Jarrett Bryantt: Focusing on the big goals for schools, and keeping things simple

19
518

By DR. JARRETT BRYANTT

Hello, Anchorage!

I hope you are enjoying this last stretch of summer break. My name is Dr. Jharrett Bryantt. I am humbled and eager to work alongside you as your new Superintendent. I’d like to thank the community for welcoming me to the Anchorage community. You’ve given me great advice on restaurants, challenged me to get outdoors, and even pointed me in the direction of where to pick up a pair of Xtratufs. I’m excited to be here for the long haul. I’m slowly but surely setting roots down in Anchorage.

As we prepare for the start of the school year, I am discovering the great diversity and strength of my new school community. The Anchorage School District is committed to strong student outcomes, starting with a diverse, well trained staff to support individual needs and ensure students are college, career, and life ready.

I’m all about getting the basics down right. I value keeping things simple and aligned to the big goals.

District goals are the “what” we are aspiring to do. As superintendent, I’m tasked with leading our district to implement the “how” we get there.

It isn’t lost on me that it’s been a challenging couple of years. Before I came into the picture, this community navigated a flurry of unprecedented events, including a major earthquake and pandemic, both of which put us in survival mode.

This year, we have already faced unforeseen challenges, including the relocation of Ursa Major Elementary School students and staff due to safety concerns in the event of a large seismic event. We’re also facing staffing shortages in our operations department–particularly bus drivers. The district is working quickly to minimize the impact this will have on families and to convey information in a timely manner so you can plan accordingly. If you or anyone you know would like to join our bus driver team, apply here.

The theme for the start of this school year is acclimating to the future. Similarly to when you’re climbing a mountain and the weather conditions change for the worst–sometimes you have to race back down to basecamp, just to ensure you have hope of climbing to the peak. Many districts across the nation are right there–at basecamp. I believe we are ready to start the climb again.

I look forward to supporting you as superintendent. Anchorage is a special place, and I am laser focused on getting things done in a way that works for our diverse community.

I want this year to be about embracing something that resembles normalcy and consistency, and my priorities are 1) urgently working to achieve the district’s goals to improve math and reading proficiency and college, career, and life readiness 2) retaining our highly skilled staff and systemically building pathways for ASD employees to accelerate and grow, and 3) ensuring we’re on a path to financial stability.

We have a big climb ahead of us, but you have my full support and confidence, and together, we’re going to reach the summit.

Please take some time to look through our Back to School page for all the things your family will need to know to start the school year strong.

Are you ready for the new school year? I am! Best,

Dr. Jharrett Bryantt is the superintendent of Anchorage School District.

19 COMMENTS

  1. He lost me at “diversity and strength”.
    After that he became Charlie Brown’s teacher.

    Buckle up Anchorage. It’s gonna get woker and worse. Get you kids out of public school, or start buying boys dresses and girls jockstraps.

  2. I took a second look at this drivel. Not once does he tangibly address HOW to get scores up and kids smarter.

    Why? That’s not what he was hired to do.

  3. I have more respect for the devil than I do the teachers union or the entire school district. Parents check yourselves. The Bible teaches us those who harm the children, are GODs special project. So there is that teachers union.

  4. Notice he didn’t mention the only real issue: banning CRT racism from the classroom.

    You’re gonna be a short termer, buddy, if you don’t slap this garbage OUT of the ASD right out of the gate.

  5. What happened to the story stating that he was hired without the necessary, minimum, qualifications.

    Any legal action?????

  6. I heard an ad for the ASD on the radio yesterday.
    Can anyone explain to me why the ASD is advertising? Is there some competition I am not aware of? Even if there is, I still have to pay taxes to the ASD. So, why are they advertising?
    .
    Whoever bought the radio ads should be fired immediately, and whoever hired the person who bought those ads should be fired as well. There is no justification whatsoever for ASD radio ads. None.
    .
    I want my taxes back, and I want people fired.

  7. There is word salad, and then there is word chef salad.

    ‘You’ are not ‘we’, Jharrett.

    I want to know specifically what you are going to do so as to ACADEMICALLY bring up measured levels of our students unto a viable and acceptable ACADEMIC ONLY norm, one that is sustainable beyond the lowest measure of results as it is right now.

    We spend nearly the most per student so as to achieve the nearly lowest of ACADEMIC results within the Nation.

    What, specifically, are you going to promote to change this?

    Your job is to promote ACADEMIC principles, so as to further the advantages that our students may benefit from.

    Anything else that you strive for, or attempt to enforce, is exactly what this community does not need, nor require.

  8. Golly gee, Dr. Jarrett: I am sure Assemblymember Forrest Dunbar could show you where to get a Carhartt jacket and Assemblymembers Constant and Rivera could identify the best social spots.

  9. Someone said on The Dan Fagan Show that Bryantt held something like a personnel director position in his previous school. I don’t recall specifically what was said, and don’t know if this is true, but this may be one thing to watch out for. He crafted a program that forced all of the teachers to teach critical race theory, CRT. [Please correct me if this is not true, Jharrett.]

    Apparently, our woke schoolboard, with the exception of Mr. ‘Amazing’ Dave Donley, bypassed Alaskan applicants who were qualified for the job, and who did not lie on their applications, and instead, hired out-of-state Bryantt, who was not qualified and who did lie on his application, so Bryantt would push woke agenda in Anchorage schools, and probably also forced masking if that comes up again — instead of high enough vitamin D levels, the #1 solution to Covid and depression that NO ONE talks about in Alaska, where the majority of people (teachers and students) are vitamin D deficient.

  10. How come the ASD is still at base camp after all these years and billions of dollars spent trying to climb that mountain?

  11. No shots. No authority. NO ONE WAS GIVEN EXPRESS CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY TO DELEGATE NOR GIFT TO YOU AUTHORITY TO COMMAND MEDICAL TREATMENTS.

  12. Anchorage Parents:

    Keep your eyes open and ready to step in and help your children. Do NOT FEAR anyone who doesn’t want the best for your child. “Diversity” is a catch phrase that is used by the left to make it difficult if your child is white. Good Luck, Guys/Gals

  13. Jarrett, do not condescend unto us.

    I am sure, by now, that you have been advised by certain school board members, as well as certain assembly members, that the citizenry of Anchorage, as well as of Alaska, are ‘uneducated, unsophisticated rubes’, and therefore of no consequence.

    And so, you write this missive that seems to be directed towards middle school students rather than adults that are the parents of said students.

    That you attempt to ‘explain’ your goals and ambitions within such elementary terminology is offensive to any thinking adult.

    Moreso, if that is your true mindset, and way of thinking, you have no business overseeing a classroom, let alone a district.

  14. From the Kamala Harris school of writing:
    Write a flowery missive of at least a page, say absolutely nothing, make no sense in the process and insult any logically thinking adult, who actually wishes to hear and learn your plans and the reasoning behind them in factual detail. What a totally wasted opportunity, to have a frank conversation with parents, teachers and students regarding the state of learning in this town and the steps to improve our dismal academic standard. I especially dislike his theme for this year’s start “Acclimating to the future”. NO mention of how this future looks like, but it sounds suspiciously like “get used to CRT, transgender-pushing and more hypochondriacs R-Us”

  15. Embracing this punk? Was he a product of Affirmative Action too? No worries. He’ll be gone before the start of next school year, looking for a better job because the idiots in Anchorage gave him a brief credentialing platform.

  16. I like the base camp analogy. However, I don’t think the ASD is at base camp and ready to climb. I think they have humped all the way back to Talkeetna and knocking back IPA’s at the brewery. I wish him well but not holding my breath. I think an IPA is in order.

Comments are closed.