Tag: Schools

3 Homer High seniors recognized as National Merit Scholarship finalists

Three Homer High School seniors, Spencer Co, Blaise Banks and Lucas Story, recently received recognition as finalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship program. The recognition is based on scores received on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test that the students took as juniors. According Homer High School counselor Paul Story, who is […]

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Ron “Never Back Down” DeSantis Backs Down on Disastrous Book Ban Law

“I can tell you from everything I know about it, he’s going to be found guilty,” Cohen, the former Trump lawyer, said during The New Republic’s Stop Trump Summit in October. “This is the Al Capone theory,” he added. “They didn’t get him on murder, extortion, racketeering, prostitution, etc., they got him on tax evasion. […]

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Ron DeSantis Finally Admits War on Books Has Been a Total Disaster

“I can tell you from everything I know about it, he’s going to be found guilty,” Cohen, the former Trump lawyer, said during The New Republic’s Stop Trump Summit in October. “This is the Al Capone theory,” he added. “They didn’t get him on murder, extortion, racketeering, prostitution, etc., they got him on tax evasion. […]

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‘You are in deficit’: New school district software lets users fill budget gaps

Do you have opinions about what the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District should be doing to offset a forecast $13 million deficit heading into the next fiscal year? The district wants to hear from you. New software, which went live Monday, gamifies KPBSD’s budget process by presenting users with a list of projected revenues and […]

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West Homer Elementary hosts chess tournament

Eighty-five students from Homer area schools in grades three through eight competed in a chess tournament at West Homer Elementary School on Friday. Schools represented at the tournament included Chapman School, Connections, Fireweed Academy, McNeil Canyon Elementary, West Homer Elementary and Homer Middle School. Charley Ringer was one of the teachers at the event. The […]

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Poetry Out Loud: Homer High students advance to regional poetry competition

Homer High School hosted the annual Poetry Out Loud recitation contest last Wednesday, Jan. 24. Students school-wide were tasked with memorizing a poem and high-scoring students were invited to participate in the student-body competition held in the Mariner Theater. The recitation project begins in the classroom with students in December and January selecting a poem […]

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Florida’s Book Ban Is Now Targeting… Dictionaries?

The problems with ADL’s reporting methods have been obvious for some time to anyone paying close attention. As Eric Alterman wrote for The New Republic, the ADL has, since its founding, repeatedly changed its counting method—and then followed these periodic rejiggerings with reports asserting massive increases in antisemitic incidents. Even more troubling, the organization habitually […]

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Florida School District Removes Dictionaries Due to “Sexual” Content

The problems with ADL’s reporting methods have been obvious for some time to anyone paying close attention. As Eric Alterman wrote for The New Republic, the ADL has, since its founding, repeatedly changed its counting method—and then followed these periodic rejiggerings with reports asserting massive increases in antisemitic incidents. Even more troubling, the organization habitually […]

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Florida’s War on Books Has Found a New Casualty: The Dictionary

The problems with ADL’s reporting methods have been obvious for some time to anyone paying close attention. As Eric Alterman wrote for The New Republic, the ADL has, since its founding, repeatedly changed its counting method—and then followed these periodic rejiggerings with reports asserting massive increases in antisemitic incidents. Even more troubling, the organization habitually […]

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‘Budget 101’: How KPBSD organizes funds

How the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District organizes the money it gets and spends was the subject of the final installment in the district’s informational “Budget 101” series, which Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes delivered to school board members during a Dec. 4 work session. Hayes kicked off the presentation, which was billed as an explanation […]

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Alaska’s adjusted school spending trails national average, UAA researchers say

Alaska spends less on K-12 education than the national average when adjustments for Alaska’s rural and urban communities are made. That was the thesis of a presentation given by Dr. Dayna DeFeo, the director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, during a public forum on school spending hosted by the University of Alaska […]

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School funding, accountability dominate school board work session with lawmakers

School funding and accountability were key themes during a Monday work session that brought together members of the local school board and three of the Kenai Peninsula’s state lawmakers. Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, Rep. Ben Carpenter and Rep. Justin Ruffridge joined the board for a work session in Soldotna to discuss what the Kenai Peninsula Borough […]

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School board finance group reviews expenditures ahead of upcoming budget cycle

As the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District prepares to grapple with another $13 million deficit for the upcoming budget cycle, members of the school board are looking to educate themselves and the public about what’s at stake if they’re forced to make cuts. Members of the school board’s Finance Committee convened Tuesday for a “Budget […]

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School board briefed on role of AI in education

Task automation and learning augmentation are among the ways use of artificial intelligence in classrooms may benefit teachers and students within the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. That was the crux of a presentation given to school board members during a work session last week by Amanda Adams, KPBSD’s virtual learning and professional development coordinator. […]

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‘Budget 101’: School district savings accounts

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s savings accounts were the subject of the latest installment in the district’s “Budget 101” series, which aims to inform the general public about how its budget process works. KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes gave the Nov. 6 presentation, which was delivered to members of the school board during a […]

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Homer High musicians to perform at statewide concert

Seventeen Homer High School music students were selected to perform in the Alaska All-State honor band and choir event taking place in Anchorage on Saturday. Hosted by the Alaska School Activities Association, the music festival will feature performances by students who have auditioned from across the state. “Because this is an ASAA-sponsored event, every school […]

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In-person esports match goes down to wire

In a small classroom at Nikiski Middle-High School, the Kenai Peninsula’s second in-person esports match was held Oct. 23, with visiting Kenai Central going the distance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate but falling to the Bulldogs 3-2. Smash, a platform fighting game with a roster of over 100 playable characters, challenges players to knock their […]

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