Dayna DeFeo Archives - Institute of Social and Economic Research

ISER releases new report on how COVID-19 school closures affect teacher preparation

ISER releases new report on how COVID-19 school closures affect teacher preparation

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Dunleavy mandated that Alaska’s K12 schools closed to in-person instruction; later, these school closures were extended until the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. Across the state, educators worked not only to ensure they met their responsibilities for instruction, but also other key school functions including parent resources, meal services, and social-emotional learning. Concurrently, senior college students in teacher licensure programs at the University of Alaska (UA) were in classrooms fulfilling their clinical experience (student teaching) requirements. During the school closures, students were still “placed” in schools, but the nature of their internship experience changed fundamentally as classes were moved to distance delivery. Read more about > ISER releases new report on how COVID-19 school closures affect teacher preparation

Chris Start2020-06-30T17:08:51-08:00June 30th, 2020|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: COVID-19, Dayna DeFeo, education, Trang Tran|

Reporting impacts and recommendations for COVID-19 in Anchorage and Alaska

Reporting impacts and recommendations for COVID-19 in Anchorage and Alaska

ISER faculty are working to inform the Municipality of Anchorage's COVID-19 efforts through a partnership between ISER, the UAA Division of Population Health Sciences, and the UAA College of Arts and Sciences. The group is involved in three distinct projects. First, Dr. Cueva, Dr. DeFeo, and Dr. Berry contributed to a series of publications focusing on specific areas in which the pandemic has impacted Anchorage and its residents, with recommendations for monitoring further impacts and potential responses/interventions. Of the published papers, Dr. Cueva and Dr. DeFeo took the lead on Education; considering the pandemic’s effect on early childhood, K12, and postsecondary systems, they noted the impacts of school and facility closures on students and communities, and provided recommendations to limit negative outcomes and plan for the future. Dr. Berry authored a paper on the economic impact of the hunker down order. Read more about > Reporting impacts and recommendations for COVID-19 in Anchorage and Alaska

Chris Start2020-06-23T11:58:11-08:00June 9th, 2020|Categories: News|Tags: COVID-19, Dayna DeFeo, economy, education, health, Katie Cueva, Kevin Berry|

CAEPR researchers testify about teacher turnover to the Alaska Legislature

CAEPR researchers testify about teacher turnover to the Alaska Legislature

On Wednesday, March 18, Dr. Dayna DeFeo, Director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, and Dr. Diane Hirshberg, Professor of Education Policy, testified to the Alaska Legislature’s House Education Committee. Their testimony wove together major findings from seven CAEPR research studies to explore teacher supply, demand, retention, turnover, and competition in Alaska and relative to the lower 48. They shared some of Alaska’s areas of opportunity in meeting the need to staff its classrooms with high-quality educators, including expanding efforts to grow our “homegrown” teacher pipeline, improving working conditions that drive turnover, particularly in rural Alaska, and ensuring that compensation structures are on par with other states. DeFeo and Hirshberg’s presentation followed a discussion of current educator turnover research from REL Northwest. Read more about > CAEPR researchers testify about teacher turnover to the Alaska Legislature

Chris Start2020-06-23T13:48:56-08:00March 20th, 2020|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, Diane Hirshberg, education, legislative testimony|

ISER Researchers Present at AlaskaCAN! Conference

ISER Researchers Present at AlaskaCAN! Conference

The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s (ISER) Dr. Dayna DeFeo alongside ISER researcher, Trang Tran, and Associate Vice Provost for Workforce Development at the University of Alaska (UA) Statewide, Teri Cothren, presented at the 6th Annual AlaskaCAN! Conference in Anchorage last week. The theme of this year’s conference […]

Chris Start2020-03-03T16:10:38-09:00March 3rd, 2020|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: CAEPR, Dayna DeFeo, education|

ISER Researchers and Director deliver presentations at ACTE

ISER Researchers and Director deliver presentations at ACTE

The Alaska Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) held their annual professional development conference, Growing Stronger Together 2019, this week at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. The event is “the only statewide conference dedicated to professional […]

Chris Start2019-10-16T17:35:56-08:00October 17th, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, education, enrollment, graduation rate, Jessica Passini, Ralph Townsend, Trang Tran|

Dayna DeFeo featured in KTUU regarding concern around the number of teachers in Alaska

Dayna DeFeo featured in KTUU regarding concern around the number of teachers in Alaska

Director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) and Research Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Dr. Dayna DeFeo, was recently featured by KTUU to discuss the growing concern around the number of teachers in Alaska. Dr. DeFeo explained that lower enrollment in education programs has resulted […]

Chris Start2019-10-16T17:12:34-08:00October 16th, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, education, teacher turnover|

DeFeo and Hirshberg talk with Education Week about teacher turnover in rural Alaska

DeFeo and Hirshberg talk with Education Week about teacher turnover in rural Alaska

ISER researchers Dayna DeFeo, director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research and Diane Hirshberg, professor of education policy, were featured prominently in Education Week for a recent article on teacher turnover in Alaska.Read more about > DeFeo and Hirshberg talk with […]

ISER2020-04-21T11:02:49-08:00October 11th, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, Diane Hirshberg, education, rural schools, teacher turnover, Trang Tran|

New report: How much does Alaska spend on K-12 education?

New report: How much does Alaska spend on K-12 education?

In a new education publication, Dayna DeFeo, Matthew Berman, Alexandra Hill, and Diane Hirshberg examine how Alaska’s K-12 spending compares to other states in the US. In Alaska’s fiscal crisis that has drawn increased attention to education spending, this report shows that after taking into account higher Alaska prices […]

Chris Start2019-10-04T11:55:31-08:00October 4th, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, education|

CAEPR publishes report about growing Alaska’s teacher workforce

CAEPR publishes report about growing Alaska’s teacher workforce

In the midst of a national teacher shortage, Alaska does not simply need teachers, it needs high quality educators who reflect the diversity of its students. Teachers who are prepared in Alaska not only bring cultural familiarity, but also have lower turnover rates. Grow-your-own initiatives to recruit and train local […]

Chris Start2019-10-02T12:48:31-08:00October 2nd, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, education, Trang Tran|

DeFeo leads discussion at UAF Bristol Bay Campus on equity, access, and privilege

DeFeo leads discussion at UAF Bristol Bay Campus on equity, access, and privilege

Sarah Andrew, new director of University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Bristol Bay Campus, invited ISER’s Dayna DeFeo to deliver the keynote talk at the Bristol Bay Campus annual summit in Dillingham last month. Andrew called upon DeFeo, who directs ISER’s Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, to share research findings on how to better serve rural Alaska students, and to lead a discussion addressing difficult issues of equity, access, and privilege. Read more about > DeFeo leads discussion at UAF Bristol Bay Campus on equity, access, and privilege

ISER2019-05-23T18:44:15-08:00May 23rd, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, education|