Latest news with #Holleman
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bemidji High School graduates define their success as class of 2025
May 24—BEMIDJI — "Sometimes, you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." Credited to the late Dr. Seuss, this quote officially represents Bemidji High School's class of 2025, who celebrated the end of an era and the start of a new one during their commencement ceremony at the Sanford Center on Saturday. Proceeding into the arena in a sea of navy blue and white, the most recent addition to BHS' alumni base — including graduates Moraya Holleman and Annabelle Haas — had the opportunity to reflect on the past 13 years as they prepare for the rest of their lives. "Today is a very special day, and it's special for more than just receiving a diploma," Holleman said. "We have spent the last 13 years of our lives striving for the success of walking across this stage and receiving our diplomas. "Most of us have never had something that we have worked so long to achieve — something so life-changing, something so permanent — that we can say we did, thus far, in our lives. We have spent seven hours a day, nine months a year, working for this day." Throughout much of the ceremony, emphasis was placed on what defines success. Bemidji Area Schools Superintendent Jeremy Olson encouraged graduates to focus on four core pieces of advice — be grateful, keep learning, be resilient and live with purpose — as ways to focus on what matters most. "We only get one life, live it well," Olson said. "At the end of your life, it's not going to matter what promotions you've had, how much you've earned, how large your house is, the kind of car you drive. What matters most is how you've invested in others. Your impact will be measured by that." Holleman expounded on certain definitions of "success" and urged her classmates to reconsider what it means to be truly successful. "Success is often defined by money and fame," she said. "We are an amazing group of people who have had so many accomplishments in this school over the last four years, and I have no doubt that we are going places. But let's not get caught up in the modern definition of success that we forget what true joy, kindness and true success are. "We can reach for the stars. We can become pro-athletes, professional musicians, amazing inventors and entrepreneurs, and maybe even billionaires. But all of that means so little if we aren't good people." Principal Jason Stanoch used the word "endurance" to describe the class of 2025 when looking back at their past four years at BHS. "Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines endurance as 'relating to a race or other sporting event that takes place over a long distance or otherwise demands great physical exertion, stamina.' Four years is a long time to endure," Stanoch said. "Some of you might think that today is the end of the game, but just like halftime in football or between innings of softball or between periods of hockey, the game has just begun. "You will continue to represent our school and community as Lumberjacks in the game of life." Stanoch also provided notable stats for the graduating class, which included 112 academic letter winners, 60 graduates with grade point averages of 3.9 or higher, 59 honor graduates and 49 members of the National Honor Society. One graduate attained a National Merit commendation along with three semi-finalists for the National Merit Scholarship, which is considered the most prestigious and competitive scholarship in the nation. The class attained 96 medallions across 110 career pathways within the Bemidji Career Academies. The class also represented 12 tribal nations, recorded 56 Native American graduates and had 10 international exchange students. A total of 18 student-athletes will continue to compete at all levels in their respective sports. Collectively, the 2025 class earned a total of 1,572 college credits, which equates to more than 13 bachelor's degrees from a four-year university. Graduates are set to attend an array of colleges, including Bemidji State, Hamline University, Swego and Illinois State University, among others. Recognized at a May 15 senior awards program, the class has earned nearly $3 million in scholarships. "That number continues to grow every day as we receive notices from various colleges, institutions and organizations that are investing in your future," Stanoch added. Noting the class' continued success — given its expansive definition — Stanoch expressed appreciation for the class of 2025's impact on BHS as they represent their alma mater outside its classroom walls. "We will forever be grateful for the legacy of success that you have added while you were at BHS. You have brought joy to our lives — the staff, our students, our families," Stanoch left off. "We are excited to watch your journey beyond high school." The full graduation ceremony can be viewed on the Bemidji Area Schools YouTube channel.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anchorage School Board bets on state funding increase in revised budget, reversing cuts to staff and programs
May 7—The Anchorage School Board on Tuesday passed a revised budget that relies on a yet-to-be-finalized funding increase from the state, aiming to save staff and programs that were set for cuts. However, multiple school board members cautioned that even if the funding comes through as currently proposed, Anchorage schools will still face reductions, both this school year and next. "It does seem like there will be more funds coming from Juneau, and so I think to that degree it's not unreasonable for the board to make that assumption and stop some of the worst of the damage," board member Andy Holleman said ahead of the vote. But, Holleman added, "this doesn't fully restore things by any means." The board passed the revised budget unanimously. Member Dave Donley was absent. The Alaska Legislature last month passed a bill that would increase the Base Student Allocation, the state's per-student funding formula, by $700. School districts across the state say the increase is urgently needed after a decade of virtually flat funding, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy has criticized — and vetoed — past legislation because it does not also include education policies he has proposed. Dunleavy has yet to sign or veto House Bill 57. Regardless, lawmakers have said they believe they have the votes to override a veto. In a May 6 memo outlining the proposal, the Anchorage School Board members who proposed the amended budget said it was crafted "in response to the Legislature's bipartisan passage of House Bill 57 and with acute awareness of the distress that the scale of ASD's FY26 staffing displacement process and programmatic reductions have wrought on students, families, educators, and the community at large." The revision increases the district's proposed operating budget from $594.6 million