The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District requests input from staff, parents, and community members at the districtwide KPBSD budget development meeting, scheduled at the following locations:

• Homer Community – Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 6:00 PM Homer High Library
• Central Peninsula - Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:00 PM Kenai Central High Library
• Seward Community – Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 6:00 PM Seward High Library

As new budget information becomes available, it will be posted here: http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/departments.aspx?id=38. If you have questions, please call Natalie Bates at 714-8888.

Early Release

New Student Interviews

Last day of Rotation 4

Parent Teacher Conferences. No School for Students.

🚩Make Up Day. There is school.

After School Academy

• Culinary Arts
• Photograph and Graphic Design

If you missed out this rotation, talk to Raeann and Anna to get in Rotation 5

March 6th- Early Release

March 7th-No School

March 10-14- Spring Break

Chase was selected by the Staff at Kenai Alternative as January's Student of the Month.

As many of you are aware, school districts in Alaska are once again fighting for funding to support students. Districts across the state are being forced to make hard choices to balance budgets. School closures, eliminating programs and increasing class sizes have never resulted in bettering a school’s ability to provide a well-rounded education in a research-based best practice classroom. It is understood, there is only so much money the state has to work with. I plead with you to contact your representatives and voice your views on prioritizing the state’s revenue.

Kenai Peninsula School District is not insulated from these discussions. They have asked for public input as they develop a balanced budget.

• Homer Community- Tuesday, February 11th at 6:00 pm in the Homer High Library.
• Central Peninsula- Wednesday, February 19th at 6:00 pm in the Kenai Central High Library.
• Seward Community- Thursday February 20th at 6:00 pm in the Seward High Library.

Please plan to attend and share your thoughts. The only way to influence change is to make your voice heard.

In past newsletters I have mentioned our work on our Attendance goal. We have an attendance reward field trip in the planning stages for the end of the year for those students with 85% or better attendance. At this point in the rotation, I am seeing gains in the overall daily attendance rates. Our Senior class is leading the charge with a 98.98% attendance rate so far this month. They held a 15.12% increase from their December rate of 69.08% to an 84.2 % rate for January. Please continue to encourage your students and remind them of the importance of daily attendance.

A quick reminder of our After School Academy. We are offering Culinary Arts and Photography /3D Graphic Design. Rotation 5 will also have an After School Academy. The second section of Culinary Arts and a class in Ceramics will be offered. If you or your student are interested, please have them contact RaeAnn, Anna or myself.

If you are interested in joining our family, Rotation Five Student interviews are set for the week of February 10th - 14th. Give us a call and set up an interview.

We do not have a full time counselor at this time and are looking forward to searching for one in the coming months.

Shannon Dodge and her crew from Kenitze are here every Wednesday to help with career planning, resume writing, interview assistance, and general mentorship. Please don't hesitate to stop in.

Middle College has opened and is taking applications. They are anticipating 5 openings. If you are interested act quickly to get on the waiting list.

Job Center opportunity. We will be setting up a presentation and a visit for a small group of students to the Job Center across the street.

Home Town?

Soldotna

What is your favorite Holliday and why?

Halloween, because of the candy.

Most influential Person?

Da Baby

What do you like most about Kenai Alternative?

The people.

What advice do you have for future students at the Alt?

Just be yourself

What are your future plans / Goals / Next Steps?

Be a mechanic, go to college.

Home Town?

Anchorage

What is your favorite Holliday and why?

Christmas, it's always fun to see what presents I get.

Most Influential Person?

My Dad. He always helps me with anything I ask him.

What do you like most about Kenai Alternative?

The people.

What advice do you have for future students at the Alt?

Stay focused on your work, but don't be afraid to socialize.

What are your future plans / Goals / Next Steps?

Get my driver's license.

Our goals for the 2024-25 school year are a continuation from the progress we made last year in the areas of improving attendance and graduation rate and social emotional awareness.

For SY 204-25, Kenai Alternative High School will increase the graduation rate to 55% and in turn decrease our drop out rate to less than 25% by offering credit earning opportunities through the continues implementation of the 6 rotation schedule, offering Academic Academy classes and partnering with community organizations with credit offerings

For SY 2024-35 Kenai Alternative will continue working to increase student's ability to remain clam even when under stress by 8% (to 80%) and the KPBSD Climate and Mindset annual survey through the mentorship classes and community building activities.

For SY2024-25 Kenai Alternative will be working to increase our attendance rate past 73% by emphasizing relationships in our mentorship classes.

Senior Class turn-around!

Attendance Gains:

• December Average- 69%
• January Average- 84.2%
• February to date Average- 98.96 %

Total Gain in Attendance- 29.88% Let's keep up the good work and end the month as strong as we started!

The application for the 2024-25 free and reduced lunches are open now. Please take a moment to fill out this form if you haven't done so already - please note that this form is also part of the online forms on the District webpage. If you need to add money to your student's lunch account, you can do so through PowerSchool or by sending cash or a check in with your student.. Pricing is below.

Breakfast

· Students approved for Free and Reduced meals: $0.00

· Students K-12: $2.50

· Adults: $3.00 excluding milk

· Second meal: $3.00

Lunch

· Students approved for Reduced meals: $0.40

· Students 7-12: $4.00

· Adults: $5.50 excluding milk

· Secondary second meal: $4.50

The Safe School Helpline is provided to allow students, parents, and community members the ability to confidentially submit reports of threats of violence, suicide, bullying, or illegal activity that impact KPBSD schools, students, or staff. This service provides users the opportunity to leave a message or speak with a live crisis counselor for immediate needs. The helpline is administered by an independent, outside company. All communications remain private, confidential, and anonymous.

Four Ways to Report to the Safe School Helpline:

Call: 1-800-418-6423 or 1-800-4-1-VOICE (Ext. 359)

Text: TIPS to 614-426-0240

Online: SafeSchoolHelpline.com

Mobile App: Download FREE on the App Store or Google Play

Your message will be communicated with school officials. All information will remain anonymous to encourage the reporting of all safety concerns. Your report will be assigned a case number, which you may use later to confirm that your report was received.

*The Safe School Helpline does not replace 911. Please call 911 if you know an emergency is actively occurring.