UPDATE:

School board member Mike Williams of Akiak is wary of the state's appointment of a trustee to aid/oversee instruction in the Yupiit School District. A musher, he's seen here preparing to leave the Takotna checkpoint in the 2009 Iditarod. (Marc Lester/ADN)

I'd filed my story for tomorrow's print paper when longtime Yupiit School District board member Mike Williams called back to talk about the state appointing a trustee to help shape up the district.

Williams went to elementary school in a two-room Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Akiak. There was no local high school when he was a kid, he said. He was sent to the Chemawa boarding school in Oregon.

While the state is emphasizing cooperation with the district and community, he's wary of the Department of Education's plan to bring in a trustee with authority over the instructional program.

“I have concerns with that move. Because you know the whole notion of local control, of school districts, is going to be in question," he said. "And we are heading back to the dark days of state-operated schools and you know, I think the state is going backwards instead of forward."

And later:

“Come out and show me what you can do better with all of the challenges that we have had," he said. "And if you can make those improvements, make my day."

Williams said he'd work positively with the state and wished them luck.

The Education Department issued this statement from Commissioner Larry LeDoux as part of its announcement today:

“The state will provide sufficient resources to accomplish the goal of increased student achievement, while respecting local authority and control ... This appointment is another step in the support the state has been offering the district for several years. The department looks forward to those collaborative partnerships, which will provide students with what they need to be successful.”

ORIGINAL POST:

Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux signed an order this week appointing a "trustee" to work with the state's poorest-performing school district.

Darrell Sanborn, the former superintendent in Unalaska, will be given "authority over the instructional program" of the Yupiit School District in Southwest Alaska.

It's the first time the state has sent a trustee in to an Alaska district to try and revive test scores and performance, according to the department.

As best I can tell, the order gives Sanborn authority to oversee what is taught and how it's taught in the district, though Education Department officials described and emphasized a more advisory role.

"We think the district wants to work with us in a cooperative and collaborative way," deputy commissioner Les Morse said earlier today in Anchorage. This morning, LeDoux, Morse and others met with the district superintendent and board chairman.

Still -- the order itself has some teeth. It says that if the district isn't making sufficient progress by the end of the year, Sanborn may be given authority over the district budget and placement of administrators.

That's a signal the state could essentially end up running the district if things don't change, though state officials say that's not what they want and continually emphasized cooperation with school and community leaders. No other districts are under immediate threat for this level of state intervention, they said.

"I have confidence right now that we’re going to team together to leverage the benefit of this trustee versus having any kind of pointing fingers," Morse said.

The district has about 450 students in three village schools -- Akiachak, Akiak and Tuluksak. The superintendent and school leaderships are staying at their jobs and the state will pay Sanborn's salary.

Fewer than one third of 3rd graders in the district are proficient in reading, writing and math, according to Department of Education state test scores. The scores were worse for 10th graders: 11.5 percent proficiency in reading, 16 percent in writing and 20 percent in math.

I've been working on a story about it today and left messages early this afternoon with the district but haven't heard back from anyone on how they feel about the order.

Do you live in the region? What do you think about the state's intervention? E-mail me at khopkins@adn.com or call 257-4334.

Education Department spokesman Eric Fry said the move is part of the state's increasing intervention in the district following years of poor performance.

Here's how the state describes it:

The state has intervened in the Yupiit School District for five years, providing experienced Alaska experts in curriculum, assessments and instruction, as well as mentor teachers and principal coaches. The appointment of a trustee represents the next stage in the system of support.

The trustee will ensure the implementation of the district’s improvement plan, which incorporates research-based practices in classroom assessments, instruction, professional development, parental and community involvement, staff collaboration, curriculum, literacy, remediation plans for individual students for the graduation exam, collaboration with early childhood programs, and teacher retention. The trustee also will coordinate the State System of Support’s expanded efforts in Yupiit.

A trustee will remain in place until the district shows at least a 2 percentage-point improvement in reading, writing and math scores for three consecutive years, demonstrating that a system of improving the schools has taken root.