Education

The principal and some staff have left the village due to concerns for their safety, according to the Lower Kuskokwim School District. Class was cancelled Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, and Chief Paul Memorial School will shift to remote learning on Nov. 2 until further notice.

Six LKSD schools served as storm evacuation centers during this weekend’s storm: Newtok, Kipnuk, Nightmute, Kwigillingok, Kwethluk, and Tununak.

One pressing need for the school is bottled water. Hooper Bay Assistant Principal Taraba says the school has a water filter system, but it can’t keep up with the demand for water.

Six schools in the district opened to provide shelter during the storm.

“We think it's going to really benefit our students,” Ballard said. “Instead of seeing the school as this alien institution that occupies their village that promotes Western values and Western instruction.”

Schools across rural Alaska often struggle to find and retain teachers. The Lower Kuskokwim School District has a program that helps get local people in those positions.

The statement, which was drafted by the board president, passed by a 7-2 vote.

The most immediate concern is restoring power and water to the campus after last week's fire destroyed the school’s utility building.

The three buildings that burned included a teacher housing unit, an old utility building, and the school’s current utility building.

The Alaska Division of Forestry sent smokejumpers and two airplane tankers filled with fire retardant to the site. Division spokesperson Kale Casey said that the fire spread to five acres but is now contained.