The Juneau School District (JSD) is pleased to announce that Juneau teacher Katharine Koski has been chosen as principal of Kax̲dig̲oowu Héen Elementary School. Koski is a Physical Education teacher at Kax̲dig̲oowu Héen, and was also a Principal Intern during the 2023-2024 school year. 

The Juneau School District interviewed three finalists for the position Monday, June 3. An interview panel at the school, including members of the school’s certificated staff and classified staff, district administration and the Site Council, conducted the public interviews. The panel provided recommendations for hiring to Superintendent Frank Hauser. 

“I am excited to welcome Ms. Koski to her new role as the Kax̲dig̲oowu Héen Elementary School principal.” Superintendent Hauser stated. “ Ms. Koski is an experienced educator, committed to collaborative leadership. In this new role, Ms. Koski will continue to serve the Kax̲dig̲oowu Héen community.”Koski has a long history at the school. She first joined the Kax̲dig̲oowu Héen school community to complete her Introductory Teaching Practicum in 2012. She returned to the school as a teacher in 2016, and since that time has taught Kindergarten, second grade and Physical Education. In addition to working in the classroom, Koski also taught in the Learning Enrichment Afterschool Program (L.E.A.P) for five years at the school. 

Koski holds a Master of Educational Leadership from the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) and a Bachelor of Education, Elementary Education from UAS. She also studied Health and Human Performance, Exercise Science at the University Of Montana, and Kinesiology at Arizona State University.

Koski will officially start in the new position at the beginning of August.

Latest News

Kax̲dig̲oowu Héen Principal

The Juneau School District is conducting a Strategic Planning process to identify a shared vision and priorities for the future, and needs your help!

Our Strategic Planning process relies heavily on input from our stakeholders, including parents/guardians, teachers, administrators, staff, students, district partners, and community residents. It will result in a shared vision for our ideal future and priorities for the next five years.  

The comprehensive process will take approximately six months. It will include data gathering and analysis, using the data to develop mission, vision, values, and priorities, and the development of strategies and measures of progress.  

All community members are invited to participate!


Staff Forums

Tuesday, May 6, 4:00 pm - Mendenhall River Community School Library

Wednesday, May 7, 4:30 pm - Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Library


Community Forum

Thursday, May 8, 6:30 pm - Thunder Mountain Middle School Library


Community Survey

You are invited to take this online survey from April 28 to May 16, 2025. This link will take you to a third-party website, and all responses will remain anonymous. [**<u>https://hyasurvey.com/SPjuneau</u>**](https://survey2.ecragroup.com/index.php/657582?lang=en)

Thank you!

Juneau School District

District Launches Strategic Planning Process

The Juneau School District is seeking Juneau residents interested in filling a vacant seat on the Board of Education. The term begins May 21, 2025 and ends when a new member is elected during the October 2025 Municipal Election. The person appointed to the position now, is not obligated to seek election to the board in the October Municipal Election. 

An applicant must be qualified as a municipal voter in the school district; may not use the office for the primary purpose of obtaining financial gain for themself, spouse, child, parent, or for any business with which they may be associated or own stock; may not be an employee of the district; may not be a member of the Alaska Legislature; and must take and sign the oath or affirmation of office prescribed by law. The person appointed to the Board of Education seat will be required to file an Alaska Public Offices Commission Public Official Financial Disclosure Statement within 30 days of taking office.

Applicants will be asked to fill out a Declaration of Candidacy for Vacant School Board Seat and written questionnaire, and will then meet with the board in a public session to provide a statement of interest and answer questions from the Board of Education.

Applications are available in the yellow block on the homepage.

**DECLARATION AND APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4:30 PM ON FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2025.**

The Board of Education will meet with candidates on Saturday, May 17, at 10:00 am in the Thunder Mountain Middle School Library. The Board must appoint a new member by May 21, 2025.

Board of Education Member Recruitment

The Juneau School District announces the resignation of Will Muldoon from the Board of Education. The resignation was submitted and accepted on Monday, April 21, 2025, effective immediately. The district and board appreciate Mr. Muldoon’s service to the community of Juneau, and the time and effort he has devoted to the district’s students and employees. 


The Juneau School District Board of Education will immediately begin the process of recruiting for applicants to fill the open seat. Any vacancy on the board must be filled within thirty days of its occurrence according to Board Bylaw. The new member will begin by May 21, 2025, and end when voters select a new member to fill the balance of the open term in the 2025 Municipal Election. The person appointed to the position now, is not obligated to seek election to the board in the October Municipal Election. 


Interested applicants will be asked to submit an application and appear before the board in a public session to provide a statement of interest and answer questions from school board members. Final selection of an individual to fill the vacant seat will be determined by a majority vote of the remaining voting members of the board, in a public meeting. 


To qualify as a voting member of the Board of Education, an individual must be qualified to be a municipal voter in the school district; may not use the office for the primary purpose of obtaining financial gain for themself, spouse, child, parent, or for any business with which they may be associated or in which they own stock; may not be an employee of the district; may not be a member of the Alaska Legislature; and must take and sign the oath or affirmation of office prescribed by law.

Board of Education member resigns

The Juneau School District is aware of comments made at the Governor’s press conference on Thursday, April 17, that do not reflect an accurate description of facts regarding the district.

