Education
RSSAlaska News covers education policy, school funding, teacher programs, and student services across Alaska's public schools and universities.
State proposes five-year lease extension for Noatak school site at airport
Alaska is proposing a five-year lease extension for Noatak's school and fuel tank farm on airport land, even though the airport itself is scheduled to close once a replacement facility opens.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska schools could face a choice between internet and teachers if a federal subsidy is cut
A federal review could cut E-Rate, the subsidy that sent $203.5M to Alaska schools and libraries last year — and school boards warn it's internet or teachers.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sealaska Heritage concludes ninth annual education conference
Sealaska Heritage Institute concluded its ninth annual education conference in Juneau, drawing hundreds of educators from Alaska and beyond for sessions on culturally responsive teaching.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
41.3 million for Alaska Native education is freed up after a month's delay
Fifteen Alaska organizations will share $41.3 million in Native education grants that came a month late, freed up after Sen. Murkowski pressed the education secretary directly.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska Native-serving schools vie for $10 million in training money
Alaska Native-serving colleges and trade schools have until Aug. 24 to compete for up to $10 million in federal money to train skilled workers.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
An Anchorage board member proposes a one-year pause on school closures
An Anchorage School Board member proposed pausing school closures for a year, barring emergencies. The board hasn't voted, and a $40M shortfall remains.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska will cover district travel to a school safety summit
Alaska will cover districts' travel to a September school safety summit in Anchorage — even as many face budget deficits and a staffing crisis.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kenai school board weighs AI classroom rules ahead of the school year
Kenai's school board is trying to write AI classroom rules firm enough to matter but loose enough to last, the same bind every district is in. They want them set by fall.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A staffing gap at the state is delaying Alaska school-improvement grants against a hard deadline
Alaska's school-improvement grant approvals are stalled by staff vacancies at the state — with districts facing an Oct. 31 deadline to lock in their reimbursements.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Students get to fire the HAARP transmitter at UAF's summer school
An NSF grant funds UAF's HAARP summer school, where students actually get to run experiments on the Gakona array most people only know from conspiracy theories.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Murkowski moves to shield the offices funding Alaska Native and special education
Murkowski is fighting to keep the offices funding Alaska Native and special education from being moved without tribal consultation. Her bill cleared committee.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Mike Rowe helps mark a $250,000 gift to Seward's trade school
Mike Rowe showed up in Homer to help hand Seward's trade school a $250,000 Wells Fargo gift for scholarships and instructors.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's trade school in Seward can't turn out graduates fast enough
Alaska's vocational school in Seward made USA TODAY's national top-schools list again — and most of its students have jobs lined up before they even graduate.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska Center for the Book honors Delta librarian and Akiachak literacy advocate with 2026 awards
Alaska Center for the Book named Delta librarian Tiki Levinson and Akiachak resident Mary Samson George as 2026 literacy award recipients.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska school meal reimbursements rise 3.5% for 2026-27 school year
Alaska school districts will receive $6.98 per free lunch starting July 1, a 24-cent increase tied to food inflation.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska's educator apprenticeship program wins permanent federal approval
Alaska keeps recruiting teachers who leave. A newly permanent apprenticeship flips that — training locals to become certified teachers without leaving home. It's grown from 5 to 96 in 18 months.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Nome teacher heads to Stanford to rethink how schools teach
A Nome reading teacher is off to Stanford for a Ph.D. — studying how Inuit knowledge and values can be built into what schools actually teach.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Who pays when the state underfunds school construction debt?
