🕗Daily Schedule: Mondays 9:00AM - 1:45PM (doors open at 8:30; Tues - Fri 8:00AM to 1:45PM (doors open at 7:30AM)

After-school hours: Mon - Thurs 1:50PM - 4:00PM

• 1st Day of Semester 2 - Jan 6th
• LEAD After-School Classes Begin! - Mon, Jan. 13th
• NO SCHOOL: MLK, Jr. Day - Mon, Jan 20th
• Family Connect: Pizza-palooza (homemade pizza) - Thurs, Jan. 30th

Income Declaration Form

Dear Burchell Parents and Guardians,

This is another reminder that we need all families to fill out the Income Declaration Form that I have sent in prior newsletters. These forms must be filled out by the 23rd of this month! Our Title 1 funding next year will be based upon these forms, and how many are turned in. Burchell High School is a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school, which means all students are provided free breakfast and lunch. However, if not enough families fill out the Income Declaration Form, that could change.

Most of our funding for supplies, tutoring, field trips, training, and parent engagement events comes from Title 1 funding. This funding is determined by the economic demographics of our student population. In the past, this data was collected through free/reduced lunch qualification.

You simply need to answer a few questions through a Google Form. There is no verification paperwork required, and individual family data will not be reported. We need ALL familes to submit this form, or you can request a paper copy. If we do not receive a form from you, we will contact you directly to determine if you need help.

If you are the parent of a student enrolled in the migrant ed or FIT program or you are the parent of a foster child, you will NOT have to submit a form.

Sorry for the inconvenience. We really appreciate your help with this.

Families may complete the Google form here or below.

Thanks,

Dan Hietala, Principal

LEAD After-School is a free program funded by a federal grant that allows students to earn high school credit while learning, developing leadership, and having fun! Our classes this quarter are:

• Alaska Winter Games - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu - PE Credit (Instructor: Onward and Upward )

• Freedom Writers - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu - English/Elective Credit (Instructor: Ms. Boswell)
• Public Art - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu - Elective Credit (Instructor: Ms. Dishneau)
• Construction - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu - CTE Credit (Instructor: Mr. Moen)
• MATH Tutoring (ONLY for math needs) - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu (Instructor: Mrs. Seltzer)
• General Tutoring/ ABLE Afternoon - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu (Instructor: Ms. Magoon)

LEAD after-school is held MONDAY-THURSDAY from 1:45 PM - 4:00 PM at Burchell High. Busing is available! Quarter 3 classes will run from Monday, Jan. 13th through Thursday, March 6th at Burchell High. Some these classes have limited seating, so sign up today!

1:45 - 2:18 Supper (free) and Open Gym

2:20 - 4:00 Class Time

LEAD After-School is a project-based, hands-on program funded by the 21st CCLC Federal Grant that we were awarded three years ago. This program allows us to offer classes after school that we normally would not be able to offer because of our limited schedule and resources. These classes offer students the opportunity to earn high school credits while learning critical leadership and social skills. Students learn how to lead classroom activities, collaborate with their peers, and solve problems as they collectively work on projects that demonstrate a content skill. This is not lecture hour or time to sit and wait for the clock to tick by. These are engaging courses that get shy students out of their shell and give outgoing students a chance to use their social skills to create a memorable experience as they earn credits towards graduation.

Students enrolled in LEAD can also take advantage of tutoring four days of week--either general tutoring where they can work independently with a teacher available for support, or math tutoring, where a math teacher will work with each student and figure out a plan to overcome the challenges they are facing in class. Students can enroll in tutoring 2 to 4 days a week. Also, if students are taking hands-on classes, they are also allowed to spend some time in tutoring if they are struggling in a class.

LEAD Schedule: Student go to the gym right after school for another meal, to hang out, or participate in open-gym basketball. At 2:15, they head to class or tutoring. Classes go from 2:20 - 4:00 PM. From 4:00 - 4:05, students exit.

Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) Eligibility

All students earning a MSBSD Diploma and at least a 2.5 GPA or with qualifying ACT, SAT or WorkKeys scores **should** be eligible for an Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) through the State of Alaska to the tune of $3,500/year, $5,200/year or $7,000/year for up to four years!

APS awards can be used within the state of Alaska for:

• career and technical education training programs
• a two-year degree, or
• a four-year College or University degree

A list of institutions that accept APS funds is linked here.

Our guidance counselors will be working with juniors and seniors to do a credit audit to ensure eligibility and access to this award.

Note: The Alaska Performance Scholarship is different from the UA Scholars Award which is up to $15,000 awarded to students in the top 10% of their graduating class.

Congratulations to these students for exemplifying Burchell's values and habits of success! ⭐

School values: Respect, Relationships, and Resilence

Habits of Success: Resilience, Agency, Self-direction, Curiosity, Sense of Purpose, Academic Tenacity, Growth Mindset, Sense of Belonging, Relevance of School

Raymond Christensen - Self-direction - Working diligently and being a leader in the classroom

Keira Christman - Executive Function - Prioritizes her work, plans successfully towards her goals

Rowan Werts - Executive Function - Clever, witty, contributing classmember

Sabrina Cannon - Self-direction - Self directs in the clasroom and is a leader in the community

Brynnley Kuehl - Academic Tenacity - Working rigorously towards her goals with determination

Ian Amik-Mapili - Academic Tenacity - Working hard to achieve his goals with consistency

January 30th 6 pm-7:30 pm: Pizza-palooza (homemade pizza)
Amazing Race around the World: Geting a Job Edition: Jan. 6th, 6 pm - 7:30 pm: LEAD Afterschool Showcase (Meeting at BHS)

RSVP using the link below!
Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe73R9zoVh5sXzbeiXvfnj5A0JuDjbI39EbUTaRShVxQgNFLg/closedform

We look forward to seeing you there!

Our learning interventions and strategies appear to be working! For single term achievement, in math we went from 42nd percentile overall to 47th, a significant gain. In reading, we jumped to 53rd percentile in achievement from 36th--a massive gain. For single term achievement in language usage, we went from 44th percentile to 55th, another huge step in the right direction.

Now, let's look at the actual growth from fall to winter. In reading, from fall to winter, we are in the 47th percentile, whereas last year we were in the 42nd percentile, which means our students grew more this span of time compared to last year, though not as significant as we'd like to see.

However, because of our higher scores, we are in the Higher Achievement quadrant, and just missed the Higher Growth category for reading. Math growth so far is in the 69th percentile, whereas last year it was in the 64th percentile, which means our students are continuing to grow even more than last year in math. And for the first time, we are in the Higher Achievement/Higher Growth quadrant for math (first time for any of our subjects!).

In language usage we are seeing signs of growth. From fall to winter we are in the 49th percentile, whereas last year we were in the 51st percentile for growth. We saw less growth from fall to winter compared to last year. We did change our strategy from last year, which we are still tweaking. But because our scores are higher this year, we are in the higher achievement quadrant and almost to higher growth for language usage.

To summarize, in nearly all examples, our learning data from MAP scores is going in the right direction with minor needs of adjustment!

Regarding busing and busing delays or cancelation, Burchell is Region 3, though we have students from five regions who attend our school, so it can be very confusing! If your boundary school/bus zone is closed, there is no need to call the school to excuse your student. We will go ahead and mark them remote (but call us if your address is not up to date in our system or if we make a mistake).

Burchell will stay open unless Region 3 or all of the schools are closed, in which case I will always notify parents when we are closed or remote. Here is a link to all of the regions from the Matsu website. And below is a cheatsheet for all high school regions.

