[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6603998,"mediaKeyId","2994824-877db25f7ce93dd205681c386d00f48c","parentId",2994824,"title","State and education groups form Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center to tackle teacher shortage","audioSeconds",2943,"startMs",4191000,"endMs",7134000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2994824-877db25f7ce93dd205681c386d00f48c&start=4191&end=7134","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2994824-877db25f7ce93dd205681c386d00f48c/thumbnail_4191000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6603998/Alaska/State-and-education-groups-form-Alaska-Educator-Retention-and-Recruitment-Center-to-tackle-teacher-shortage","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6603998-8aeec34830693fd1b954cf5ecb114a41/orig.mp4?Expires=1770498019&Signature=LCXn~QJfMlLQRUeg7XGVVYnpnbEvX6T2HGQwFgn9VnS5h6W7nl2d49F0oVr2YN-DL~27oiUSEJDJGUW3WXybj8Dmwjr8PHZatCQaAXumtlI-hyqruKn4FqwupQEEdqxIEK80w-TvUlNNwdI39SUJKaXV6eXILIaLLNnj98FU0UDO4qfbH1wKnxqrkQa2B6fxWwmUl8pAmJeoWVF87DmJMU4kGjkUcd67si4lLMXdvh0RmrJ9tJiF3KdKNHTIYbLfN~1YMwt7jLgpVcA5rKYcbwy7WbkQP2JTVh9xM1Is4Q9-QbDHWAcp3qKiQ4Lp0foVZxddEA2RCKGznYrqvcsOLg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alaska Legislature","date","2025-04-14T00:00:00Z","article","The Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA) told the House Education Committee on April 14 that the state faces an acute teacher shortage and that a newly formed Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center (ARC) will serve as a stakeholder hub to implement recommendations from the state’s Teacher Retention and Recruitment (TRR) playbook.

“Some kind of benefit is better than none,” ACSA Executive Director Lisa Paradis said in response to a question about whether modest defined‑benefit retirement options would help retain educators. Paradis and other presenters told the committee that a suite of policies — not a single solution — will be necessary to stem shortages and improve retention.

What the committee heard: DEED Deputy Director Kelly Manning summarized turnover and vacancy data showing the problem’s scale. Citing Regional Education Lab Northwest analysis, presenters said Alaska’s teacher turnover rate is about 22%, with principal turnover near 18%; turnover is substantially higher in rural‑remote districts. Manning and Paradis also described steep increases in first‑day vacancies in recent years and emphasized the practical impact of vacancies that go unfilled despite emergency certificates or substitutes.

ACSA and ARC activities: Paradis said ACSA’s board decided to add a division — the Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center — to coordinate implementation of the TRR playbook. Jennifer Schmitz, director of ARC and an ACSA staff member, told the committee ARC’s work has three strands: (1) a steering committee to implement TRR playbook recommendations, (2) Alaska Teachers and Personnel (AT&P) services to centralize job postings and host job fairs, and (3) international‑hire support to assist districts that sponsor teachers from abroad and to reduce middlemen that can charge fees to educators.

Jennifer Schmitz said ARC’s first virtual job fair had strong interest from international applicants: about 1,600 people initially signed up, roughly 700 attended the event, and about 1,450 of the registered applicants were international applicants. Schmitz said about 14 district participants took part in the fair; ARC is vetting international candidates and working with districts to connect them to openings.

Other implementation steps include a new exit‑and‑stay survey being developed by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) to collect longitudinal reasons why educators leave or remain, and a planned omnibus bill that DEED and partners say will translate several playbook recommendations into statute. Paradis said the ACSA and partners are running multiple pipeline programs (aspiring principals, early career principal supports, new superintendent cohorts) designed to grow local leadership and reduce reliance on out‑of‑state recruitment.

Committee members asked for additional data. Representative Andy Story asked for a breakdown of vacancies by special education and classroom positions; Deputy Director Manning said the department will provide follow‑up. Members also requested detail on how many positions are filled with emergency certifications and the relationship between headcount changes and vacancy percentages.

The presenters framed the work as long‑term and multi‑pronged: central coordination through ARC, improved data collection (ISER/REL), targeted pipeline and induction supports, and potential legislative and retirement‑system changes to address compensation and retention.

