Education

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Alaska schools stay open after bomb threat email

BY: - September 19, 2023

Alaska schools are not closing their doors after multiple districts received a bomb threat by email on Tuesday. Authorities have determined the threat is not credible, but its source is under investigation. Austin McDaniel, communications director for the state’s Department of Public Safety, said Alaska State Troopers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Anchorage field […]

COMMENTARY
A sign, seen on May 29, marks the eastern edge of the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

UAA offers affordable and convenient pathways that prepare students for the next step 

BY: - September 14, 2023

Through its community campuses and online program offerings, the University of Alaska Anchorage provides multiple entry points that meet learners where they are. UAA reaches far beyond the Municipality of Anchorage; we serve the communities of Southcentral Alaska through our campuses in Soldotna, Homer, Valdez, Kodiak, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Anchorage, as well as thousands […]

A statue of Charles Bunnell, the first president of the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, as the University of Alaska Fairbanks was once known, is seen on Sept. 18 on the UAF campus. An administrative order issued by Gov. Mike Dunleavy removes college-degree requirements for most state jobs. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Gov. Dunleavy appoints new regent to University of Alaska board 

BY: - September 6, 2023

Gov. Mike Dunleavy appointed Stephen Colligan to the board that guides policy and appoints the president of the state’s university system on Tuesday. Colligan is the governor’s third attempt to fill the seat on the state university system’s board of regents. His appointment comes a month after the governor’s last pick, his former chief of […]

Applying for student loan. Filling up the loan form with calculator, pen, note pad on the desk. (Getty Images)

Millions enrolled in new student loan repayment program

BY: - September 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 4 million federal student loan borrowers are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Education. With the pause of more than three years on federal student loan repayments coming to an end in October, and the Supreme Court’s summer decision to […]

A sign at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, seen on Sept. 20. 2022, uses the Lower Tanana name Troth Yeddha'. The name translates roughly to "potato ridge" and refers to the tradition of harvesting wild potatoes on the Fairbanks ridge that now holds the heart of the campus. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Fundraising effort for Alaska Indigenous studies center OK’d by UA board 

BY: - September 5, 2023

The state board of regents unanimously approved a fundraising effort at University of Alaska Fairbanks to raise $53 million over three years to build the Troth Yeddha’ Indigenous Studies Center. The goal is to create the first university space in the nation that is designed with Indigenous education models in mind, Samara Taber, who leads […]

The University of Alaska Anchorage sign, seen on May 29, stands at the eastern edge of campus. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

University of Alaska system boasts overall enrollment growth after financial challenges

BY: - September 2, 2023

Student enrollment is up at University of Alaska campuses overall, chancellors told the board of regents at their meeting Thursday. The news of overall 4.7% growth systemwide comes after a five-year downward trend in student enrollment. College enrollment has declined nationally over the last decade, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regent Karen Purdue said the […]

An outdoor basketball hoop is seen in Bethel in October 2022. (Photo by Claire Stremple)

Alaska board of education votes to limit trans girls’ participation in high school sports

BY: - August 31, 2023

The state’s governor-appointed board of education voted to limit transgender girls’ participation in school sports at a special meeting on Thursday. The regulation requires the Alaska School Activities Association Inc. to authorize a division limited to students assigned female at birth. Lorri Van Diest introduced the first non-binding resolution related to the issue in March […]

AmeriCorps to increase investment in rural Alaska, with tribes 

BY: - August 29, 2023

On a visit to Alaska last week, the leader of the national community service agency AmeriCorps said the group plans to increase its investment in the state. AmeriCorps received an additional billion dollars added to its budget as part of the American Rescue Plan in 2021. Last year, more than 400 people worked or volunteered […]

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Alaska’s business advocates call for making child care a priority

BY: - August 26, 2023

More than three quarters of Alaska parents reported missing work because child care issues, a leading business advocate told the group advising Gov. Mike Dunleavy on child care policy. Kati Capozzi, the Alaska Chamber’s executive director, said that addressing the issue is a priority for employers. She told the state’s Child Care Task Force on […]

Applying for student loan. Filling up the loan form with calculator, pen, note pad on the desk. (Getty Images)

Here’s what to know about new federal policies for repaying student loans

BY: - August 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — Following the Supreme Court’s summer ruling against 40 million federal student loan borrowers who would have qualified for debt relief, the Biden administration crafted a year-long delay in repayments. The policy, known as an on-ramp, is set to begin next month. Additionally, hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, the Department of Education unveiled […]

People canoeing with Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, the first recipient of the Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development grant program. Photo courtesy of Goldbelt Heritage Foundation.

Alaska Native youth to carve two dugout canoes with federal education funding boost

BY: - August 21, 2023

Federal money for arts, culture and educational programs will fund the creation of two dugout canoes in Southeast Alaska. Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Goldbelt, Inc., will teach Alaska Native youth how to carve canoes with nearly a quarter million dollars in grant funding from the National Park Service. The goal is to […]

Rosalind Crawford says that her sons only received a couple of lessons a week and no teacher instruction while they were placed on virtual learning. (Photo by Zachary Clingenpeel for The Hechinger Report)

The newest form of school discipline: Kicking kids out of class and into virtual learning

BY: - August 11, 2023

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report. It wasn’t the first time Ventrese Curry’s granddaughter had gotten into trouble at school. A seventh grader at a charter school in St. Louis, she had a long history of disrupting her classes and getting into confrontations with teachers. Several times, the school issued a suspension and […]