24% of Mat-Su High School Students are Failing
3/26/2006Palmer-- In the wake of distressing news that 24% of the Mat-Su Valley students are failing so far this year, this report shows some signs that not all is bad news. However, these statistics from (http://www.labor.state.ak.us/trends/mar06.pdf) should give us pause: Less than 60 percent of Alaska’s ninth-graders graduate high school after four years. Many drop out altogether.
Over 57,000 Alaskans age 18 and older do not have a high school diploma.
Many high school graduates are not ready for postsecondary education, training or employment, and eventually drop out or fail to complete their programs.
Test results that show 24% failing are merely reflective of what we already knew. The testing is in response to requirements from "No Child Left Behind". Whatever other problems NCLB causes, if it clearly delineates student abilities, it will be a resounding success.See the official MSBSD Document
20 Mat-Su Classrooms being used for Day-Care!
3/10/2006
Wasilla-- It has been learned that the Mat-Su school system operates day care centers in twenty rooms of the school system, with fifteen funded by local taxes. The school district complains that several schools in the Knik/Goose Bay/ Wasilla area are overcrowded and new schools need to be built, but the school district continues to underutilize classrooms by providing daycare at taxpayer expense. You should note that the 15 daycare operations are apparently not required by federal, state or local law, and do not contribute (in fact, are likely detrimental) to the core educational mission of the school system. These 20 classrooms are approximately equivalent to one complete elementary school.
It has not yet been determined if the daycare providers are school district employees, but the school district clearly is competing with private daycare operations. We are researching the allocation of the day care spaces to determine the impact on Knik/Goose Bay/ Wasilla area schools. These schools are said to be operating near or above capacity.The investigation continues..
###
