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Above all other assumptions is our unanimous conviction that we are "standing on the shoulders of giants" in developing the English/Language Arts Framework. We have used a wide variety of documents and writings by others. We are particularly indebted to all the dedicated teachers in Alaska. The English/Language Arts Framework Draft document was distributed to 200 educators across the state for review. We appreciate all comments received, both orally and in writing. Special thanks to Anchorage School District's teachers Ruth Doherty, Julie Gibeault, Peggy Marron, and Anita Vancil. Thanks also to Kim Christopherson of the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development, Linn Clawson of the Alaska Staff Development Network, and the following organizations: Alaska Council of Teachers of English, Alaska State Literacy Association, Alaska State Writing Consortium, Alaska Teacher Researcher Network, and the Statewide Direct Writing Assessment Advisory Committee. Special thanks go to the authors of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ACSD Curriculum Handbook, 1993, and the Mathematics and Sciences Framework for Alaskan Schools (1995).
English/Language Arts Framework Development Committee
The English/Language Arts Framework Development Committee met five times between September 1994 and August 1995 to create the draft document you are reviewing. Participation took the form of committee work, individual authoring of portions of the document, reviewing and revising the work, and providing academic and technical expertise. Thanks to:
Annie Calkins is now the Assistant Superintendent for the Juneau School District, and was formerly the director of the Alaska State Writing Consortium and Language Arts Specialist for the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. Annie has more than twenty years experience in education, including seven years as a classroom teacher and five years as a consultant in early childhood education. She is the former coordinator of the Alaska Sister Schools Network, a past president of Alaska Arts in Education, and 1995-96 co-president of the Alaska Council of Teachers of English. In 1987-88 she served on the Governor's Commission on Children and Youth, in 1992-93 as co-chair of the Alaska 2000 English/Language Arts Standards Development Committee, in 1993-95 on the Statewide Student Assessment Committee (and is currently its chair), and in 1992-95 on the Alaska 2000 Oversight Committee.
Gayle Hammons teaches eleventh and twelfth grade English composition, literature, and journalism at Sitka High School, where she has taught for more than twenty years. She has been active in state and local analytical writing assessment since 1981 and has trained teachers across the state in authentic assessment, analytical assessment, verbal skills, and teaching to learning modalities. She is active in her district's restructuring process and is coordinator of Sitka High School's Senior Project, a nationally recognized Promising Practice. Gayle was a member of the Alaska 2000 English/Language Arts Standards Development Committee.
Susan Hanson is presently an elementary reading specialist and Reading Recovery teacher. She chairs her site's Literacy Team, facilitates the school's Volunteer Reading Tutor Program, and works with the Project Kids Team of resource teachers. Susan is past president of the Alaska State Reading Association and currently serves on its executive board as State Coordinator, planning yearly Leadership Training for local councils. Her experience includes teaching at the middle school level and acting as the Juneau School District Primary Language Arts Specialist.
Dr. Kate O'Dell, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Education, focuses on language arts, secondary certification in English, English as a second language, world languages, art, and music. She has been president of the Alaska Council of Teachers of English in 1990-92 and 1994-95 and serves at the national level as a member of the Commission on the Preparation of English Teacher Educators of the National Council of Teachers of English's Conference on English Education. She was Team Leader for Anchorage's WISE Project, English Language and Literacy Team. Her research is designed to contribute to the study of teaching excellence, and she is the national leader for the Teaching Excellence Special Interest Group for the College Reading and Learning Association.
John Rusyniak has spent more than fifteen years as teacher, principal, and technology coordinator in small, rural Alaskan schools. He has served as chair of language arts curriculum development committees, organized Young Authors Days, published numerous student books, and coordinated a district wide newspaper for one-teacher schools. In 1994, John received the Milken Family Foundation National Education Award. He has served on the board of the Alaska State Writing Consortium and taught three Basic Writing Institutes as well as special topics classes on primary writing, writing assessment, and writing across the curriculum in a multigraded classroom. John was a member of the Alaska 2000 English/Language Arts Standards Development Committee.
Susan Stitham teaches literature and social studies at Lathrop High School in Fairbanks and is a member of the Alaska State Board of Education. She was named Fairbanks Teacher of the Year in 1976 and has been honored by the Fairbanks chapters of Jaycees, Rotary, and Phi Delta Kappa. She received a Milken National Educator Award in 1991. A founding member of the Alaska State Writing Consortium, she has given inservices around the state and the nation on writing process, performance assessment, response to literature, and restructuring high schools. She has served as Alaska director for National Council of Teachers of English, both president and national director of National Education Association/Alaska and on the University of Alaska Board of Regents. She is a founding member of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and the Alaska 2000 Teacher Education Standards Development Committee, and co-chaired the Alaska 2000 English/Language Arts Standards Committee. She served on the Governors Blue Ribbon Alaska 2000 Task Force, the Alaska 2000 Steering and Oversite Committees and the Goals 2000 State Panel. But Susan says she is most honored by the fact that the graduating senior classes at Lathrop have selected her to speak at commencement thirteen times.
Jacquie Whitmore, current president of the Alaska State Literacy Association, is a Title 1 Language Arts Support Specialist in Anchorage. Her classroom experience includes five years teaching multi-age classes. She frequently offers courses and workshops on literacy instruction/assessment. Jacquie received the 1994 Anchorage Education Association's Outstanding Practices in Education award and has also been recognized by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Education. She is active in Phi Delta Kappa, the Alaska State Writing Consortium, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Bev Williams, Bilingual Curriculum Coordinator for the Lower
Kuskokwim School District, led the LKSD Language Arts Task Force in developing
a curriculum designed to give limited English proficient (LEP) students,
primarily Yup'ik Eskimos, access to oral language development, literature,
and writing in English. She has concurrently supported the development
of Yup'ik first language curriculum materials and training. As a board
member of the Alaska State Writing Consortium, she worked with Lower Kuskokwim
and other rural districts to develop distance delivery writing process
LEP institutes for teachers and paraprofessionals. Her awards include LKSD
recognition for leadership in bilingual education, Alaska Association for
Bilingual Education recognition for administrative support of bilingual
education, and, in 1993 and 1994, the Alaska First Lady's Award for Excellence
in Children's Programming for satellite delivered professional development
courses for rural Alaska.
Last modified on: Mon, Jun 17, 1996.