to $634.5 million. It assumes a $560 increase to the BSA — a lower number than is included in the legislation currently on the table, but an amount school board members noted the governor has indicated he can support. Still, board member Margo Bellamy on Tuesday repeatedly characterized passing the revised budget before HB57 becomes law as a "calculated risk." Bellamy likened it to "me not having any income, and writing a check, hoping that it pays for my mortgage, and it depends on so many other things — if I get a job, if someone helps me, whatever." "I'm not comfortable with it, but it is necessary," she said. Board member Kelly Lessens at the meeting outlined sweeping changes the revised budget makes possible, including allowing the school district to increase the pupil-teacher ratio by one student rather than four, making it possible it to reverse a majority of the cuts to staff positions, avoiding layoffs and most displacements. More than 200 teacher positions would be restored under the revised budget, the school district said in a statement Wednesday. Lessens added that the revised budget also reverses cuts to middle school sports and certain high school sports programs; elementary paraprofessional positions; the IGNITE program; librarians; nurses; elementary language immersion programs; elementary and secondary summer school programs; and Battle of the Books. It also provides more funding to charter schools and correspondence students, among other changes, she said. However, Lessens still characterized the funding increase the amended budget relies on as "modest." About $23 million in cuts remain in the budget for the upcoming school year, she said. "It's not perfect. Principals are still tasked with making unenviable decisions," Lessens said. "This is not a magic wand by any stretch of the imagination." The school board's memo notes that even if the currently proposed $700 BSA increase becomes law, it "would not address the full $1,808 inflationary gap that has grown between FY11 and the present." Board member Pat Higgins cautioned ahead of the vote that the budget also relies on reserves. "I ... want to be completely honest: Unless the Legislature and the governor decide that their obligation is to fund adequately public education, we're going to do this again next year," Higgins said.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Sexton, former state poet laureate, is remembered for his 'unbelievable' influence teaching Alaska writers
Mar. 22—It's difficult to overstate the impact Tom Sexton had on generations of Alaska writers. As an English and creative writing professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage for nearly 25 years, Sexton spurred young writers to chase opportunity and inspiration. "You turn over a rock and somebody took a class from Tom Sexton," said Mike Burwell, a writer, editor and former student. "It's unbelievable, his overall influence on writers in Alaska." Sexton died this month at age 84, leaving a legacy as a prolific poet, an influential instructor and an initiator of literary platforms in the state. Sexton grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts, and had his first exposure to the state in the U.S. Army. He later returned to the state in summer 1968, the day after he and his wife, Sharyn, were married. Sexton earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and when the university expanded with a four-year institution in Anchorage, he started teaching at the school. Alaska author Marybeth Holleman was an MFA student of Sexton's at UAA. For a decade, Holleman said, Sexton handled all of the university's writing courses, from film to fiction, and he even was the chair of the philosophy department for a time. "He was a wonderful, generous, kind, very calm teacher," Holleman said. "His calm presence was so important when you're a student and you get all those anxieties, but he was just a great teacher." Sexton was a founding editor of the Alaska Quarterly Review, launched by Ronald Spatz and James Liszka in 1980. Holleman said Sexton and Spatz, a colleague at UAA, brought a number of notable writers to the state, giving students an opportunity to rub elbows and learn from the likes of Jane Hirshfield, Tobias Wolff and Rosellen Brown. "They would give a public reading that anyone can go to," Holleman said. "Then they would give a craft talk to the students in the MFA program. And we just got to meet these incredible writers. So even though we only had two professors in the program, it was a much broader — just a lot of nourishment coming in from Outside." Sexton retired at UAA in 1994 and was named Alaska's Poet Laureate in 1995, a role he held until 2000. Even when he wasn't actively teaching at the university, Sexton still maintained an inspirational spirit. When circumpolar poetry journal Ice Floe was winding down its publication, he encouraged Burwell to launch Cirque. The Alaska-based literary journal Burwell publishes with Sandra Kleven has now been in existence for more than 15 years. "Basically he was the spark for Cirque," Burwell said. "You know, we just put out issue No. 28, so we've been around a while. It was that original encouragement that really got me going on Cirque." Holleman said it was notable that when Sexton was at UAA, he focused almost exclusively on teaching. "He did give his all as a teacher," Holleman said. "He published very little when he was a teacher. And it was only when he retired in 1994 that he started putting out a book every other year. He's written dozens of books of poetry, but they came after he retired." While Sexton was known for his Alaska poems of place, he also did a substantial amount of writing about his home and youth in Lowell. In total, he published more than 12 books of poetry in his time in Alaska. "He turned out two or three books kind of around Lowell and the Lowell experience," Burwell said. "They're pretty hard hitting." Both Burwell and Holleman later published Sexton's work — Burwell in Cirque, and Holleman in projects like "Crosscurrents North: Alaskans on the Environment," which she co-edited. "He was my mentor in the program, and then afterwards, a friend and I have also had the great honor of publishing some of his poems in a couple of anthologies that I've edited, too," Holleman said. Over the years, Sexton had a number of rural Alaska properties that functioned as writing retreats. That included a cabin along the Chulitna River where he would often spend weekends writing. Holleman said Sexton was a well-known rover, and on his walks he would carry scraps of paper and write notes or lines that would eventually find their way into his poems. "I don't know, there's just something about that that's so beautiful and so unusual for us now," Holleman said. "But he studied the Chinese poets, who just were wanderers. And so I feel like he kind of continued that lineage, this ancient lineage and brought it to us in contemporary culture."
