The Anchorage School Board has voted to close two more Title I schools, Nunaka Valley Elementary and Lake Hood Elementary, following the announcement of Abbott Loop Elementary's closure in 2022. Critics argue that this targeting of schools serving low-income students is a political move and exacerbates existing inequalities.
Updated: 1 minute agoA school bus leaves Nunaka Valley Elementary after the school day on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Loren Holmes / ADN), the Anchorage School Board elected to continue targeting Title I schools for closure. The decision resulted in closing and repurposing of Nunaka Valley Elementary and Lake Hood Elementary. This news comes after the singling out of another Title I school, Abbott Loop Elementary, for closure announced in December 2022.
While no school closure is welcome news, let’s hope this targeting of Title I schools doesn’t become a holiday tradition. Title I schools, according to the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development, are those that receive federal funds for providing additional academic services and supplemental benefits to children who are identified as failing or at risk for failing to meet state academic standards. A school is designated Title I in a tiered program, starting with targeted assistance for schools with greater than 35% of its pupil population below poverty or greater than the district-wide average poverty level (whichever is lower). The closing of Title I schools is a paradox that is hard to swallow. While those who want better results for children lobby for small class sizes to improve education results, the closures inevitably boost class size count for the very children who are in most need of individualized attention. ASD is making hard decisions due to an unpredictable amount of funding expected from state legislators and demographic shifts in migration, birth rates and school choice. However, it’s abundantly clear ASD is playing politics through this “rightsizing” process by announcing seven schools for closure four days before a state and national election and placing a recently awarded national blue-ribbon school, Bear Valley Elementary, on the initial closure lis
SCHOOL CLOSURES TITLE I SCHOOLS ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDING EDUCATION POLICY
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