REGION #1: Palmer High, Valley Pathways

REGION #2: Colony High, Mat-Su Middle College

REGION #3: Burchell High, Mat-Su Career & Tech HS, Mat-Su Central, Mat-Su Day School, Wasilla High

REGION #4: Redington Jr/Sr High

REGION #5: Houston High

REGION #6: Su-Valley Jr/Sr High

REGION #7: Glacier View School

Burchell students have an advantage with remote days because all of their daily work is already on one of two platforms, Gradient Learing or Google Classroom (for ABLE). The hope is that students have their chromebooks at home and can use them to either catch up if they are at all behind, or get a bit ahead. Teachers for both programs will be available on remote days for questions via their school email during regular school hours, so students should not hesitate to reach out.

There will be no penalty, however, if the circumstances of a remote day prevents students from working from home. But remote days are not made up, so if students are not able to make progress, it decreases the amount of time in the quarter to complete their work.

Gradient Students

On any remote day, Gradient students should log into their classes and work on catching up on any work they are behind on. If they are caught up:

• Math students: Work on ALEKS. This is individualized for every student's needs. Their time on ALEKS will improve their learning and grade.
• English and social studies classes: If students are behind, they should catch up on their projects. If they are caught up, they should work on studying for PFA's by reviewing resources and taking notes.

ABLE Students

ABLE students have all of their classwork at their disposal if they have their Chromebooks at home. Additionally ABLE students have been given a paper class to keep at home and work on in case they don't have their Chromebook with them, or if there are internet issues. ABLE students should use a remote day as an opportunity to get closer to their ILP goals, especially since every day counts when catching up with credits or trying to graduate on time.

Join us at 2:30PM on Wednesday, Oct. 23rd at the school and participate in our annual Title 1 meeting! We will be going over our Title budget and allocations, our parent compact, our plan of improvement, and our family engagement plan. Bring your ideas to help improve our school!

If you can't make the in-person meeting, we will be going over the same agenda through Zoom on Thurs. Oct. 24th from 6PM - 7PM. Here is the Zoom Link

If you miss the events, here is the 2025 Parent Engagement Policy, and here is the updated Parent Compact. Reach out if you have questions or ideas!

Dear Burchell Parents,

Below is the link for a letter to parents of students in Title 1 schools indicating any teachers who are teaching any classes that are out of their field. Please call if you have any questions.

Congratulations to Mr. Carté for winning the AASSP Region VIII Assistant Principal of the Year! Mr. Carté is not just an assistant principal at Burchell. He leads several programs in the school, including ABLE, LEAD After-School, and PACE. He recently earned a grant for our Family Connect Program that runs four nights a month each quarter, which informs parents with helpful tips, while also providing families an opportunity to engage in healthy food and activities. Burchell is blessed to benefit from Mr. Carté’s ceaseless efforts to make this the best school in the Valley!

Burchell is a Title 1 school, and each year, districts and Title I schools are required to provide specific information to parents, as well as opportunities for them to be involved in the educational decisions that impact their children. For example, you have the right to inquire about the professional qualifications of your child’s teacher and/or paraprofessional. This information is explained in the letter in this link.

The results from the Spring 2024 AK STAR and Alaska Science administration are now available for you to view in ParentVUE if your child tested in Mat-Su in spring 2024. Directions on how to view these reports are attached as well as the Family Guide to Assessment Reports. If your child tested in another district in Alaska in spring 2024, you will need to contact the previous district for results.

• How to view AK STAR & Alaska Science Individual Student Reports in ParentVUE
• Family Guide: AK STAR Assessment Reports, Spring 2024
• Family Guide: Alaska Science Assessment Reports, Spring 2024

If a parent or student needs to report a behavior, threat, or suspicious activity, or really doesn't know where else to turn, the distict has a new tip/support app called STOPit. You can make an anonymous tip that our school's leadership team will receive. There is no need to type in a code; simply type in Burchell as the school. There is also an incident response center that is available 24/7 if a student in crisis needs to talk to someone. Anything that is reported regarding student safety will be discussed with a student's parent/guardian. Reach out if you have questions.

We are excited that school is starting! One of the main things that drives us at Burchell is providing students hope through education. Part of that job is focusing on what is important and eliminating unneeded stress, which is why we have fewer classes to juggle in both programs and why we require Chromebooks instead of textbooks and lockers. However, students need their Chromebooks every day. Please check with your student that they have their Chromebook and charger every day. Call the office if this is a problem.