USA Today
30-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Clarksville City Council to hear a resolution to eliminate DEI from city government
Clarksville City Council is expected to hear a proposed resolution that would eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from city government. On Thursday, the council will hear the resolution proposed by Travis Holleman, Ward 7. In the resolution, Holleman says that "the Clarksville City Council wants the city of Clarksville workforce to serve the community to the best of their ability based on merit, and the people of Clarksville deserve a competent workforce to serve them ... regardless of race or sexual orientation.." The resolution continues to say that the city "spends $120,000 of the taxpayers money annually on a DEI Communist Propaganda officer's salary." And based on election results, "there is overwhelming evidence that the people of Clarksville are tired of the DEI Communist push, as it contributes to the destruction and mismanagement of our society." The resolution also cites other extra expenses that have arisen such as deploying firefighters to help with wildfires in Los Angeles, calculated into the fire department's budget. DEI in the City of Clarksville The City of Clarksville does have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer. According to the city, this is a stand-alone position in the Human Resources department focused on coordinating various human resources programs. Responsibilities include the development and implementation of citywide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which encompass onboarding, employee retention, performance management, training and cultural change initiatives. The officer monitors compliance with equal opportunity laws to ensure fair employment practices, regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, disability or other protected statuses. Duties also involve data collection and analysis, making recommendations, providing guidance on employee relations, investigating EEO complaints, conducting training and preparing reports. The officer also acts as the City's official EEO Officer and Title VI Coordinator. In 2023, Michelle Lowe was appointed as the officer, but Leah Frazier currently holds that position. Previous comments made by Holleman This is not the first time Holleman has been vocal about DEI. At the June 27 meeting, Holleman gave a presentation regarding "public policies and employee policies," where he criticized DEI training and programs implemented by many major corporations. He called DEI efforts "training programs to help employees brainwash and indoctrinate," pushing "woke agendas," comparing DEI officers to communist officers before he continued to criticize actions of the LGBTQ community, drag shows and transgender issues, saying "Prince of Pride is Satan," and calling the city to "wake up and repent." At the July meeting, Democratic and LGBTQIA+ leaders spoke during public comments to protest the comments made by Holleman. "DEI isn't just about LGBT folks. It's about Juneteenth. It's about Emancipation Day. It's about the AAPI Festival. It's about Latino heritage," said Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair Charles Uffelman. "Clarksville is a beautiful city because it's diverse, not despite its diversity, and that's an American concept. Has nothing to do with Russia has nothing to do with communism." "On my previous comments about DEI didn't exist, that homosexuals wouldn't exist, disabled people wouldn't exist. I mean, they existed before diversity equity inclusion, like diversity equity inclusion, is a new thing. "Talking about my presentation, I mean, I never really cared until the LGBT (community) started targeting children," Holleman said, citing a law passed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed that prevents schools from revealing a student's sexual orientation or gender identity to any person without the student's consent. "My whole objective is to protect children," Holleman said. "And so I'm sorry y'all feel attacked, but protecting children is more important. That's all I've got." Holleman did not respond to The Leaf-Chronicle's request for comment. Kenya Anderson is a reporter for The Leaf-Chronicle. She can be contacted at kanderson@ or on X at kenyaanderson32. Sign up for the Leaf-Chronicle to support local journalism at
