+34
The state should measure its investment through student learning, growing confidence and clear paths beyond high school.
Much of Alaska’s public conversation about education eventually comes back to money. I understand that. I like money too. I have worked hard to earn it, save it and use it wisely.
But when I think about what makes my life valuable, money is not the first thing that comes to mind. The same should be true of our schools. Schools need resources to work. Funding matters, but the value of a school is ultimately found in what happens to children: what they learn, what they can do, how they grow and whether they leave us ready for what comes next.
That is the return on investment we should be talking about more. Since 2022, Alaska has made important choices to put greater focus on learning, and we are beginning to see results. The Alaska Reads Act is one example. Gov.
Mike Dunleavy and then-Sen. Tom Begich first introduced the proposal in 2020, and the Legislature passed the bipartisan measure in 2022. The law put early reading at the center of state policy, with stronger expectations around evidence-based instruction, intervention, communication with families and accountability. It also asked a great deal of our teachers.
Kindergarten through third-grade educators had to deepen their knowledge of the science of reading, use high-quality instructional practices, closely monitor student progress, communicate with families and intervene when students are struggling. I know the training is demanding because I took it myself. I am a math teacher, not an elementary reading teacher, but I wanted to understand what we were asking our teachers to do. It is tough work.
And our teachers have done it. With the latest testing results, we are beginning to see the return on our efforts. During the 2025-26 school year, Alaska ended the year with 4,264 fewer K-3 students well below benchmark than at the beginning of the year, while 3,771 more students finished at or above benchmark. These numbers are not the finish line.
They are evidence that focused instruction matters. This is what the return on investment looks like in education. We are seeing another example in career preparation. Alaska’s Career Guide initiative was created to help students in rural communities understand and pursue the options available after high school.
The effort connects education with workforce development and helps students navigate college, training, apprenticeships and employment opportunities. That matters not only for individual students but for Alaska’s workforce. For the class of 2026, completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid reached 60.1% among Career Guide students, compared with 35.1% statewide. The percentage of participating students who were still undecided about their next step also fell sharply as successful education should lead somewhere.
Not every student needs to take the same road. One may choose college. Another may enter an apprenticeship. Another may pursue career training or military service or go directly into Alaska’s workforce.
The goal is that young people leave school with knowledge, skills, options and the confidence to act on them. That is why protecting classroom attention matters. Alaska has moved toward stronger limits on student cellphone use during the school day. This is not about being anti-technology.
It is about protecting the conditions in which learning can happen. Teachers should not have to compete every few seconds with texts, notifications and social media while trying to teach. Students need opportunities to concentrate, listen, talk with one another and persist through something difficult. And teachers need clarity about their role.
Our students should be healthy and supported. Mental health matters. But teachers are not mental health clinicians. They build relationships, recognize when a student needs help and work with families, counselors, specialists and community partners.
Their central professional responsibility is teaching. Student well-being and student learning are not competing goals. Schools work best when teachers are empowered to teach, specialists provide specialized support, families are partners and everyone maintains high expectations for students. None of this means Alaska education is fixed.
It is not. But neither should our education conversation be limited to what we spend. We should be equally serious about the return. Public investment earns confidence when people can see what it produces.
In education, that return is not a profit statement. It is a child who learns to read, a student who discovers what they are capable of and a young Alaskan ready to contribute to a family, a community and a workforce. Let’s give teachers the time and space to teach. Give students the right support from the right professionals.
Protect their attention. Connect learning to meaningful futures. Measure whether students are progressing and adjust when they are not. And tell Alaska’s children: You can learn this.
You can get better. You can do hard things. Deena Bishop is commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. The Anchorage Daily News welcomes a broad range of viewpoints.
To submit a piece for consideration, email commentaryadn.com . Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser . Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here .
Scratch the next story
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion: Alaska’s economic future starts in our classrooms and the voting boothVoters should press candidates on early education funding, retirement reform and the resources students need to succeed.
Read more »
Vice President Vance to visit Fairbanks on Monday, Trump expected in Alaska later this monthThe President and Vice President are visiting states across the country to boost Republican candidates ahead of the November election.
Read more »
Outside groups pour millions into Alaska's governor, congressional racesIndependent expenditure groups have spent more than $31 million in Alaska’s Senate race and more than $6 million in the House race since the August primary.
Read more »
Alaska General Election Early Voting in Anchorage Begins Oct 19Early voting for Alaska's Nov. 3 general election starts Oct. 19 at three Anchorage sites. Registration deadline is Oct. 4; absentee ballots available by request.
Read more »