As far as other supplies, all they need is some paper and something to write with, (though we can help with these if it is a problem).

And the best way that parents/guardians can support Burchell is making sure students show up. We have an incredible staff--all the same teachers as last year! They truly love what they do and want to help your student achieve their goals and dreams. We just need students to show up every day and we will do everything we can to make this their best year of school ever.

In our Gradient Learning program, formerly known as Summit Learning, we have updated our phone policy. Students will need to put their phones in a 'phone locker' in each class. Several schools in the Valley, and nationally, have moved to stricter phone policies as personal devices have continued to disrupt students' education. These phone 'lockers' are simple lock boxes to stow phones while students work in class. If a student needs to make an important phone call, they can put in a pass to the office. Or if there is a medical reason to access a phone, please call the school. Students will be able to take their phones from class to class and check their messages at that point, but if you need to get a hold of your student please call the front office at 907-864-2621.

One of the critical keys of success in one of our credit recovery program, ABLE, has been our phone policy. Students in ABLE put their phones in lock boxes all day long. Not only has this policy worked, but ABLE is the most efficient credit recovery program in the district and has expanded to multiple sites. While our Gradient Learning's policy isn't quite as strict, we are hoping to see less distractions and more learning in all of our classes this year. Please call if you have questions.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

In June, the School Board adopted a new dress code policy for the district that applies to all schools and students. BP 5144.1. The most notable adjustments are below:

• e. Clothing that is overly revealing is not allowed. This includes shirts/dresses that are low cut, sleeveless shirts that do not cover undergarments, or that are not long enough to cover the waistband. The midriff/stomach cannot be visible.

• f. Pants/shorts/skirts/dresses must cover the legs to mid-thigh. Holes in pants must be below mid-thigh. All undergarments must remain covered. No clothing may be see-through or transparent.

• g. Attire that resembles non-human characteristics is prohibited.
  

We understand that the clothing industry drives the current teen trends and this can create a headache, but the above adjustments to the policy are in line with most dress codes around the nation and we want to make sure that students who graduate from Burchell High School can navigate any professional environment they encounter in the future, including dress code standards.

Keep in mind, if a student shows up to Burchell in violation of our dress code and say they have no other options that morning, be assured that we will do everything we can to accommodate their needs with something from our supply of donated clothing. And if you have any questions about the above policy, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks,

Dan Hietala, Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I am writing to provide you with an update on the ongoing process of the MSBSD Library Citizens Advisory Committee regarding the evaluation of challenged books in our school libraries.

Since August 2023, the Library Citizens Advisory Committee has diligently worked on reviewing challenged books to ensure their appropriateness for our school libraries. All of the committee's recommendations and subsequent board decisions regarding these books are available on the District’s website for your reference. (https://matsuk12us.finalsite.com/instructional-departments/teaching-and-learning/library-citizens-advisory-committee)

To date, the Library Citizens Advisory Committee has made a number of recommendations to the School Board. Relying upon those recommendations, the School Board has already instructed the District to remove specific titles from circulation and return specific titles to circulation. With respect to some of the titles, the School Board remanded the matter to the Administration to make a final decision regarding whether the title is obscene, and if not, which libraries should retain the title. The books that will be returning to circulation at Burchell High School include the following books:

Book Title and Author:

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruell

With respect to each of the remanded titles above, the School District conducted an internal review and has concluded that none of the works would meet the criminal obscenity standard set forth under Alaska Law. The School District instructed its library staff to return the remanded titles to circulation in both middle schools and high schools.

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind parents of our commitment to Board Policy 6020, which recognizes that parents and guardians are key stakeholders in their children’s education—they are their children's first and most influential teachers. In congruence with this and other Board Policies, our District provides parents and guardians the option to become more involved in your student’s reading choices. In ParentVUE through online registration, parents have the option to restrict library book check-out.

