Improving School Success for Alaska Native Students in Large High Schools and

Improving School Success for

Alaska Native Students in Large High Schools

and Students in Low Performing

Rural High Schools

AK Native4-Year Graduation Rates

Large High Schools 2011

District Enrollment Graduation RateAnchorage *1,094 50.88%Mat-Su 593 57.93%Fairbanks 403 51.18% *In the 2011-12 school year, ASD reported that 2,016 high school students identified themselves as Alaska Native and/or American Indian either alone or in combination with other ethnicities.

2011 Sample Graduation

Rates Rural High Schools

2011Sample Graduation

Rates in City and Road System

High Schools

Aleutians East Borough61.11%Bering Strait 55.00%Chatham 76.92%Galena City 100.00%Iditarod 52.63 %Kuspuk 56.52%Lake & Peninsula 50.00%Lower Kuskokwim 40.86%Lower Yukon 42.95%Northwest Arctic Borough 48.72%Yukon Flats 36.36%Yupiit 33.33% Average 54.53%

Anchorage 72.00%Copper River 80.65%Cordova 94.12%Delta-Greely 57.47%Denali Borough 50.00%Fairbanks 71.21%Juneau 71.73%Mat-Su 67.78%Petersburg 80.00%Unalaska 91.67%Valdez 82.33%Wrangell 83.87% Average 75.32%

Statewide 2011 Alaska Native

High School Enrollment8,270

4-Year Graduation Rate50.07 %

Alaska Performance Scholarship

Caucasian students are four and one-half times more likely to be academically eligible for the APS than are Alaska Native/American Indian students, at 37.9% versus 8.3%.Source: 2012 Alaska Performance Scholarship Outcomes Report, page 8

Low Performing Rural High Schools

A Closer Look

Small High School Size DataSmall High School Size Data

Small Rural High SchoolSample Districts

Galena CityIditarodKuspuk

Lake & PenLower Kuskokwim

Aleutian RegionAleutian EastBering Strait

ChathamChugach

Lower YukonNorth Slope

Northwest ArcticPelican City

Pribilof IslandsSt. Mary’s

Southeast IslandSouthwest Region

TananaYupiit

Yukon FlatsYukon Koyukuk

(22 school districts)

Small High School Size DataSmall High School Size Data

Small High SchoolSize Data

Of the 131 High Schools in the Sample,the Number of High Schools With...

1-10 students: 57 11-20 students:

21 21-30 students:

15 31-40 students:

16 41-50 students:

12 51-60 students:

10

Total high schools in sample: 131Total high school students:2,662Total Native students: 2,539% AK Native students:95.38%

Rural Education Policy Shift

• Molly Hooch• Residential high schools• Expanded correspondence programs• Loss of thousands of students and millions of dollars in state education funding

State Policy Impacts on Rural High Schools

• Limited enrollments• Diseconomies of scale• High costs• Competition from state-funded programs• Workforce issues• Limited resources/scant programs• Lower graduation and higher drop-out

rates

What Alaska Native and Rural

Students in Low Performing High Schools Need

Opportunities

Model Demonstration Programs Voyage To Excellence

Rasmuson ANSEP College Readiness Program

CITC Education Program

• Small Residential Programs• Programs Within Schools

• Variable Term Length• District or Regionally Located

• Locally Controlled

Voyage To Excellence OverviewOperator: Chugach School DistrictProgram Type: Residential short-term,1-4 weeksYears in Operation: 15Service Area: StatewideEnrollment: 250 students annuallyCurriculum: Employability skills, character education, life skills, Work Keys training, UAF CTE credits, 8 national career certificationsPublic/Private Partnerships: 70 Results: Since 2003, 98% high school graduation rate, 92% of graduates enter college, join military, or enter work forceEntry Requirements: NoneState Funding: No

Rasumuson ANSEP College Readiness Program

Operator: Lower Kuskokwim School DistrictProgram Type: 2 short-term summer sessions 6 and 12 weeks, plus 1 semester at BHS during junior year and 1 semester during senior yearYears in Operation: 2 yearsService Area: LKSDEnrollment: 15 - 25 studentsCurriculum: Advanced academics – math/sciencePublic/Private Partnerships:Results: 100% graduationRequirements: GPA of 2.5 or higher to enter, 3.0 or higher to remain, commitment to summer programsState Funding: No

CITC Education Program OverviewOperator: Cook Inlet Tribal CouncilProgram Type: School within a schoolYears in Operation: 12Service Area: Anchorage Enrollment: 300Curriculum: ASD curriculumPartnerships: Anchorage School DistrictEntry Requirements: Alaska Native State Funding: NoNeeds: Residential facility and state stipend funding

Programs on the Horizon• North Slope Borough School District

• Northwest Arctic Borough School District• CITC Residential Program

Benefits ofResidential Learning Centers

1. Student access to short- and long-term courses and programs that small high schools are unable to deliver.2. State education funding would remain in a student’s home district or region.3. Collaboration on course delivery and cost sharing.

Benefits continued

5. Year-round course delivery.6. Increased opportunities for Performance Scholarship Program, CTE programs, social and service learning.

4. Student access to technical centers, university campuses, job shadowing, and apprenticeships.

Next Steps

1. Fund existing unfunded residential programs. 2. Solicit applications for residential programs that augment school success for Alaska Native students in large high schools and students in low performing rural high schools.3. Partner with other organizations to build residential facilities for approved programs.4. Develop a network of regionally-based state funded residential programs.

Thank You