Governor Mike Dunleavy is highlighting the opportunities Alaskans have to send their children to private, public, charter, religious or home-schools.

In observance of National School Choice Week the governor issued a proclamation in support of educational options across the state.

“All children in Alaska should have access to the highest-quality education possible,” Dunleavy said in his Jan. 26 proclamation. “We must exercise creativity in providing a multitude of excellent educational options for parents to choose from due to our state’s unique geographical challenges.”

In addition to traditional standard public schools, 6,600 Alaska children are educated in 29 public charter schools, which have extra freedom to provide innovative learning methods. Additionally, thousands of children are enrolled in 30 publicly funded home-school programs like IDEA or Raven Correspondence that give parents primary control and oversite of their child’s education while providing an annual stipend.

“Offering educational variety creates ways to diversify and enhance the vibrancy of our communities,” the governor proclaimed

Alaska also has more than 65 private or religious schools educating more than 6,500 students according to Private School Review, a group that compiles lists of private schools across the nation. Thousands of additional Alaskan children are educated through independent home-schooling, which is not publicly funded or regulated by the state.

“Offering educational variety creates ways to diversify and enhance the vibrancy of our communities,” the governor proclaimed. “Alaska is home to high-quality teaching professionals that offer traditional and creative educational opportunities because they are committed to educating our children.”

Nationally, School Choice Week is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the need for effective educational options to and encourage support for family access to educational choices. The National School Choice Week (NSCW) website notes that the annual celebration includes “tens of thousands of independent events” aimed at raising public awareness of options available to parents as they seek the best educational route for their children.

We trust parents to make the best choices for their individual children.

Started in 2011, NSCW is now “the world’s largest yearly celebration of opportunity in education,” the website notes. More than 50,000 NSCW events are planned this week across the country and around the world.

The NSCW highlights all types of educational options, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and home-schooling.

“NSCW does not preference one type of education option over another,” the website states. “We trust parents to make the best choices for their individual children.”

SCHOOL CHOICE OPTIONS IN ALASKA

Click here for more information about schooling options available to Alaskans.

Click here to see a list of the top private and religious schools in Alaska.