Education
RSSAlaska News covers education policy, school funding, teacher programs, and student services across Alaska's public schools and universities.
Alaska raised the age of consent, and school districts have new duties
Alaska raised the age of consent to 18 in July. School districts now must report such conduct to police, notify parents, and file with the state.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
UAF launches a fellowship to grow Alaska Native leaders in food and agriculture
UAF is launching a program to grow Alaska Native leaders in food, farming and natural resources — fields where Native people are badly underrepresented.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska schools warned on parental consent for surveys and student records
Alaska schools could risk federal funding if they survey students on sensitive topics without written parental consent, or withhold records parents can see.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Alaska says school improvement grant reviews are delayed by staffing gaps
Federal money for Alaska's lowest-performing schools is stuck. The state office that reviews the applications is short-staffed, and deadlines have not moved.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Chugachmiut's Sugt'stun language game gets new gameplay footage
Nunaka means my village in Sugt'stun. It is also a free game teaching the language to children in a region where fluent speakers are dwindling.
by Alaska News3w ago2 min read
Districts learned about $115 million after school had already started
Alaska school districts learned they were getting $115 million the day after school started, because the money depended on oil revenue counted Aug. 31.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Anchorage school district proposes splitting $32 million in one-time state money
Anchorage schools will split $32 million in one-time state money, spending more than half this year and saving the rest to shrink a $40 million deficit expected next summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Anchorage band teacher tells school board he now teaches 330 students a day
Anchorage band teacher Dan Whitfield teaches 330 students daily after the district cut a part-time director position, leaving classes of 45 to 83 students with no jazz band or extra help.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Alaska districts have three weeks to apply for hunter education money
Alaska school districts have until Sept. 18 to apply for hunter education grants of up to $50,000, with $500,000 available statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
Mat-Su assembly member puts possible school closures on Sept. 8 joint agenda
Mat-Su Assembly and School Board will discuss possible school closures Sept. 8 after enrollment dropped 2,153 students since 2018.
by Alaska News4w ago1 min read
Alaska schools fight FCC proposals that could cut their internet lifeline
Alaska schools rely on $200 million a year in discounted internet through E-Rate, and education groups are fighting FCC proposals that could cut it back.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3w ago2 min read
Kenai will pay a high school pool's utility bills to keep it open another year
Kenai will pay $46,400 of a high school pool's utility bill to keep it open one more year. The swim club's hourly rate more than doubles.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Alaska has no marine radio examiner, so UAS is asking to become one
No one in Alaska can give the marine radio license exam in person. UAS has asked the FCC for permission to do it at its Ketchikan training center.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 4w ago2 min read
Alaska nonprofits can now apply to grant K-12 scholarships under a new federal tax credit
Alaska is joining a federal tax credit funding K-12 scholarships for nearly any schooling. Nonprofits can apply now, and school-board and teacher groups object.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage elementary schools drop pre-packaged meals for traditional food service
Anchorage elementary schools have dropped pre-packaged meals. The district says more students are eating lunch but has not released the counts.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska says 4,264 fewer K-3 students ended the year reading at the lowest level
Alaska ended the school year with 4,264 fewer K-3 students in the lowest reading category. The figures compare fall to spring, not year to year.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska superintendents ask FCC not to cut school internet subsidy
Alaska superintendents told the FCC that districts reachable only by plane or boat would lose the discount that makes school internet affordable.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Chugachmiut is hiring a lead for nearly $7 million in Indigenous education work
The Chugach region's Native nonprofit is seeking a contractor to lead nearly $7 million in Indigenous education work, from language revival to youth programs.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage's school board says closures won't fix the budget; residents aren't so sure
Anchorage's school board says closing schools won't fix its budget — even as most residents, by the district's own survey, favor consolidation.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Many Alaska districts can reuse last year's foster care agreement for federal funds
Alaska school districts must upload a signed foster care transportation agreement with the Office of Children's Services to complete their federal education funding application.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A young weaver 3D-printed his own form to make a cedar bark hat
