Alaska

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Alaska
Teaching Profession Video Teaching 'My Friends' Kids': An Alaska Educator With Deep Community Ties
This Alaska educator now teaches at the elementary school she once attended. It's a position ripe with rewards, and some challenges.
Catriona Ni Aolain, March 6, 2024
1 min read
From left: Missy Testerman, Christy Todd, Catherine Walker, Joe Nappi
From left: Missy Testerman, Christy Todd, Catherine Walker, Joe Nappi
Photos courtesy of the Council of Chief State Schools Officers
Teaching Profession Here Are the 4 Finalists for National Teacher of the Year
The nation's top teaching award will be given to one of them in the spring.
Madeline Will, January 24, 2024
8 min read
Mat-Su school board student representative Ben Kolendo listens to public testimony during the school board meeting in Palmer on Sept. 6, 2023.
Matanuska-Susitna<ins data-user-label="Stephen Sawchuk" data-time="11/14/2023 3:05:14 PM" data-user-id="00000175-2524-d387-a175-673d43580000" data-target-id=""> Borough</ins> school board student representative Ben Kolendo listens to public testimony during a meeting in Palmer, Alaska on Sept. 6, 2023.
Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News
School & District Management Student School Board Members Want a Seat at the Table, Not Just a Pat on the Back
Former student school board members have formed an organization to support peers who serve in the tricky role.
Evie Blad, November 15, 2023
7 min read
An illustration of a woman watering a large flower that another woman is sitting in.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management 3 Benefits of Superintendent Mentoring Programs
Mentoring helps both rookie superintendents and the veteran administrators guiding them.
Evie Blad, June 21, 2023
3 min read
A woman in a blue blazer stands behind a podium on stage in a high school gymnasium. Behind her, children wearing Alaska Native clothing sit in front of a bright blue wall.
Kimberly Hankins, the superintendent of the Lower Kuskokwim School District in Bethel, Alaska, speaks before a visit from first lady Jill Biden at the Bethel Regional High School gym on May 17, 2023.
Courtesy of Kimberly Hankins
School & District Management 'Incredibly Isolated': A State's Effort to Keep Superintendents Connected and in the Job
Retired superintendents help new district leaders navigate the role.
Evie Blad, June 16, 2023
8 min read
Group of elementary girls in art class coloring with markers and one girl in the back ground cutting something out of construction paper.
iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance Schools Used ESSER Funds for After-School Programs. What Happens When the Money Runs Out?
Partnerships and blending other funding streams together are two ways to sustain after-school programs, experts say.
Lauraine Langreo, April 11, 2023
6 min read
The East Anchorage High and Scammon Bay students gather at a home in the Native Village to learn how to comb fur from a musk ox hide using special combs and common forks. The fur can later be spun into yarn.
Students from East Anchorage High School and Scammon Bay, Alaska, gather to learn how to comb fur from a musk ox hide through a federally funded cultural and educational program for Alaska Native students.
Erin Irwin/Education Week
Education Funding Grants Aim to Support Alaska Native Students' Education, Well-Being
The U.S. Department of Education is providing more than $35 million for projects in its latest round of funding.
Libby Stanford, September 6, 2022
2 min read
Collage of figures and money texture.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Education Funding State K-12 Spending Is Inequitable and Inadequate. See Where Yours Ranks
There's a $17,000 per student difference between the highest- and lowest-spending states. High-poverty schools suffer especially.
Mark Lieberman, October 28, 2021
4 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center Map: A-F Grades, Rankings for States on School Quality
Here’s a map showing grades for all the states on this year’s Quality Counts summative report card, on which the nation gets a C overall.
EdWeek Research Center, September 1, 2021
1 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center Nation Gets a 'C' on Latest School Quality Report Card, While N.J. Again Boasts Top Grade
A slight increase in this year's Quality Counts score isn't enough to boost the nation's school system above last year's middling grade.
Sterling C. Lloyd & Alex Harwin, September 1, 2021
8 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center State Grades on K-12 Achievement: 2021 Map and Rankings
Examine the grades and scores that states and the nation earned on K-12 achievement, along with how they scored on a host of indicators.
EdWeek Research Center, September 1, 2021
1 min read
Conceptual image of a school door with projected shadows of students.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty)
School & District Management Interactive Enrollment Data: How Many Students Went Missing in Your State?
America's public school system lost more than 1.3 million students during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Education Week analysis.
1 min read
Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Photo courtesy of Woodland Pond School
School & District Management More Than 1 Million Students Didn't Enroll During the Pandemic. Will They Come Back?
Education Week analyzed state data to gather a more comprehensive understanding of the 2020-21 school year's enrollment loss.
Eesha Pendharkar, June 17, 2021
6 min read
States Tracker Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack
Education Week summarizes where state policymakers are attempting to censor the way teachers talk about racism and gender.
Sarah Schwartz, June 11, 2021
4 min read