of life. The aim, through video and text submissions, was to reconnect young people with the education, training and comprehensive social supports critical for long-term employment and lifelong economic independence. The five winners are: Justin Harris - Envision With Me Jasmine Babers - Self Esteem Magazine Bentrice Jusu - Both Hands Ryan Dalton - The P.U.S.H. Project Anushka Das - Lessons of Katrina Kids These Days • summer 2012 •
The top-voted winners received an iPad, start-up grants of $1,500, and mentoring from recognized business and policy leaders to see their ideas brought to life locally.
Kids These Days radio awarded top program www.kidsthesedays.org
Congratulations to Kids These Days radio! The Kids These Days radio team received the “Best Ongoing Public Affairs” program by the Alaska Press Club for the second year in a row. With interesting and relevant weekly topics and guests, KTD radio has produced a host of excellent shows and collected numerous related resources. Check out the KTD website to learn about topics like child obesity, getting ready for college, cultural education, technology in the classroom, and much more.
The KTD production team (l to r): Jessica Cochran, Sarah Gonzales, and Shana Sheehy
www.kidsthesedays.org At the KTD website you can browse and listen to previous shows, post comments or questions and find services for families. KTD radio is an independently produced show, underwritten with funding from AASB’s Alaska ICE.
Dream Big - Read! this summer Book Lists for Different Reading Levels
Teacher’s Choices 2012 Reading List from the Teachers’ Choices project
Battle of the Books is an Alaskan reading motivation program, popular with students, teachers and parents. New lists of books for each level are compiled each year by a committee of librarians and teachers.
What a Small World! from the Chlidren’s Book Council Middle School Books from Talk Story, an American Indian/Alaska Native website
View the tentative list for 2012-2013
Produced by: The Association of Alaska School Boards’ Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement 1111 West 9th Street, Juneau, AK 99801 (907) 463-1660 Fax: (907) 586-2995 E-mail: aasb@aasb.org Web: www.alaskaice.org
The content of this newsletter was developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, this content does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal government.
Kids These Days • summer 2012 •
KTD• 5
2012 Notable Books from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)