A Bartlett High grad wove himself a cedar bark hat using a form he designed and 3D-printed at a tribal lab — work that led to an internship and a paid job.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The Presidential Fitness Test is coming back to Alaska schools, with $1.15 million behind it
The Presidential Fitness Test — the mile run and pull-ups many remember — is coming back to Alaska schools in 2027-28, a decade after it was dropped.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Fairbanks Head Start for Alaska Native families gets five more years of federal money
A Fairbanks Head Start for Alaska Native families won about $6.18 million in federal money through 2031 for classrooms and home visits from birth to age 5.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
UAF is buying an instrument its accredited chemistry program has gone without
Alaska's only accredited chemistry program has been operating without a standard mass spectrometry system. A $250,000 federal grant will finally buy one.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Alaska's arts council wants to bring arts and culture into classrooms statewide, building on a Kodiak model
Alaska's arts council is launching a statewide effort to bring arts and culture into classrooms, expanding a decade-old Kodiak model to the rest of the state.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska students will spend the year researching the veterans buried at Fort Richardson
Alaska students will spend the year researching the veterans buried at Fort Richardson National Cemetery, building a campus memorial and a walking tour.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
A new federal tax credit will let Alaskans fund K-12 scholarships, and nonprofits can start signing up now
A new federal tax credit will let Alaskans fund K-12 scholarships for a tax break — and the state is signing up the nonprofits to award the money.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
All-ability play center opens in Midtown Anchorage, partly with marijuana tax money
An outdoor play center built for children with disabilities has opened in Midtown Anchorage. The ribbon-cutting is Wednesday evening, with open play after.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage will ship contaminated concrete to Oregon after the state tightened disposal rules, adding $850,000
Anchorage's school board approved $850,000 to ship contaminated school concrete to Oregon after the state tightened its rules on disposing of banned PCBs.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage School District adopts a single English curriculum for grades 6 through 10
Anchorage adopted one English curriculum for grades 6-10 on a 6-1 vote. The selection committee itself split 6-5, and one board member questioned the process.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska tribes get their yearly say on Head Start funding, against a backdrop of documented shortfalls
Alaska tribes running Head Start get their annual say next month on how the program's money is divided, amid research finding tribal programs underfunded.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Money for Alaska Native education keeps flowing, but no new competition has opened in nearly two years
Money for Alaska Native education keeps reaching current grantees, but no new competition has opened since late 2023, leaving no clear door for new applicants.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska takes input on extra child-care help for kids with disabilities
Alaska pays extra child-care help for kids with disabilities and is taking families' input this week, as it separately moves to widen who qualifies for aid.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Free school supplies offered in Nome on Aug. 26
Nome families can get free school supplies, snacks, and crafts at the Recreation Center on Aug. 26 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., as the school district faces budget cuts.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
School boards move to retire a call to expand a dormant loan program
Alaska's teacher loan program has been dormant since 2018 — so the state school boards association is retiring its resolution that urged expanding it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
UAA students to train inside ANTHC facilities under new workforce partnership
UAA students will train at Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium facilities under a new partnership, routing graduates toward one of Alaska's largest employers.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Sealaska Heritage honors four Southeast educators at Juneau conference
Sealaska Heritage Institute awarded four Southeast Alaska educators for weaving Indigenous knowledge into classrooms at its annual conference in Juneau.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Federal money can now put a homeless family in a motel room to keep a kid in school
Federal guidance now lets Alaska schools use homeless-education money for a motel room when no shelter's available — a last resort to keep a child in school.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska tells school kitchens cooking produce is safest Cyclospora step
Alaska school kitchens are told cooking produce to 158 degrees is the safest way to kill Cyclospora, as washing alone cannot remove the parasite amid a national surge in cases.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sealaska Heritage publishes fifth graders' documentary on Walter Soboleff
Auke Bay Elementary students produced a documentary on Dr. Walter Soboleff. The film fills a gap in classroom history materials.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
