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John Steiner - Experienced Effective School Board Member
John Steiner's Experience as a School Board Member
Completing his sixth year on the Anchorage School Board, John Steiner was first elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2005. Twice elected a Board officer, John has served actively on the Policy, Audit, Legislative, School Site Selection and Municipal Relations Committees. He has also served terms as Board liaison to the Federation of Community Councils, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Minority Education Concerns Advisory Committee and The Council of the Great City Schools.
Working actively each year to refine the Alaska Association of School Boards’ (AASB) legislative priorities, John contributed to the Anchorage School Board being named the AASB Outstanding Board of the Year for 2004. Having received many hours of AASB training, John received an “Excellence in Boardsmanship” certificate at the 2007 AASB state conference, where he also received a National Association of School Boards Distinguished Service Award.
Sponsored by the Broad Foundation, John has also studied cutting-edge school district reform governance at the Center for Reform of School Systems’ Broad Institute for School Boards.
After the 2007 election, John will be the second-longest serving member on a Board that recently received its highest community approval ratings for many years.
 John Steiner’s Effectiveness on the School Board
John's experience means effectiveness in helping improve the Anchorage School District. He leads by probing for answers and seeking new ideas to increase student achievement, reduce drop-outs, increase graduation rates, and improve safety and service to the community.
John digs deeply into each issue before the Board, taking seriously the Board's role in weighing every administration proposal. He asks tough questions to ensure careful evaluation of alternatives and implications have been for optimal use of tax dollars to the greatest educational benefit of students. Recently, John's question on a single matter resulted in saving the District over $140,000.
John played a key role in bringing back and encouraging expansion of the District's highly successful summer school options and continues to seek alternatives and interventions for keeping or returning students to the path to graduation. He advocates strongly for rigorous analysis of achievement data to better budget for the most effective instruction and supports.
John listens carefully—to constituents, to public testimony, to Carol Comeau and her staff, to his fellow Board members. He is not shy about seeking Board action where warranted, nor too proud to reassess his position in light of new information.
John identifies issues on which the Board actively works to improve the administration's proposals and to write better policy. John helps craft workable solutions to achieve community-desired results and to avoid potential pitfalls for the District. He provides fiscally responsible guidance, firmly believing top-quality public education pays substantial community dividends. Active and effective in the Board's legislative efforts, John's good relationship with the governor and legislators on both sides of the aisle helps secure greater state funding for Anchorage and better education policy for all Alaska students.
John Steiner works to address Community-Wide Concerns
Money Matters. Few services are as valuable or as worth paying for as public education, but John puts a premium on careful, efficient stewardship of our tax dollars. The challenge: to attract and maintain good teachers, hold down class size, update aging facilities, provide mandated special education services, deal with the accountability demands of the federal “No Child Left Behind” law and the state High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, all while providing a well-rounded education that meets the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Recent revenue increases have relieved the District from the pain of the budget cuts of previous years, but rising costs keep the pressure on. The Anchorage School District's real gains in student achievement demonstrate that effective use of resources works. This success also shows that greater state contribution to make up for past cuts from inflation truly benefits Anchorage students.
Accountable Accountability. School accountability to the community, proficiency measurement and reporting, rigorous standards—all are important. Yet accountability must acknowledge the challenges confronting our varied students. The controversial “No Child Left Behind” law fails in that respect, but John supports NCLB's goal that no students be left below minimum proficiency. Schools must have the resources required to overcome deficits prevalent among too many disadvantaged students. At the same time, the District must continue to challenge advanced students to even higher proficiencies.
Every School Is Special. John seeks policies that foster an up-beat spirit of purpose and enthusiasm for learning in students, parents and staff at every school.
Every Student Should Feel Safe at School. John strongly supports Anchorage Police Department resource officers in District high schools. John supports active measures to combat bullying, but increased care to ensure that victims are not swept-up in blanket discipline.
Tomorrow's Anchorage Is in Today's Schools. Public support for schools depends on a public sense that good schools are valuable to the entire community. John seeks to keep the District's prime focus on its mission to increase academic achievement and civic contribution of all kids as a responsibility to the community.
The Anchorage School Board benefits from John Steiner’s Personal Background and Community Leadership
Personal: An Alaskan for almost 31 years, John first came to Alaska as a farm worker in the Mat-Su Valley. Following a stint Outside for college and law school, John and his wife of 29 years, Jeri (Chris) Steiner, have lived in Anchorage or Eagle River for nearly 21 years. Practicing law here more than 20 years, John has served Alaska as an Assistant Attorney General for over 15 years and is part of two subdivision development ventures.
John & Chris, a preschool teacher, have three daughters—all graduates of Chugiak High School. The eldest taught high school English for two years as a New York City Teaching Fellow and now works in public relations in San Francisco. The middle daughter received her secondary education teaching certification and will receive a masters in biology in June, 2008. The youngest is a pre-nursing student at UAA.
All told, their three daughters gave John and Chris 33 school years and 15 athletic seasons of cumulative experience as parents as parents in the Anchorage School District, plus the better part of a year hosting an exchange student in the District. John's experience with ASD before becoming a board member also includes:
- Elementary PTA member and volunteer
- Annual Statewide PTA Legislative Issues Conference delegate (5 years)
- Middle School Parent-Teacher-Student Advisory Committee
- ASD Secondary Education Specifications Advisory Committee
- ASD Quality Education Review Process Committee for High Schools
- High School Parent-Teacher-Student Advisory Committee
John's long and broad experience with the District brings perspective to the Board and focuses its attention on the District's core educational mission.
Community:
- Community Council president (5 yrs), director and committee chair (5 yrs), member (10+ yrs).
- Board and Theater Committee Member, set builder and actor, Alaska Fine Arts Academy.
- Steering Group Member and past chair, Legal Affairs Committee of Airports Council International-North America.
Education:
- Ohio State University (ATI), A.A.S.
- Ohio State University, B.S.
- Yale Law School, J.D.
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