State board approves UAS master's program for Native language teachers

The Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development approved University of Alaska Southeast's Master of Arts in Teaching Indigenous Languages program during its June quarterly meeting, extending the state's academic pipeline for Alaska Native language educators into graduate-level teacher preparation.

The board met June 3 and 4 in Anchorage. The board received updates from the University of Alaska Southeast on the Master of Arts in Teaching Indigenous Languages program before approving it Thursday.

The University of Alaska system already offers undergraduate programs in Alaska Native languages through UAF. Those include a Bachelor of Arts in Alaska Native Languages, a Native Language Education Associate of Applied Science degree, and a Native Language Education certificate. The new master's program builds on that foundation.

Alaska Native language instruction has grown as a policy priority following legislative efforts to address language loss. A House panel advanced a bill in March to create a Joint Legislative Alaska Native Languages Academic Task Force. House Bill 387 establishes the task force to address what Representative Andi Story, D-Juneau, described as an urgent crisis: the rapid loss of Alaska Native languages and the academic infrastructure that supports their preservation.

The task force bill cited staffing shortages and unstable funding at the Alaska Native Language Center.

During its June meeting, the board also approved Mt. Edgecumbe High School Advisory Board members, the Career and Technical Education Committee Awards Recognition Program, and a public comment period for SBOE Strategic Plan SMART Goals. The board conducted the oath of office for member Joy Cogburn-Smith, who was appointed by Governor Mike Dunleavy to the Second Judicial seat.

The board's next meeting is scheduled for October.