Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê

August 16, 2023

Greetings King Tech Students and Families,

We are looking forward to a great year of learning at King Tech! At King Tech, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer an education that is innovative, engaging, and focused on careers and college opportunities. We are excited to welcome back the class of 2024 and the new class of 2025. We have several new staff members joining us this year.

Please welcome the following new staff members:

• Rees Miller, Culinary Arts (joining us from West High School with an extensive background in the food service industry)
• Shayna Green, Health & Human Services (joining us from Mirror Lake Middle School with a strong background in the health care industry)
• Patrick McCormick, Aviation Technology (joining us from many years as an Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê substitute teacher and Alaska piloting)
• Amanda Cash, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise (joining us from industry with many successful years of restaurant and food truck experience)
• Dawn Sablan, AA (Joining us from Begich Middle School)
• Elizabeth Goetz, Registrar (Joining us from Begich Middle School)
• Jaime Olson, SpEd TA (Joining us from Stellar)
• Renee Mitchell, SpEd TA (Joining us from ACT)

Program updates

• Entrepreneurship and Enterprise: We are excited to announce we will be adding event planning and a fully operational food truck to the program! The food truck was generously donated in 2018 by Kaladi Brothers. When we received the food truck, the students in the Automotive Maintenance program went to work on the repair and maintenance of the truck, which was delivered in working order. We began developing plans in 2019 for the launch of the food truck for the 2020-2021 school year. The Covid Pandemic put a giant pause on moving forward with our plans. Last school year, we went back to work on the food truck launch plan which included adding a teacher to the program. The food produced by the students will be determined by utilizing market research and an online ordering system. We anticipate the launch of the King Tech food truck before the second quarter of the first semester.     
• Career and College Center: Will continue the focused effort on career and college planning support services for full-time King Tech students. All our full-time students will graduate King Tech High with a post-secondary plan in place. Mr. Sean Schubert will be providing the support service throughout the year. He will individually meet with seniors over the course of the first semester to build and work toward finalizing career and college plans. Mr. Schubert will engage in the same process with juniors second semester. 

Our staff prides itself in developing innovative programs that engage our students’ and inspire interest in a career. We are deeply invested in creating positive relationships with all our students. Teachers, counselors, support staff, and administrators are all committed to helping students develop a career pathway plan.

Full-time King Tech Student Academic Delivery Model: To meet graduation requirements, KTHS utilizes a variety of instructional delivery methods. 

We believe a high-quality education is built on a strong curriculum, positive student-teacher relationships, and engaging delivery of instruction. Our academic delivery model is designed to meet graduation requirements and to prepare students for post-secondary opportunities. We offer a balanced blend of face-to-face instruction, online learning, and structured support. The talented team delivering our academic model consists of Creed Campbell (Social Studies & Academic Team Department Chair), Ben Chizmar (Math), Jennifer Edwards-Fahl (Cyber Center Coordinator), and Kristina Gwynn-Dobler (Language Arts).

Students enrolled in academic classes at King Tech will attend a 2-hour Humanities block twice a week.  Students will earn 1.0 credit each semester to fulfill individual graduation requirements in Social Studies and English. For example, a junior may need U.S. History and English III, so the course may meet on Tuesday and Thursday and will provide .5 US History-1 & .5 English III-1 for first semester and .5 US History-2 & .5 English III-2 for second semester. Then the student’s 2-hour academic block that meets on Wednesday and Friday will be divided into two 1-hour periods for math and/or online classes. Mondays will be used for Advisory class where the Academic team will develop lessons and activities to build community among the full-time students, practice College, Career, Life Ready skills, receive grade level specific information, and get targeted academic support. Full-time students at King Tech receive individualized scheduling based on graduation requirements, their post-secondary goals, and the CTE pathway(s) selected by the student. 

Part-time Students Seeking Full-time Enrollment

Please see the flyer attached to this letter to learn more about the wonderful benefits of full-time enrollment at King Tech High School. It is an educational opportunity like no other in the Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê!!!

