Mt. Edgecumbe review ends with 22 recommendations to the state board

A state committee reviewing Mt. Edgecumbe High School gave Alaska's education board 22 recommendations on Wednesday, capping a review that began after parents, students and staff raised concerns about the state-run boarding school in Sitka last year.

The recommendations range from consistent dorm rules to a written protocol for when staff must contact parents.

They arrive as the school, which draws students from across rural Alaska, works through what its superintendent calls a rebuilding period: new principals, six new teachers and $22.4 million in approved capital projects, alongside English and math performance below the state average and enrollment below capacity.

The State Board of Education and Early Development governs Mt. Edgecumbe directly because the school has no local school board. The board received the recommendations as an information item, with no action required.

The committee included a board member, two parents, two student government representatives, an alumni representative, a tribal representative and a member of the school's advisory board. It grouped its recommendations into four areas: communication, residential life, school culture and student engagement, and academics. Among them:

• Make dorm rules clear and apply them consistently.

• Strengthen mental health supports for students.

• Clarify how staff respond to student safety concerns.

• Write a protocol for when staff must contact parents.

• Review Wi-Fi and device access between lights-out and morning.

• Gather information from students who withdraw to learn why they left.

In a report to the board this week, Superintendent David Langford said the school began the year nearly fully staffed, with academic and residential principals named in June. The approved capital projects include a $10.2 million dining hall and kitchen renovation.

He also listed continuing challenges: English and math performance below the state average and below comparable districts, student mental health, a dorm mental health clinician still being recruited, and enrollment below capacity.

The board met Tuesday and Wednesday on the Mt. Edgecumbe campus. Students who spoke during public comment talked about the school's changes and their optimism about its future, according to a department news release issued Friday.

"Every student I spoke with mentioned how much the school had improved during the up to four years they had been there," said Joshua Bolling-Cornilles, the board's student advisor.

Surveys gathered for the committee were more mixed. Of 186 students who responded, about 82% rated their classes a 4 or 5 out of 5 for preparing them for future goals. About 78% rated their sense of safety at school and in the dorms that high. About 40% rated the food that high, according to the student survey.

The review grew out of the board's December 2025 meeting. There, alumna Tanya Kitka relayed concerns from parents, students, alumni and staff about conditions at the school, and student health center manager Kristen Homer raised concerns about student safety and well-being, according to the approved minutes.

The board created the committee in March. Alaska News reported Sept. 9 that the school was carrying a $1.6 million shortfall and had lost teachers as enrollment declined.