Education
First 360-degree totem pole in Alaska was recently installed in Juneau
A new totem pole in Juneau is 22 feet tall, almost 4 feet wide at the base and about 7 to 8 feet wide where Raven and Eagle are. You have to walk around it completely to see all of the elements. Unlike most poles that are carved on one side, the Sealaska Cultural Values […]
University faculty will not see raises in July, despite administration’s last-minute attempt
University of Alaska faculty union members will not get a raise in July. That’s despite the Board of Regents last week voting to unilaterally implement a three-year contract for the faculty with salary increases lower than recent inflation. University administration said the “unprecedented action” to implement a contract the faculty union didn’t agree with was […]
Before session ends, reading intervention bill gets through by close House vote
By a close vote of 21-19, the House passed a bill implementing a statewide approach to how schools intervene when students have difficulty reading. The measure had been blocked in the House, but the Senate included it at the last minute in another bill. Both chambers passed the bill, although most members of the House […]
Bill heading to governor creates roadmap for establishing tribally operated public schools
A bill that creates a roadmap for establishing tribally operated public schools has passed the Alaska Senate and House, and is headed to the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 34 directs the Board of Education and Early Development to work with Alaska Native tribal entities on an agreement that would formally recognize the tribes’ authority to […]
University moves forward with faculty salary increases; union says negotiations aren’t done
The University of Alaska Board of Regents voted on Monday to implement faculty pay increases over the next three years, despite the university and its faculty union still not coming to an agreement. The university and union have been negotiating the terms of its collective bargaining agreement for several months. University staff claimed an impasse […]
Congress explores creation of truth commission for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools
WASHINGTON — Survivors of a U.S. policy that forced Indigenous children to attend boarding schools where they were abused, or went missing, detailed to members of a U.S. House Natural Resources panel during a Thursday hearing the need for Congress to establish a truth commission dedicated to unveiling the traumas Indigenous children experienced at the […]
Interior Department report details the brutality of federal Indian boarding schools
These schools used “militarized” tactics to assimilate Native American children as young as 4-years-old in environments described in the report as fostering, “rampant physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; disease; malnourishment; overcrowding; and lack of health care.”
Action needed to address Alaska’s stagnant demographic trends, economist says
More people are leaving Alaska than coming, too few babies are being born to make up the population gap and the state workforce is withering. That presents a tough challenge that demands aggressive policy responses, a university economist argues. “In 2010, essentially, Alaska stopped growing. That’s not the Alaska we all know,” said Ralph Townsend, […]
Bill aimed at reducing hair discrimination in schools is headed to governor
The Senate on Wednesday agreed to accept the changes the House made to a bill that aimed to reduce hair discrimination – including the amendment to strip the protection for employees in the workplace. The bill still retains protection in public schools. “I’ll be voting yes today. Not because I support some of the changes […]
House passes bill to eliminate hair discrimination, but deletes workplace protection
A Senate bill that aims to eliminate hair discrimination in the school and workplace passed the House Tuesday, but in a drastically different form. An amendment deleted the portion relating to the workplace. In the bill’s original intent, school boards and employers wouldn’t be allowed to adopt a dress code that: prohibits an individual from […]
Recent earthquakes may raise risk of Alaska tsunami, study finds
The dual earthquake action deep underground appears to have increased the risks of future tsunamis in that region, the study said.
Scholarship fund’s fate depends on Alaska Legislature
The Alaska House of Representatives has voted to refill the fund with hundreds of millions of dollars in expected oil revenue, but unless lawmakers also change the language of the state law that created the fund, it will be automatically drained again.