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Matt Faubion/Alaska Public MediaSouthwest Alaska high school students celebrate their graduation after a destructive October 2025 storm forced them to finish out their senior year in Anchorage. The ceremony marked a powerful step forward for the students and their families on their healing journey, blending village traditions in a city setting that honored culture, community, and courage. -
Corinne Smith/Alaska BeaconMt. Edgecumbe has been the focus of public concern and legislative hearings this year after more than 100 students disenrolled during the school year.
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Meanwhile, administrators insist the center is growing and becoming more community-focused. -
Lawmakers are calling for the Trump administration to waive the fee for teachers hired through the H-1B visa program, which allows employers to recruit highly-skilled workers from overseas. The federal government raised the fee from $5,000 to $100,000 for each new applicant to the H-1B visa program in September 2025. -
The state board will create a new committee to review concerns, including student services and maintenance needs, after roughly a quarter of students disenrolled this year. -
Jason Hlasny, a former Lower Kuskokwim School District school psychologist, is returning as the district’s new superintendent. -
Rural Alaska districts are especially reliant on international teachers to keep instructors in their classrooms. -
A delegation of lawmakers made an impromptu visit to the school on Feb. 6, calling the conditions and deteriorating facilities "deplorable." -
Lawmakers with the bipartisan majority caucus have expressed support for more funding for schools, but point to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s history of vetoes as a major roadblock. -
Chronic absenteeism has remained high since the COVID-19 pandemic, but the reasons for why students are missing class are difficult to define and vary widely across the state. -
Roughly half of Alaska’s school districts qualified for the five-year grant program, which is managed by the state’s education department. -
The lawsuit points to the effects of the state’s underfunding, including low proficiency test scores and dangerous building conditions.
