Education

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

children

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.
Class desks in front of clear windows with alternated yellow and blue tints

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.
students

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.
a musical cast

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.
A student wearing colorful makeup holds a sign that says "Are you even listening?" during a walkout protest at Career Tech High School.

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.
a COVID test

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

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.
school hours

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.
The snowy facade of Inlet View Elementary School in Anchorage.

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.
women

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.
Students in Halloween costumes hold signs during a walkout protest of recent school board decisions.

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.”
People sit at tables during a meeting.

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.
A man drives a four-wheeler with a plow

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.
A man in a suit answers question in front of a camera.

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.
A sign in a snowbank covered in snow.

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.
A building with a blue sign in front of it.

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.
People wearing yellow clothing wave yellow signs.

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.
High school kids waving protest signs.

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.
the front of a building

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.