Education

All Alaska education news stories including child care, K-12 schools, university and policy.

A girld in a purple tank top gets a shot from a white man in a red masik

Cases are rising but masks to remain optional for students, says Anchorage School District

Local districts make their own decisions about mask wearing for fall as cases are on the rise as the youngest students remain ineligible for a covid vaccine.
Little Diomede

Little Diomede school struck by collapsing building closed indefinitely

Students are switching to remote learning after the city building partially collapsed onto the Diomede School Sunday morning.

Federal education officials say Alaska owes millions to Juneau, Kenai and North Slope school districts

Rules attached to the funding prevented states from disproportionately reducing their funding to high-need districts.
a school bus at the state Capitol

Dunleavy’s education funding veto leaves Juneau School District with budget gap

Juneau School District leaders built a budget around an assumed $430 increase to the base student allocation. The governor's veto makes that $340.
Petersburg's high school

Petersburg schools concerned about spreading trend of travel-fueled absenteeism

School administrators in Petersburg have been alarmed this year by how many families are taking extended vacations outside of school breaks.

Wide-ranging Alaska House education bill would boost school funding but faces uncertain future

The legislation includes priorities important to many Republicans in the Alaska House, but some key lawmakers say they have doubts.
students

After a dozen years, statewide Yup’ik language spelling bee going strong

Yup'ik and Inupiaq spelling bees, like those held earlier this month in Anchorage, are a relatively new experience for students.
flowers at the state Capitol

Alaska legislators lack the votes to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes

Support for an override is short of the 40 votes needed to call a special session, and shy of the 45 needed for an override.
UAA Chancellor Cathy Sandeen at a desk.

UAA Chancellor Cathy Sandeen takes new job in California

The news of her departure comes about two years after Sandeen became the leader of Alaska’s largest public university.
A structural engineer address the crowd on a tour of the damage at Gruening Middle School

Gruening Middle School teachers and staff take first look at earthquake damage

Gruening suffered the most damage of any school in the district during the earthquake and will receive the bulk of the money in the school bond proposal for repairs and seismic upgrades.
A line of elementary children line up and walk down the hallway out to recess in the winter

Anchorage School District outlines plans for return to school buildings

The youngest children will return first, in mid-October. Middle school children will return in November and high school students will return in early 2021

Alaska educators breathe sigh of relief as hundreds of millions of federal dollars roll in

The money is enough to support schools through the next few years but doesn’t address the state’s long term education funding problems

‘These Fs are tied to the pandemic’: Thousands of Anchorage students start summer school

The Anchorage School District is prioritizing re-building kids' relationship to in-person learning and starting to address learning loss.
A toddler boy with blonde hair works in a workbook at a table next to an older girl with brown hair also doing school work at the table.

The pandemic forced these families to try new education formats. Now, they want to stick with it.

While some families who tried homeschooling last year hated it, others were introduced to a more customizable format that they’d like to keep exploring.

Dunleavy says correspondence school decision will have broad impacts. But will it?

A judge recently threw out two laws underpinning key aspects of Alaska's homeschool system. The impact of the decision is up for debate.
school bus in front of building

A closer look at the Harvard charter school study making waves in Juneau

A new study ranks Alaska's charter schools No. 1 in the nation. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has cited the study in calls to expand charter schools.
A woman in a striped shirt stands in front of snow and trees.

Alaska education group prepares to sue state over school funding

“If the only thing that people will listen to is the court system, then that's what we're left with,” said Caroline Storm, with the Coalition for Education Equity of Alaska.

‘Thankful for everything they’ve done’: Anchorage students turn health workers’ selfies into art

An Anchorage high school art teacher started the project to honor and celebrate essential workers on the frontline of the pandemic.
A woman in a black graduation gown walks up to a podium.

UAA graduation is extra sweet for students who missed high school ceremonies 4 years ago

Sunday’s ceremony stands in contrast to four years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought in-person gatherings to a halt across the globe.
A sign says Anchorage School District.

Anchorage school employee arrested after police say he assaulted a student

Police say the paraprofessional “put his hands” on a Baxter Elementary student following a disagreement on the playground.