Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Programs Recognition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Schonbar Middle earns AMLE distinction; Fawn Mountain principal outlines K–3 focus and new programs
Summary
The board presented Schonbar Middle School with an AMLE School of Distinction award and heard a detailed principal report from Fawn Mountain Elementary about class sizes, curriculum, social‑emotional programs and plans for communication boards to help nonverbal students on playgrounds.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District board recognized Schonbar Middle School as a 2025 AMLE School of Distinction and received a report from Adi Roth, principal of Fawn Mountain Elementary School, on that school’s transition to a K–3 model and new instructional and social‑emotional programs.
Board members presented a certificate to Schoenbar staff; Principal Sherry Bollert told the board the school will send a team to the national AMLE conference in November to present the school’s interdisciplinary camping and survival program. The board noted Schönbar is one of 24 middle schools nationally to earn the honor and the only such school in Alaska on the West Coast this year.
Principal Adi Roth described Fawn Mountain’s staffing and programming: “We are at a total of 172 kids for the school year currently,” Roth said, and outlined the school’s preschool partnership (an IEA pre‑K), two teachers in several primary grades, two SPED teachers, sixteen paraprofessionals and specialty teachers for music, PE and library. Roth summarized assessment data and the school’s use of MAPs and mClass testing to drive small‑group instruction and IRIPs. She described a schoolwide morning meeting and a social‑emotional curriculum, and said the school will offer trust‑based relational interventions for paras and teachers, plus monthly check‑ins on SEL implementation.
Roth also described a donor‑funded project to install playground communication boards to help nonverbal students communicate without bringing iPads outside. “We are working on a donor to fund front all of the costs and the mounts ... and we are making them for every elementary school,” she said.
The student representative, Lily Padair, delivered a student report and said, “We’re 4 weeks into the school year, and so far, we’re off to a fantastic start,” highlighting student activities, clubs and improved lunch service.
Why it matters: the AMLE designation recognizes schoolwide instructional practices and community engagement at Schonbar; Fawn Mountain’s K–3 model, SEL programs and accessibility projects are intended to improve early literacy, inclusive practices and student engagement in the district’s youngest grades.
Next steps: the board congratulated school staff and said it expected continued updates on Fawn Mountain’s third‑grade assessment results and on fundraising and installation for the playground communication boards.