 

Full-time KTHS Student Schedule

Monday PLC Schedule	Tuesday - Friday Schedule
1st Period: 9:00 - 9:45 2nd Period: 9:50 - 10:30 Lunch: 10:30 - 11:50 3rd Period: 11:50 - 12:35 4th Period: 12:40 - 1:20	1st Period: 8:00 - 8:55 2nd Period: 9:00 - 9:55 Lunch: 9:55 - 11:20 3rd Period: 11:20 - 12:20 4th Period: 12:25 - 1:20

Part-time Student Schedule

Monday PLC Schedule	Tuesday – Friday Schedule
9 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 1   11:50 AM – 1:20 PM – Session 2	8:00 AM – 9:55 AM – Session 1 11:20 PM – 1:20 PM – Session 2

Full-time KTHS Academic Delivery Model Unpacked:

What do we mean by blended learning? 

• A style of education in which students learn via electronic and online media as well as a traditional face-to-face teaching.
• Students attend KTHS 5 days a week.

 What does this look like at King Tech?

• Students learn face to face twice weekly with an instructor who delivers lessons. 
• The other days of the week are for independent completion of the coursework with teacher support in our cyber center.
• The instructors offer additional small group and individual lessons and support as needed on Mondays through advisory. These offerings are either initiated by the instructor or the student.

 What other academic instructional formats are offered? 

• In addition to blended learning, some courses may be delivered in a virtual format.
• Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê Choice Virtual classes are self-directed online courses that do not have a Zoom meeting requirement.
• Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê Choice Virtual courses are generally science courses, physical education courses, and credit recovery courses. In addition, other courses may be offered depending on student need, interest, and by request.
• The Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê Choice Virtual instructors offer additional small group and individual lessons and support as needed throughout the week. These offerings are either initiated by the instructor or the student.
• We do offer a fully virtual academic program, through Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê Choice Virtual for students who have demonstrated success with online learning. This option allows for students to access academics online from home or within our cyber center.
• Students accessing the virtual format are required to attend King Tech daily for their CTE class.

 What is the King Tech Cyber Center?

• The cyber center is a learning space where students complete work independently; and as needed are provided support from a certified teacher.
• The support role of the certified teacher is one or more of the following: progress monitoring, organizational skills support, tutoring, encouraging, and coaching peer-to-peer support.
• The cyber center's mission is to create a student center environment that fosters independent learning.

Transportation and PLC Monday Schedule

Monday PLC Schedule

9 AM – 10:30 AM – Session 1

11:50 AM – 1:20 PM – Session 2

Tuesday through Friday Schedule

8 AM – 9:55 AM – Session 1

11:20 AM – 1:20 PM – Session 2

Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê BUS SCHEDULE for KING TECH HIGH SCHOOL: Please visit our website for a complete bus schedule for arrival and departure times at neighborhood school locations.

Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê BUS SCHEDULE LINK: /site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=1511&ModuleInstanceID=12284&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=80428&PageID=2524

Important Dates:

• Students seeking to drop or add classes must do so by August 23, 2023
• King Tech Back to School Night for Students and Parents, August 31 (6:00 – 7:00 PM)
• Professional Dress Wednesday begins on September 06, 2023

Counseling: If you have any questions related to student schedules please contact our full-time student counselor, Paige Petr (petr_paige@asdk12.org).

Special Education: If you have any special education related questions, please contact our special education department chair, Laura Kimmel (kimmel_laura@asdk12.org).   

Lunch Service: King Tech does not qualify for the National School Lunch program because our Culinary Arts and Enterprise program produce food during the school day. We do offer a lunch snack pack for students who do qualify for free and reduced lunch. Please contact the main office for more details.

Once again, welcome to King Tech! We are ready to help you with your career pathway journey. Whatever your future, let us help you connect to your dream. You are part of a unique school that has the power to transform the way you think about education and most importantly who you will become as a successful career professional.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kern McGinley, Principal

King Tech High School

Alaska ACTE, President