No formal committee action or statutory changes were decided during the hearing; presenters said they would provide requested vacancy breakdowns and further data to the committee.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","04/14/2025 08:00 AM House EDUCATION","oneSentenceSummary","ACSA, DEED and the newly formed Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center briefed the House Education Committee on April 14 about an accelerating teacher shortage and a multi‑agency plan to implement the TRR playbook recommendations.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Alaska, Alaska","taxId",78559,"location","Alaska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6604002,"Alaska school boards push career-guide model to connect students to jobs",1652,686000,2338000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2994824-877db25f7ce93dd205681c386d00f48c&start=686&end=2338","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2994824-877db25f7ce93dd205681c386d00f48c/thumbnail_686000.jpg","/articles/6604002/Alaska/Alaska-school-boards-push-career-guide-model-to-connect-students-to-jobs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6604002-e1c2a994c1acc1a1ec198a44b02521c7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770498019&Signature=ZskvhfiIBDlgP9v3NFNZSnYg-R6Ce8CjxsuaIpzlE3KwpZ~V1w4ygmcC9-jUW0anoT-sJmxz6L03aDLus5WbUUbu1YQ2eQzYG9ZhKNb1uSxFCNB6~blLClhpo0B2epQFX40lAlz~5ymw4E1FwWTkAwDZjwMR8QGQhZOZFxvvis5XOFTMvjh06o37PezwWnI0pJMgTr4VP~ftgtr6D0R9H~wW-9~ZqWJGKdEHPJrVghEiOASwqOm4cIdUO6TJrBg8zsNClKkyanP3KYLoysyaL2J--bKS7z82s36Cx7mGUZHrkoar3q1W3YnGe2tN3yPH3hkaEcuOJCdpKACUMpfNlw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Emily Ferry, family engagement manager for the Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB), told the House Education Committee on April 14 that “career guides is one of the six strategies” identified in a recent cross‑industry workforce report to help connect K‑12 students to postsecondary education, training and employment.

The proposal centers on placing trained people — called career guides, coaches or advisors — in schools or regional hubs to help students plan and access education, apprenticeships, certifications or local employment. Ferry said the approach aims to counter long‑term declines in Alaska students’ postsecondary enrollment and a high rate of “disconnected youth” who are neither in school nor work.

Why it matters: Alaska’s high school senior enrollment in 2‑ or 4‑year degree programs has fallen from about 52% in 2013 to roughly 33% today, Ferry told the committee, citing the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education’s Higher Education Almanac. Ferry also said only about 21% of Alaska seniors had completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as of April 4, compared with a 44% national average; she told the committee that failing to complete FAFSA could leave about $7.4 million in federal aid unclaimed by Alaskan students.

Committee members pressed for operational details. Representative Andy Story asked whether the current Regional Career Guide pilot — which places guides through the Department of Labor in regional hubs rather than as school employees — should be compared with prior in‑school pilots. “Isn’t it important to take note that this Regional Career Guide pilot program is different from the program we had before ... the people were stationed in the high school?” Story said. Ferry replied that both models exist in Alaska and that what matters most is the guide’s relationship with students and school counselors.

Ferry pointed to a past example in Bethel: a grant‑funded career‑guide program at Bethel Regional High School that she said produced a 65% rate of seniors enrolling in 2‑ or 4‑year programs in February 2016 — about double current statewide rates — until the program ended for lack of sustained funding. She described ongoing collaborations involving SeaAlaska Heritage Institute, Bristol Bay Region CTE, the Department of Labor and the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) to pilot new, sustainable models.

Funding and sustainability were recurring concerns. Ferry said districts sometimes absorb career‑guide positions into regular budgets, but that many programs have relied on federal grants and philanthropic partners; she warned those grants may not be permanent. She said RootEd Alliance and other national partners are working with Alaskan communities to adapt models to rural and culturally specific contexts.

Several members raised the question of how career‑guide metrics should account for Alaska‑specific activities such as subsistence work. Ferry acknowledged the limitation of national metrics and said the committee should consider how measures capture meaningful local contributions in rural and Indigenous communities.

Ferry described the guides as people who do not necessarily need a master’s degree but do require training, and she emphasized that the model can include a range of postsecondary pathways — from trade certificates and CTE programs to 2‑ and 4‑year degrees — to suit students’ goals.

The AASB told the committee it is tracking pilot outcomes and intends to return with more evidence about cost effectiveness and student outcomes. Ferry and AASB executive director Lon Garrison said they are collecting data from pilot sites and coordinating partners so the committee can review results before recommending sustained funding or statutory changes.

The presentation prompted committee members to request more detail on program design, funding sources, and whether data collection will track student outcomes beyond traditional college enrollment.","At an April 14 House Education Committee hearing, the Association of Alaska School Boards described 'career guides' — staff who coach students into postsecondary education, training and work — as a key strategy to address Alaska’s shrinking working‑age population and an anticipated need for thousands of new workers.","actionData","errors"]

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State and education groups form Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center to tackle teacher shortage

Alaska school boards push career-guide model to connect students to jobs