Alaska
News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Alaska
Recruitment & Retention
Employees Sharing in Alaska’s Bonuses
Visitors arrive by plane and ferry to the remote, 130-student Hoonah City School District, located on an island off the Alaskan coast.
Education Funding
Alaska Panel to Weigh School Funding Issue
The task force, which will have 11 members, is expected to address funding issues that have long bedeviled Alaska officials.
States
State of the States
Alaska Executive Seeks ‘Stability’
Gov. Sarah Palin's proposed budget would increase educational funding by 17 percent.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Veterans Come to Aid of Novice Teachers in Alaska’s ‘Bush’
In Toksook Bay, Alaska, help for new teachers arrives by phone, Internet, and e-mail—and occasionally, by snowmobile.
Recruitment & Retention
Alaska Governor Seeks Incentives for School Employees
Alaska officials are seeking their own version of the pay-for-performance models being tested or proposed in some of the Lower 48 states. The plan offers bonuses not only to teachers, but also to principals, secretaries, cooks, janitors, and other school employees.
Recruitment & Retention
State of the States
Big Plans Announced for Alaska Schools
Gov. Frank H. Murkowski used his Jan. 10 State of the State Address to ask legislators for increased per-pupil school funding—and to hint that another major education announcement was imminent.
Curriculum
Elementary Youngsters Immersed in Russian Classes in Alaska School
Russian is the sixth- or seventh-most-popular language taught in K-12 schools, foreign-language advocates say, with most of the courses being offered at the secondary level.
Special Education
Moving in a Special Direction
An Alaskan district puts a heavy emphasis on meeting the physical education needs of students with disabilities.
Law & Courts
Alaska School Aid System Challenged in Court
Alaska parents, teachers, and school advocates who say that a recent hike in education funding doesn't go nearly far enough have taken their concerns to court.
Classroom Technology
Alaska Correspondence School Avoids Threatened Shutdown
State officials have reached an agreement they say will ensure that Alyeska Central, Alaska's only fully certified correspondence school, survives in the face of recent proposals to shut it down.
School & District Management
Fire and Ice
Ben Seymour moved to Alaska with a burning passion for Native American and Eskimo culture. He found it on the island of Little Diomede.
Education
A Way Up North
Six years ago, the Chugach school system in rural Alaska took a sharp turn from tradition, getting rid of grade levels and uniform academic schedules and replacing them with specially tailored lesson plans for all students. Since then, the 214-student district has seen a surge in several measures of academic achievement after years of struggle, and gained national recognition.
School Climate & Safety
Out in the Cold
Alaska's struggle to define the state's role in paying for school construction is compounded by the long distances between its communities, and the drastic differences in how its people live.