2022-09 School District, Federal & State News
Alaska School District News
Anchorage – Cuts and closures loom for Anchorage School District – Shannon Cole & Lex Yelverton, Alaska’s News Source
Anchorage – ‘This did not happen overnight’: Anchorage schools superintendent says a variety of factors created $68M budget shortfall – Katie Anastas, Alaska Public Media
Anchorage – ASD facing deficit, taps principals for budget feedback – Georgina Fernandez, Alaska’s News Source
Anchorage – Anchorage School District warns of traffic delays as bus service rotates to next group of students – Katie Anastas, Alaska Public Media
Anchorage – New Mountain View Elementary principal aims to boost reading scores, community engagement – Katie Anastas, Alaska Public Media
Dillingham – Dillingham’s housing crisis has teachers sleeping in the school – Isabelle Ross, KDLG Dillingham
Dillingham – School district combines additional bus routes – Sabine Poux, KDLL Dillingham
Dillingham – Dillingham’s new superintendent talks schedules, housing and a push for better literacy – Isabelle Ross, KDLG Dillingham
Fairbanks – School district earns major accreditation – Jack Barnwell, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Fairbanks – School district declares an impasse in labor talks – Jack Barnwell, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Kenai – A history of school counts at small peninsula schools – Riley Board, KDLL Dillingham
Kenai – Kenaitze Indian Tribe opens doors to educational campus – Sabine Poux, KDLL Dillingham
Ketchikan – New contract up for Ketchikan school board vote would boost aides’ starting wages by 20% – Eric Stone, KRBD
Ketchikan – Johnson charged with assaulting student – Sam Stockbridge, Ketchikan Daily News
Kodiak – Public health officials, local law enforcement say a wave of fentanyl is driving up overdoses in Kodiak – APRN
LKSD – Lower Kuskokwim students return to classrooms that served as weekend storm shelters – Will McCarthy, KYUK Bethel
LKSD – Newtok and Napakiak damage assessments are top priority for LKSD – Rhonda McBride, KYUK Bethel
Mat-Su – Mat-Su school board enacts mandatory daily minute of silence for students – Morgan Krakow, Anchorage Daily News
Mat-Su – Opponents push back against Mat-Su school district bathroom policy – Katie Anastas, Alaska Public Media
North Slope – Tikiġaq educator named 2023 Alaska Teacher of the Year – KINY, Juneau
Northwest Arctic – To address teacher shortages in Northwest Alaska, district hires international teachers and long-term substitutes – Alena Naiden, Arctic Sounder
Petersburg – School board approves supplemental funding for FY23 budget – Chris Basinger, Petersburg Pilot
Unalaska – Unalaska Superintendent Robbie Swint Jr. resigns – Maggie Nelson, KUCB Unalaska
Unalaska – Unalaska grasps at solutions to stifling airfare costs – Maggie Nelson KUCB, Unalaska
Wrangell – Homeschooling growing in Alaska, not as much for Wrangell students – Caroleine James, Wrangell Sentinel
Wrangell – Wrangell Schools’ superintendent says feedback is a focus this year – Sage Smiley, KSTK Wrangell
Yupiit – Southwest Alaska school district adopts subsistence calendar in effort to center Yup’ik culture – Will McCarthy, KYUK Bethel
State and Federal News
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Alaska Disaster Declaration – The White House
$63 Million in Broadband Investments Announced for Alaska, Improving High-Speed Internet Affordably in Rural Alaska – Senator Lisa Murkowski
Talk of Alaska: Revitalizing Native Education – Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Disaster response presents an early test for Alaska’s Rep. Peltola – Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Oil price drop endangers plan to fund Alaska schools a year early – James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Two Alaska elementary schools named National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2022 – Katie Anastas, Alaska Public Media
Districts Steer Federal Teacher-Quality Funding Into Recruitment, Retention – Libby Stanford, Education Week
University of Alaska Board of Regents sets FY24 budget priorities – KINY, Juneau
Dunleavy among 22 governors asking Biden to withdraw plan for student loan forgiveness – Morgan Krakow, Anchorage Daily News
For some Alaska borrowers, federal student loan forgiveness is a major relief – Morgan Krakow, Anchorage Daily News
The nation’s second-largest school system was just hit by a cyberattack. Why do attackers target schools? – Al Tompkins, Poynter
Grants Aim to Support Alaska Native Students’ Education, Well-Being – Libby Stanford, Education Week
U.S. Department of Education awards $1.2M grant to Tlingit & Haida – KINY Juneau