The Anchorage School District is offering a staff leadership program this summer that excludes white people from participating.

Open to teachers, counselors or nurses, the Minority Leadership Program aims to “empower staff of Color to ascend through the ranks of leadership within the Anchorage School District.”

In order to participate in the program, employees must be “staff of color,” the notice states. It fails to clarify, however, exactly what this encompasses or how the district will determine whether an applicant is a person of sufficient color.

The voluntary course is offered through a partnership with the University of Alaska, which will award two university credits to all participants. According to an online notice about the program, staff will acquire a “scope of district knowledge and soft skills needed” to rise through the ranks. “The program cultivates capacity, drives results, and breaks down barriers.”

While completion of the program does not guarantee a promotion or leadership post, the district will use the course to create an internal pool of applicants for high-ranking positions within the public school system.

Applicants for the program must also be held in “high regard by students, parents and colleagues” and maintain “honest and equitable relationships with students, parents, and ASD employees.” In applying for the program, however, applicants can simply nominate themselves.

Offered through the Anchorage School District’s Office of Equity & Compliance, the course is now in its third year.

For questions or concerns about the program, contact Sonya Hunte, Director of Equity and Compliance for the Anchorage School District, at Hunte_Sonya@asdk12.org or phone, 907-742-4130.

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