Education

Education at all levels is critical to Alaska's future. Considering the costs to society for crime, prisons, drug abuse, and long term poverty, providing a good education for all Alaskans is a far better investment.

Alaska needs all the productive residents we can get.

We've got to get to the root of the problem that's resulting in the failure of so many students - 40% of the kids in urban Alaska and 60% in rural Alaska are not graduating from high school on time. Alaska has a drop out rate twice the national average. We've got to make school more relevant. Kids are having a hard time linking what they are learning in school to their future life.

"No Child Left Behind" has damaged our education system, resulting in much higher drop out rates. We do want our kids to know the 3 Rs, but we might follow models like Bethel High School has recently.

Bethel High was known as a "drop out factory" just two years ago. This year, the school achieved AYP (adequate yearly progress). The school faculty and administration realized students were dropping out with very few credits. Recognizing that early failure resulted in a student falling further and further behind, they redesigned the curriculum to allow students to take some electives in the first two years to help create early successes and show that learning can be enjoyable. This simple approach has resulted in significant improvement for both the students and the school.

Early childhood development is also hugely important. So is technical and vocational training relevant to the resources and opportunities in every region. And, a vibrant university that attracts and develops talented Alaskans through programs like the Alaska Scholars Program, and ANSEP (Alaska Science and Engineering Program) are critical to Alaska's success.