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Presenters: Lexie Domaradzki and Shelby Skaanes
Dates: October 24, November 7, 14, 21 (Mondays)

For many children, learning to read is a challenging undertaking. This webinar series has been developed to support the Alaska Reads Act, which is designed to improve reading outcomes for Alaskan students.  In this webinar series we will use the Science of Reading to guide our work focused on the lower strands of the Scarborough Rope Model. The Reading Rope, created by Dr. Hollis Scarborough, illustrates the development of skilled reading, and provides a window into understanding the complexity of reading. The lower strand, Word Recognition, consists of phonological awareness, decoding, and word recognition. Throughout each session we will focus on the acquisition of early literacy skills, best practices in reading instruction and strategies to support struggling readers receiving intervention.

Target Audience: Grade K-5 Educators.

Session 1 – The Science of Reading 

Through 40 years of research findings from numerous fields of study, we have a thorough understanding of how the brain works when engaged in the reading process. In this session we will discuss why some students struggle with reading and what factors promote or interfere with children’s progress, we will deepen understanding of the research behind how individuals learn to read, the brain regions involved in reading and we will take a close look at models of skilled reading.

Session 2 – Phonological Awareness

Phonological Awareness includes several skills related to an individual’s understanding of how a spoken language works and the different ways a word can be broken down. Research has shown that students with good phonological awareness are in a great position to become good readers, while students with poor phonological awareness almost always struggle in reading (Kilpatrick, Equipped for Reading Success). In this session we will provide information and modeling of best practices to enhance core instruction and support struggling students in intervention. We will cover basic as well as advanced phonological awareness skills. Participants will have the opportunity to practice and engage in conversations with colleagues from around the state. 

Session 3 – Phonics/Decoding

Decoding requires that a student knows that written letters correspond to speech sounds and that these speech sounds are combined together to make a word. In this session we will provide information about the phoneme-grapheme relationship, we will model explicit instructional routines for core instruction and intervention and introduce phoneme-grapheme mapping activities to support increased proficiency in decoding and encoding. Participants will have the opportunity to practice and engage in conversations with colleagues from around the state.                                                                                  

Session 4 – Word RecognitionSight Recognition is the ability of an individual to look at any word they come across and automatically know what it says. In this session we will clarify the difference between regular and irregular words and model instructional routines to enhance core instruction and support struggling students in intervention.  We will also cover intensifications to use with students who struggle with sight word recognition and discuss the role of decodable text. Participants will have the opportunity to practice and engage in conversations with colleagues from around the state.

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with Dr. Lisa Parady

October 26, November 9, 16 and 30 (Wednesdays)
Time: 3:45-5:15 p.m.

No cost to attend the series for ACSA members and ASDN member districts educators.
Target Audience: Educators (K-12) interested in getting involved in advocacy, especially principals and new school administrators.

Optional one credit available (Pass/Fail) $145

Do you want to make your voice heard in education policy decisions in Alaska? This four-part webinar series will teach you the basics of advocating in the Alaska Legislature from the perspective of an Alaska educator. You’ll learn how to stay updated on bills and the legislative process, the best ways to build relationships with your legislators, and how to communicate your perspective to policymakers and your community.

Expected learning outcomes

• Understand how to engage with legislators during and outside of legislative session
• Explore how to prepare written and oral testimony for bill hearings
• Learn how to research relevant information on bills and hearings using BASIS
• Investigate how to write effective op-eds to engage communities in advocacy discussions

Session One: Education Advocacy in Alaska
This session provides an introduction to Alaska politics and the legislature. We will discuss caucuses, budget and Permanent Fund basics. We will consider the education funding overview, recent legislative focuses and highlight a few bills that we will use throughout the series.

Session Two: During Legislative Session
Learn how to stay engaged during the legislative session using Basis. Explore ways to advocate during session through written or verbal testimony, and through one-on-one meetings with your legislator.

Session Three: Outside of Legislative Session – Building Relationships
Learn how to contact your representatives and introduce yourself as a resource. Investigate ways to build relationships with your legislators and involve them in your school community.

Session Four: Advocacy as a Public School Employee
This session will discuss advocacy in your community and advocacy with other educators across the state.

Dr. Lisa Skiles Parady became the Executive Director of the Alaska Council of School Administrators in 2014 and has brought her energy and passion for education advocacy to the position. The Mission of ACSA is: Leadership, Unity and Advocacy for Public Education. ACSA was created to serve as the umbrella organization for Alaska’s school administrators forty-five years ago. Dr. Parady joined ACSA after six years in Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow) as the Acting Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent of the North Slope Borough School District. She led the district’s curriculum and evaluation processes and dealt with the many issues that confront rural districts – educator recruitment and retention, engaging students with curriculum that matters to them, and the day-to-day challenges of school and district administration. Before moving to Alaska, she served as Chief of Staff in the Wyoming Department of Education, as Director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, and as Senior Policy Analyst in the Governor’s office responsible for all K-12 education, higher education, health and social service issues, was an adjunct professor and was managing partner in a general law practice. Dr. Parady holds a Juris Doctorate and a Doctorate in Education Leadership and Administration.

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