Schools

No injuries were reported after a pickup truck rear-ended a school bus with 10 students on board in Wasilla Monday afternoon, according to Alaska State Troopers. A Tuesday AST dispatch says troopers responded to the crash, near Mile 14.5 of Knik-Goose Bay Road, at about 5:40 p.m. A 1997 Ford pickup driven by 17-year-old Wasilla resident Mackenzie Jenkins had rear-ended the bus, which had its lights on during a stop. “AST contacted the bus driver, Louis Mabry age 45 of Palmer, who reported (medics)

Anchorage School Board member Gretchen Guess announced Tuesday that she will be resigning from the Anchorage School Board. Her resignation will be effective March 1. Guess, who was the former board president and a former state legislator, and is currently the director of business development for Providence Health and Services Alaska, will be leaving the state to become the ambulatory care service line director at St. Vincent's HealthCare in Florida....

17 candidates filed for election for the Anchorage Assembly and School Board. The filing period began January 25th and the deadline ended Friday. Voters will head to the polls on Election Day, which is April 2.   Three people filed for Assembly Seat A's Eagle River and Chugiak district, including Pete Mulcahy, Amy Demboski and Bob Lupo. In West Anchorage, Seat E candidates are Cheryl Frasca, Tim Steele and Phil Isley. Dick Traini and Andy Clary are running for Midtown Anchorage's seat F. Jennifer Johnston and Jim Cottrell will face off for South Anchorage's seat J. Paul Honeman is the single candidate for seat H in East Anchorage and current Assembly Chair Ernie Hall is also running unopposed for West Anchorage's Seat D. For the Anchorage school board, former legislator Bettye Davis has filed for Seat A and faces Don Smith.

Academic Policy Board members for Charter School Rilke Schule made the decision Monday to not renew contract with Principal Dean Ball for the 2013-2014 school year. A special meeting of the APC was held Thursday evening at Hanshew Middle School to address the issue after concerned parents handed out flyers encouraging all parents to attend. "He was  a principal that a lot of the parents really liked what he was doing with the school," Rilke Schule parent David Bowie said. "Other parents thought that he was taking the school in perhaps the wrong direction.  It was not necessarily an expected decision and so we're here to find out from the board what was going on. " Comments from numerous parents and teachers of the school just like these were said for over two hours at the APC's meeting.

Teaching in a village like Pilot Point is a very unique experience as educators wear more than one hat to inspire every student to believe that can do anything they put their mind to. Welcome to Pilot Point School where there's no shortage of methods for a student to learn. Nine students, ranging from grades Kindergarten to 12th grade, attend this schoolhouse-style approach to teaching. Elementary teacher Matthew Grossman and secondary teacher Troy Roberts have become a jack-of-all-trades, combining group work and individualized learning.

Minority to majority--it's a national trend which is also reflected in Anchorage schools where 56% of students are children of color. But two schools are celebrating diversity while challenging teachers and students to find success. “I was thinking about being a doctor,” saidGambelina Her, and eighth-grade student at Clark Middle School. They are words of aspiration. A belief that students at Clark Middle School are applying each day. “I am a student seeking to be a scholar, the standard is excellence today and tomorrow,” said Clark Middle principal Cessilye Williams.

It's a rare combination and connection of schools. Romig Middle and West High schools, both who are marching to the same beat. Much like the smooth melodies coming from Romig's 7th grade jazz band and the seamless harmonies heard inside the hallways at West High, two Anchorage schools have found harmony. These schools used to be divided but have no combined resources to benefit their students. “There used to be a line in the hallway that said this is West this is Romig, you do not cross, now those are eliminated,” said West High principal Rick Stone.

West Anchorage football players Conor Feckley, Kieran Kuiper, and Lincoln Tulimasealii have made their college choices on national signing day.  All three players are going to Division II schools. Feckley, Alaska's all-time leader in passing yards at quarterback, has signed with Colorado Mesa University. A three year starter, he amassed over 7,000 career passing yards, including 2,305 this past season in only nine games.  Alaska's coaches voted Feckley the 2012 Offensive Player Of The Year.

A Southeast Alaska lawmaker has made a proposal to help solve rural education budget woes, filing a bill which would allow for a four-day school week. Under House Bill 21, submitted by House Majority Whip Rep. Peggy Wilson (R-Wrangell), students would still get the same amount of hours in as they would in a five-day week. The three-year pilot program, in certain Southeast Alaska school districts, would also help cut back on heating costs and allow families an extra day for subsistence hunting.

While serving as an assistant coach at Northwest Nazarene for five seasons, first year UAA women's basketball coach Ryan McCarthy recruited most of the Crusaders' roster to NNU.  On Thursday, he got a first hand glimpse as the opposing coach as Northwest Nazarene routed UAA, 76-49.  The Seawolves drop to 2-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference while NNU moves to 4-2 in league play. The Crusaders controled things from start to finish, leading 40-18 at halftime.  Alysa Horn led UAA with 13 points and 12 rebounds, but the Seawolves hit only 27 percent from the field, missed 14 of 17 three point attempts, and committed 24 turnovers.