Education
Alaska’s education spending lags behind national average when costs are factored in, economists say
Adjusted for the cost of living in rural and urban areas, Alaska spends about 7% less per student than the nationwide average, according to a recent study.
Mat-Su School Board selects replacement member
Anthony “Brooks” Pitcher told the school board he shares the values of the former school board member he was chosen to replace.
Lingít scholars document traditional hand gestures that could be used in language learning
Using old recordings, language experts are documenting birth speakers' hand gestures that have contextual meaning in Lingít.
Mat-Su School District sued over restraint and seclusion practices
Alaska's second-largest school district has been hit with a third lawsuit in as many weeks, this time for restraint and seclusion practices.
Petersburg High School students raise and release pink salmon
Science teacher Alice Cumps' class, in which students help hatch salmon into the wild, offers university credits and has kids competing to get in.
The rain never bothered us anyway: Ketchikan becomes Arendelle for Alaska debut of ‘Frozen’
Mayor Dave Kiffer has temporarily renamed the city in honor of the play, at the only high school in Alaska authorized to perform it.
Mat-Su high school students sue school district alleging free speech violations
Mat-Su students have sued their own school district over alleged First Amendment violations for the second time in as many weeks.
Free COVID tests headed to nation’s schools
The initiative will make available millions of tests for school districts as they enter the winter months when COVID activity is expected to peak.
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.
Petersburg secondary schools locking front doors during school hours
The change was made in response to threats by students against the facilities, but a school administrator says he would have eventually done so anyway.
Anchorage voters to decide school bond package that again includes Inlet View rebuild
A 2022 bond failed after the Anchorage School Board put $26 million toward the aging school, now estimated at more than $50 million total.
In the battle over books, who gets to decide what’s age-appropriate at libraries?
There are efforts to change how decisions are made about which books libraries should stock and which section they belong in.
Alaska attorney general says teachers need parental consent to discuss gender identity
Attorney General Treg Taylor has reinterpreted a statute requiring public schools to notify parents in advance of any content involving “human reproduction” or “sexual matters.”
Mat-Su School District’s removal of books from school libraries prompts federal lawsuit
The plaintiffs’ lawyers noted many of the protagonists in the challenged books are people of color or LGBTQ+ characters.
Anchorage superintendent says ‘strategic failure’ at play in snow-related school closures
Anchorage School District officials and city leaders addressed criticism over the recent cancellations of in-person school, which they say were forced by historic snowfall and unsafe streets.
Anchorage mayor responds to frustration over snow plowing and canceled in-person school
Anchorage schools are "on track" to reopen Thursday, after district officials said it was unsafe to bus students Wednesday, the fourth consecutive school day of remote learning.
Successive snow days leave Anchorage schools reliant on remote learning
Some parents, including those who have had to stay home from work, have criticized the lack of plowing and the cancellation of in-person school.
Anchorage teachers, school district agree on contract terms
The Anchorage teachers’ union announced a tentative agreement Friday on a one-year contract with a 3% pay increase.
In Alaska’s right-leaning Mat-Su, challengers aim to unseat conservative school board incumbents
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board has come under scrutiny after some recent, controversial decisions.
Hundreds of Mat-Su students stage walkout to protest school board decisions
The protests follow recent controversial decisions by the board, including the removal of its student representative.
University of Alaska graduate students vote to unionize
The state's graduate students will be represented by a union affiliated with the United Auto Workers, after a 314-11 vote counted Friday.
Alaska retirement board recommends closure of widely used plan after analysis finds flaws
The "managed accounts" program covers more than 10,000 of the 122,000-plus retirement accounts managed by the state.
‘Kuhaantí,’ a children’s book written entirely in Lingít, is the first of its kind in decades
“Kuhaantí” tells the story of a young orphaned girl named Saháan who is taken in by a powerful family and learns about the value of respect.
Anchorage educators aiming high as Alaska schools begin legislated literacy efforts
The Alaska Reads Act requires literacy screenings and help for struggling students, and its implementation is already visible in Anchorage.
Kenai Peninsula board narrowly rejects Nikolaevsk’s proposal for a charter school
The Russian Old Believer village wanted the school to focus on Russian language immersion and to follow a subsistence calendar.
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