By AlaskaWatchman.com

For the second year running, Anchorage’s Holy Rosary Academy has taken honors as the top private school in Alaska. The latest national rankings by Niche, which surveyed tens of thousands of private schools across the U.S., placed the independent Catholic school as tops in the state.

In ranking schools, Niche provides a detailed analysis of each school in order to empower parents and students to find the best fit for their needs. Niche’s website provides more than 140 million reviews and ratings on schools across the nation.

Holy Rosary was given an “A” score by Niche, which ranks schools based on average SAT and ACT scores, colleges students are most interested in attending, college enrollment, culture and diversity, student-teacher ratio, and parent and student surveys. The average SAT score for Holy Rosary students is 1250.

In addition to its overall ranking, Holy Rosary scored number one in diversity and college preparation among Alaska’s private schools.

Founded in 1987 by Anchorage-area families, Holy Rosary has between 145 and 160 students (pre-K through12th grade) at any given time with a student-teacher ratio of 10 to 1.

According to the school website, Holy Rosary aims to assist and complement parents as the “primary educators,” and is open to students of all faiths.

Teachers employ the basic tools of the Trivium, a course of study that follows the three-lane path of grammar, logic, and rhetoric derived from the classical Greek system of education.

“The Trivium honors the natural stages of children’s intellectual development: developing memory (grammar), sound reasoning (logic), and communication skills (rhetoric),” the school website notes. “Surrounded by well-qualified and faith-filled faculty and staff, the students are prepared to pursue their vocation and continue a lifelong love of learning.”

In addition to academics the school offers an assortment of athletic opportunities, as well as music, theater, art and other activities.

Rounding out the top seven private schools in Alaska were, in order of ranking: Lumen Christi Catholic High School (Anchorage), Catholic Schools of Fairbanks, Grace Christian School (Anchorage), Birchwood Christian School (Chugiak), Cook Inlet Academy (Soldotna) and Anchorage Christian Schools.

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Holy Rosary Academy ranked #1 among private Alaska schools

Joel Davidson
Joel is Editor-in-Chief of the Alaska Watchman. Joel is an award winning journalist and has been reporting for over 24 years, He is a proud father of 8 children, and lives in Palmer, Alaska.


6 Comments

  • Proud Alaskan says:

    Blessings and prayers for all these schools

  • Joe Drayton says:

    Could the Headline have read, Best of All Schools in Alaska?

  • Diana says:

    There use to be a private school in Ketchikan but not enough students and educators to keep it open. Let’s hope that private schools will have a chance to thrive in the future in all areas of the state. We need these advantages in educating our children.

  • Whidbey Thedog says:

    Statistics show that about 90% of those attending will eventually fall away from the faith, but the Catholic guilt imbedded there will remain for a lifetime.

  • Sally M Pollen says:

    What an honor for that school! I think of the dedicated teachers and the satisfaction they must feel. A teacher-student ratio of 10-1 is rare. It would seem public schools and local school boards could look closely at how Holy Rosary has and is turning out graduates and mirror some of the elements of success. I love that the school “…aims to assist and complement parents as the “primary educators,” and is open to students of all faiths.”