The Library Citizens Advisory Committee’s work continues. By the end of this fiscal year, I anticipate the Committee will have delivered approximately forty book title recommendations to the School Board. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this process, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or the Office of Teaching and Learning.

Sincerely,

Dan Hietala, Principal

Gradient Learning is the new name of our alternative 9 - 12th grade program at Burchell. Summit Learning was an offshoot of Gradient Learning, a non-profit organization that provides our learning platform, curriculum, and training. The focus of Gradient Learning, like Summit, is to improve the instructional experience for students so that they achieve more and acquire learning habits that make them better students along the way. Even more so than Summit Learning, Gradient is committed to developing resilience, confidence, self-direction, curiosity, and purpose in an authentic way.

Besides a brand change, Gradient will be housed on Canvas, a much more robust learning management system and platform that will give you easier access to your students academic progress, along with a more common-sense understanding of it. We will provide you instructions to have your student's progress sent directly to your email in a future newsletter, so stay tuned!

We are a Title 1 school, and as part of our partnership to make this a successful school for your student, we would like you to review the state's report card to the public regarding Burchell's '22-'23 school data. Feel free to call or email if you have questions. Click on the link below to read our letter to you regarding the report card. Click this link to review our report card yourself.

The good news is that for the second straight year our graduation rate has gone up!

2023 - 2024

Grad Rate - Unreported (expected in Oct)

2022 - 2023

Grad Rate -78.6%

Attendance - 85.58%

Dropout rate - 12.86%

2021 - 2022

Grad Rate - 73.49%

Attendance - 81.37%

Drop out rate - 13.14%

2020 - 2021

Grad Rate - 61.54%

Attendance - 80.60%

Drop out rate - 14.21%

As you can see, we improved as a school in every category, and significantly improved in our graduation rate, a 17% increase in two years. Even though we strive to help every student graduate, for an alternative school, these are good numbers, especially since as little as five years ago we had a 50% graduation rate.

While these numbers are going in the right direction, the Burchell staff is working collaboratively every day to improve student learning and success. Feel free to give us feedback on ways we can improve your student's learning experience because that is why we are here!

When and why do I get automatic attendance calls?

• If your student is tardy or absent, even if they are excused, the automated system from the district will call you.

When and why do I get texts and/or emails from Burchell?

• If your student has an unexcused absence, our secretary will send out a text and/or email. We need you to excuse your student if there is a legitimate reason for him/her being tardy or absent. Please do not excuse students who simply get up late or don’t leave the house on time.

How do I excuse my student through ParentVue?

• You must log into the system and excuse your student through ParentVue no later than 8AM, or before our first bell. If it is after this time, ParentVue will not allow you to enter an excused absence or tardy.

How do I excuse my student for an upcoming trip or activity?

• Have your student request paperwork from the counselor or front office. This paper must be signed by the teachers, counselor, and principal.

Why and what happens if I get a 5-day unexcused absence letter?

• That means your student has had five days where the parent or guardian did not call in or come into the school to excuse the student. This could lead to an intervention and team meeting to help resolve the attendance issue.

What happens if I receive a 10-day unexcused absence letter?

• This is a serious matter where the student’s academic success at Burchell is at risk. Set up a meeting with the principal and counselor immediately to discuss the situation and come up with a plan to keep Burchell a viable option.

Why do I get phone calls from the front office about tardies?

• If a student has had more than three unexcused tardies, you should expect a phone call from the front office. This normally results in lunch detention. If unexcused tardies continue, it will result in a meeting with the principal.

To join Burchell requires three steps. Please click the links below:

1. Most importantly, register in ParentVue as soon as possible. This will determine the space we have and reserve your student's spot. We are as small school and fill up fast.

2. Secondly, fill out our online agreement form for the program you want your student enrolled in. 9-12 alternative program: Link for Gradient Learning (formerly Summit). Credit Recovery: Link for ABLE.