Alaska's cities want the state to stop shortchanging school-construction debt payments and stick locals with the bill. But it's a request, and the money's far from guaranteed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
What Fairbanks wants from Juneau — and why it costs more up north
Fairbanks is finalizing its legislative wish list: cheaper piped gas, more school funding, and pensions back — a bill of grievances for a region that pays more for everything.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska school boards to FCC: don't make us choose internet over teachers
Alaska's school boards warned the FCC that gutting the E-Rate internet subsidy would force districts to choose between paying the broadband bill and paying teachers.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
The strange snow bug Alaska is spending $750K to understand
A wingless insect that walks on Alaska's winter snow is so rarely seen scientists don't know how many kinds exist — now a UAF researcher has $750K to sequence them and find out.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage board won't reopen a school it may not have fully closed
Anchorage School Board rejected a motion to reopen Campbell STEM Elementary with new state money, but revealed the school may not be legally closed yet, creating a potential opening for reversal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage School Board balks at a $2.8M curriculum buy members hadn't seen
Anchorage School Board members got handed a $2.8M curriculum bill at a summer meeting and basically said: first we're hearing of it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Noel Wien Library brings Kids Literacy Farmers Market back to Weeks Field July 21
Noel Wien Library hosts Kids Literacy Farmers Market on July 21 at Weeks Field, a free event with activities and a children's market returning for its sixth year.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly to revisit Nikolaevsk school transfer Tuesday
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will reconsider Tuesday its approval of transferring the $8 million Nikolaevsk School to a Russian Old Believer nonprofit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Dillingham campus wants to grow rural Alaska's scientists at home
A Dillingham campus won nearly $889,000 from the NSF to train STEM pros in place for rural Southwest Alaska — a "grow-your-own" model, though the grant runs just three years.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Kenai's $9.4M school-cost risk may never actually come due
A gas-tax bill could add up to $9.4 million a year to Kenai's school costs — but the Legislature's analyst says a sunset means none of it would ever be charged.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A vacant Fairbanks school's fall reopening hinges on a vote — and an unsigned charter
A vacant Fairbanks school could reopen as a charter this fall — if the Assembly says yes Wednesday and the charter group finally signs a district contract.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kawerak's mentors help Bering Strait students through the leap to college
Kawerak pairs new college students from Bering Strait villages with mentors who've made the same leap — celebrating small wins and, for one, a chance to study in Japan.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Alaska school districts could lose unspent federal money if they don't spend it fast
Some Alaska districts have unspent federal education money — and they'll lose it for good if it's not spent by Sept. 30. Notices don't go out until mid-July.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Seward pays to save the pool that made an Olympian
Seward is putting $200K a year toward keeping its community pool open — the same water that once trained a hometown Olympian. Small town, big save.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Dunleavy vetoes nearly $90 million but leaves school funding intact
Gov. Dunleavy vetoed nearly $90 million from Alaska's budget, cutting increases for child care, Medicaid and local aid while leaving core school funding intact.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
An oil spike filled Alaska's budget and hammered its schools — and the new budget sends some back
The oil spike that padded Alaska's budget also jacked up its schools' heating bills — so the budget hands some back. One-time money for a permanent problem.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska Has the Nation's Worst SNAP Error Rate — and a Bill Coming
Alaska has botched SNAP payments worse than any state three years running — and now a new law means the state may have to start paying Washington back for the mistakes.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min read
A June 30 Deadline Decides Who Eats Free at School
A June 30 deadline quietly decides which Alaska schools feed every kid for free next year — miss it and the cafeteria math gets a lot less kind.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska passed a federal check that keeps its school funding system intact
Alaska passed a federal school funding test. Translation: the state didn't have to come up with extra money it doesn't have.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Seven village schools could lose internet June 30 over a federal funding dispute
Seven Alaska village schools could lose internet June 30. Federal rules say pick the cheapest. The cheapest doesn't work out there.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage School Board adopts class size policy under state mandate
Anchorage School Board voted unanimously to adopt state-mandated class size limits of 23 for elementary and 30 for middle and high school. • The board also adopted smaller evidence-based targets it cannot currently afford, requiring annual cost analysis to document the funding gap.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage to issue $55.2M in bonds for roads, parks, fire equipment
Anchorage will issue $55.2 million in general obligation bonds in July for roads, parks, fire equipment, and transit, with annual debt service of $4.0 million paid by property taxpayers.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Wasilla resource fair connects Mat-Su families with disability services
LINKS Resource Center hosts a free disability services fair June 18 in Wasilla with resource tables, activities, and food for Mat-Su families.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
