KPBSD Committee hears charter applications from Kenaitze, Aurora Borealis

Two charter school applications were considered Monday at the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Charter Oversight Committee — a new charter school proposed by the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and a charter renewal from Aurora Borealis Charter School.

Both groups were asked to return with more information to another meeting set for Monday, Oct. 21.

A charter centered on culture

Kyle McFall, formerly the principal of Kenai Alternative High School and now education director for the tribe, presented their proposal for Tułen Charter School.

A Dena’ina language instructor told the board that Tułen, which means either “the current is flowing” or “the river will flow,” is pronounced like “tooth-lin,” the ł pronounced by placing the tongue behind the front teeth and blowing out one side.

The school, McFall said, is intended to provide education that is grounded in Indigenous culture — specifically Dena’ina culture.

“Our vision is to be a beacon for educational excellence and cultural pride,” McFall said. “We envision a school where the richness of Dena’ina cultural heritage is interwoven into every aspect of learning.”

To that end, the charter application describes goals of integrating Dena’ina language and culture, maintaining small class sizes, establishing intergenerational mentorship and addressing historical trauma.

The school will start small, McFall said. Only kindergarten through third grade would be planned for the next school year — the application says 40-65 students. They propose adding a grade each year following, through the 2028-2029 school year when they plan to add sixth grade.

The school will use standards-based assessments and report cards. Proposed curriculum include Raven Writes, i-Ready Reading, i-Ready Math, STEAM and others. The school calendar would largely be similar to the general district calendar, excepting “Subsistence Week” — the week of Labor Day when the school would be closed to students and staff.

McFall said they’ve identified other vacation days and in-service days that they propose subbing in for the missed time.

The charter school’s academic policy committee, per the tribe’s proposal, will include seven voting members, four of whom would be appointed by the Kenaitze Tribal Council. The remaining positions would be voted on by parents, including at least one parent and one staff member.

The school will “enroll all eligible students who submit a timely application,” the application reads, “unless the number of those applications” exceeds capacity of the program, class, grade or building.

Priority will be given, McFall said, to students previously enrolled in the tribe’s Kenaitze Head Start program or Yaghanen after-school program. Those students will be followed in priority by children of tribe employees, school employees and siblings of students previously enrolled in the school. Next will be children and grandchildren of approved experts or volunteers, then “other students.”

The committee asked McFall to verify whether the days shifted for Subsistence Week will impact the number of teacher work days necessitated by contract; define plans for special education programming; describe how staffing of custodians and nurses will work through KPBSD human resources; describe how many students are required to meet the minimum required budget for the school; and to flesh out plans for transportation.

Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent also asked McFall about the priority tiers described by McFall — specifically whether the other Kenaitze education programs described at the top of the list are limited to Alaska Native and American Indian Students. McFall said that those programs, like Yaghanen, are open to all students, but do themselves prioritize Alaska Native and American Indian students. McFall’s daughter, for example, is waitlisted.

Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Sciences Principal Dawn Grimm cautioned against giving the academic policy committee control of staffing rather than the school’s principal.

Broader conversations slow routine renewal

The other charter application heard by the committee on Monday was a renewal application for Aurora Borealis Charter School, seeking a 10-year renewal starting in the next school year and stretching through the 2035-2036 school year.

Principal Cody McCanna, speaking to the committee, said that the changes since their last renewal in 2017 were minor. He described a modification to the grading scale, newly defined “Foundation Stones,” and expansion into portable classrooms soon to be vacated by the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula.

The committee asked McCanna to return next month, slowing Aurora Borealis’ application because of questions surrounding special education programming at Aurora Borealis and the complete absence of transportation and food service — important to low-income students.

Virginia Morgan, a member of the school board and committee, said that the line of questioning was motivated by recent conversations statewide about charter schools. Specifically, she referred to the repeated claim by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and other state legislators that charter schools so greatly outperform neighborhood schools.

“We’re hearing a lot about the charter schools, and the test scores for charter schools being so much higher than our neighborhood schools,” she said. “I think it’s important for the public to understand why that is, and that there are some inequities.”

Morgan asked about special education services at Aurora Borealis, specifically what proportion of the student body they represent. McCanna said he knew of five students with individualized education plans, compared to a student body of 200 — meaning students with IEPs make up only around 2% of the population.

That’s compared to a districtwide percentage of 20%, according to Denise Kelly, director of student support services.

Aurora Borealis receives $370,000 each year, Morgan said, specifically to serve special education students. She honed in on language in the application that says if a student with an IEP attempts to enroll at Aurora Borealis, their plan will be reviewed to determine whether the school can meet their needs.

“What that seems to be saying to me is that the school lacks a robust program for finding or serving special education students needs — despite being funded by the district to support one,” Morgan said. “I would assume that the lack of a robust special education program to meet their needs might be a reason the parent might reconsider enrolling in the school, so not having the program could become a reason to dissuade special needs students from attending, which in turn becomes a reason for not having a program because of the number of special needs students remaining low.”

McCanna said that the language about review of IEPs came from the district, rather than his school. KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland said that he wrote that language, but encouraged a review of it by Student Support Services.

Dr. Austin Stevenson, principal of Soldotna Elementary, asked McCanna about barriers to low-income families, specifically the lack of transportation and food service.

McCanna said that when his school was founded in 1997, it was started by homeschool parents who wanted “parental involvement” as a core pillar. Those parents, he said, didn’t want their kids on busses and wanted all parents to send their kids with lunch.

“Those two things, from the very start, were a foundational piece,” McCanna said.

The available facilities are also insufficient for food service, McCanna said.

The committee asked McCanna to refine language related to special education, to explore options for breakfast and lunch service, and to inquire about transportation.

The KPBSD Charter School Oversight Committee is scheduled to meet Monday, Oct. 21. Aurora Borealis is scheduled to be heard at 9 a.m., followed by Tułen at 11:30. Those meetings will be available on Zoom through the KPBSD Board Docs website. Both applications will receive final decisions from the KPBSD School Board during a later meeting.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.