The Juneau School District and Board of Education have undertaken difficult, but necessary, work over the past two years to pass balanced budgets as required by state law. The district’s recent independent audit found all funds in a positive balance.

The Board of Education works diligently to create balanced budgets that take into consideration the ever-present inflationary pressures and our students’ educational needs, while at the same time dealing with the fiscal uncertainty surrounding education funding in the state. 

During Governor Dunleavy’s press availability today, the Commissioner of Education stated, “At the $680, the Juneau School District came out with a balanced budget. A few weeks later their board voted on a $0 input, and now they do have a deficit as well as others.”

The facts, as evidenced by the approved budget documents, are that the board passed a balanced budget, which included an anticipated $400 BSA increase or equivalent one-time funds. 

At no time during the FY26 budget process did the board entertain the idea of developing a deficit budget. Rather, the district maintained operations, avoided layoffs, and followed its policy to maintain a 1.5% ending fund balance. 

The Juneau School District thanks the hardworking educators and supporters of public education that have lived with the funding uncertainty that continues to have an undeniable impact on the nearly 130,000 students in the State of Alaska.

District Statement on Governor's Press Conference

Will your child be 5 years old by September 1, 2025? Kindergarten Registration is open now in the Juneau School District. Stop by to register at your neighborhood school before the last day of the school year on May 23. Please bring immunization records and a birth certificate. Click on the Student Registration button for the registration packet.

Register now for kindergarten!

The Juneau School District has become aware of a statewide student walkout planned for today, April 11, at 1:00 p.m. Social media posts advertising the event describe it as a protest in support of increased public school funding.


The principals at our secondary schools will be communicating with their staff and student leaders regarding this possible walkout. Schools are not promoting this activity, and it is important for parents to know that this is not a school-sponsored or school-sanctioned event.

The Juneau School District respects students’ First Amendment right to peacefully assemble. We will not discipline students for the act of peaceful protest. As a district, we acknowledge students in their right to advocacy.

The best way for us to ensure student safety during the school day is to know where our students are—that’s simply not possible if they leave school grounds. If students choose to participate in the walkout, the school’s rules and policies regarding student attendance will apply. Schools and classes will continue on their normal schedule. If you want to excuse your child from class, please contact your school’s attendance office. Absences not excused by a parent will be treated as unexcused, and normal consequences will apply.

The Juneau School District also respects the right of school employees to engage in political activities <u>on their own time</u>. Staff members will not participate in walkouts or protests in the course of their work and will remain neutral on issues that are political in nature in the presence of students.

As always, the safety of our students and maintaining a safe learning environment for each school community are our top priorities. We recognize that some students may not want to participate in a walkout and would prefer to stay in class. We want to ensure that all students feel safe and respected, no matter what they choose to do.

Statewide Student Walkout Planned Regarding Public Education Funding

The Juneau School District (JSD) announces the appointment of longtime school administrator Molly Yerkes to lead Harborview Elementary School and the Tlingit Culture, Language and Literacy Program (TCLL) in the coming school year. Yerkes is currently the principal of the Tlingit Language, Culture and Literacy (TCLL) program within Harborview Elementary. She has been an educator in the Juneau School District for more than 25 years, serving as the principal of Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School from 2010 to 2024, before stepping into the principal position of the K - 8th grade TCLL program last fall. 



The change in the leadership model at the school is a result of a reduction in the number of school administrator positions available for the upcoming school year. Yerkes will begin the new position in August. 



TCLL is a place-based, cultural-based JSD optional program where the Tlingit language and culture are celebrated, respected, and integral to daily instruction of national standards. It is housed in Harborview Elementary School and operated in partnership with Sealaska Heritage Institute. Harborview is a Pre-K through 6th grade neighborhood elementary school in the Juneau School District.

Harborview Principal Announcement

On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool became aware of a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized exfiltration of certain personal information from PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS) environments through a customer support portal, PowerSource. PowerSchool is the Juneau School District’s student information system (SIS) provider. 

Information that was included in the data breach is related to the following people associated with the Juneau School District: 

1\. Students who attended the Juneau School District at any time between the 2008-2009 school year and the present school year. 

2\. Staff who worked for the Juneau School District at any time between the 2008-2009 school year and the present school year. \
PowerSchool is in the process of directly notifying current/former students (or their parents/guardians, as applicable) and educators whose information was involved in the recent cybersecurity incident. The Juneau School District is attempting to notify individuals who may not have received direct notification because they are no longer active in the email system.\
PowerSchool is offering two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and educators whose information was involved, regardless of what information about an individual was exfiltrated. For adult students and educators, this offer will also include two years of complimentary credit monitoring services. (The Juneau School District does not collect or store social security numbers, drivers license numbers, or any credit card information in PowerSchool.)

\*\*Individuals must enroll by July 31, 2025, using information included in the link below. \*\*

Notice of Data Breach from PowerSchoolIn compliance with State laws, the purpose of this notice is to share some important information regarding a recent cybersecurity incident involving personal information belonging to current or former students and teachers (“individuals”) of schools that use or used software called PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS).If you reside in the U.S. and do not receive an email, you can find more information on identity protection services and credit monitoring here: [**https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/**](http://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/)\*\* \*\*

For more informationPowerSchool has a website set up to try to reach as many involved individuals as possible: [**https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/**](https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/)**. For questions contact** [**public.relations@powerschool.com**](mailto:public.relations@powerschool.com) \*\*