3. If the student is new to the school, our counselors will schedule an intake, beginning July 31st.

If you have any questions, please call us at 907-864-2601, or stop by during our summer office hours of 8:30 - 2:00PM!

Student progress is viewable in the Gradient Learning Canvas Platform. In Gradient, we are on a quarter system. That means most semester classes are condensed to a quarter. For every class students pass with an A, B, or C, they will earn a half credit at the end of a quarter. All math classes, on the other hand, are full length semesters for each half credit. Gradient students spend twice as much time in math, and as a result they are enrolled in math strategies each semester. This is earned primarily by putting time into the ALEKS math program that fills in learning gaps. (Students must put in 100 minutes per week for math strat. and can make up time at home.)

• ParentVue: This is where you will find grades for the courses your student has completed. Each letter grade equals a half credit towards graduation. An incomplete means the student has not completed their work for the course, or needs to make corrections.

• Math classes: Math classes are on a regular semester schedule rather than quarter. As a result, they do not have an official progress grade. However, you can see whether your student is green (on track) or red (behind). In order to access your student’s Canvas view, click on the link below and follow the directions. If you need help, email our counselor Ms. Burke at lisa.burke@matsuk12.us.

Grades in ABLE will always show up as completed grades. ParentVue will show the grade of every class a student has completed in ABLE, but it will not show classes in progress. Nor will it tell you if your student is on track to either graduate or catch up in credits by the end of the year.

In order to know if your ABLE student is Green (on track), Yellow (off track), or Red (at risk), you can call or email your student's mentor teacher. If you would like to know everything about your student's progress, goals, and credit check, you can also request access to their ILP (Individualized Learning Plan). You will need to email your student's mentor teacher and provide a Gmail account because the ILP is a Google document. Below are the mentor teachers:

lisa.boswell@matsuk12.us

simon.nashold@matsuk12.us

deborah.magoon@matsuk12.us

If your student struggles to stay caught up, ther are multiple ways to catch up at Burchell.

• Sign up for after school tutoring through the LEAD program four days a week, 2 - 4PM - Sign up here.
• Tuesday through Friday, students can make progress in any class they are behind in during SDL or 4C's. SDL meets for 60 mintues, four days a week.
• For students who need even more help, counselors can sign up students for Success Highways. This is a tutoring study hall scheduled throughout the day. Students would also participate in a resiliency curriculum to earn credit for this class as well.

We will do whatever we can to help your student succeed! Just let us know how we can help!

• Every student has a unique Individualized Learning Plan, or ILP. Each ILP shows a student’s number of credits, what they have completed for the year, and what their goals and plan are for each week, month, and quarter. A student’s mentor can share the ILP with the parent, as long as the parent has a Gmail account and requests access. Once shared, you will receive an invite through your Gmail to open the ILP. It will be easier to do this if you also download the Google Drive and Google Sheets apps to your phone, if accessing by a phone.

• Here are the mentor teachers to email to request access: lisa.boswell@matsuk12.us; simon.nashold@matsuk12.us; deborah.magoon@matsuk12.us

Even with the best of intentions, conflicts arise in class and miscommunication can happen. These are the steps you can take when a student needs to resolve a conflict with a staff member:

• The student and/or parent should speak with their mentor teacher and discuss the issue.
• If the problem is with the mentor teacher, or the issue does not get resolved:
• The student and/or parent should meet with, call, or email the student’s counselor.
• The counselor will discuss the issue with the student and set up a restorative meeting with the staff member. The parent can choose to be involved in the meeting.
• If the problem persists, the student and/or parent should contact the appropriate principal and set up a meeting. For Summit, contact Mr. Hietala. For ABLE, contact Mr. Carte.

In Alaska, in accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, district Title I, Part A schools are required to provide timely notice to parents when students have been assigned or taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet applicable state certification or licensure requirements at the grade level(s) and subject area(s) in which the teacher has been assigned. ESSA Sec. 1112 (e)(1)(B)(ii) Click HERE to find a list of teachers that are currently teaching in an area that they are working to get certified in on our District website

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to your building Principal.