25-year Alaska teacher raises key questions in dealing with controversial books
Editor’s note: The following testimony was delivered on May 6 to the Mat-Su Borough School Board during its deliberation on whether to rescind its April 22 vote to remove five controversial books from a list of recommended reading for an elective high
Mat-Su book clash reveals flaw with how schools tackle divisive topics
After three hours of call-in public testimony, including name-calling, half-truths and some thoughtful insights, the Mat-Su Borough School Board gaveled out of its May 6 meeting at 10 p.m. National interest in the meeting arose based on a false report that
Book controversy shows need to empower Mat-Su parents, school board president says
There’s nothing like national media coverage over a local controversy to liven up a school board meeting in Alaska. In the wake of the Mat-Su Borough School Board’s April 22 decision to pull five controversial books from the list of recommended reading in
Harvard’s anti-homeschool summit cancelled
An anti-homeschool summit that was scheduled for next month at Harvard Law School has reportedly been cancelled. According to one of the invited speakers, the controversial event was scratched due to COVID-19 concerns. Calls and emails to Harvard to confirm
Fairbanks parents defeated by school district’s pro-LGBT forces
Battle hardened educational bureaucrats finally pushed aside Fairbanks parents and concerned community members to force through a curriculum that weaves leftist ideology, multiculturalism and the LGBTQ agenda into area classrooms. In the end, the deck was
Anti-homeschool summit features influential Alaskan
Parental rights advocates are concerned about an upcoming Harvard summit in June that includes nationally known figures who want homeschooling banned and/or heavily regulated by the state. One of the speakers is Dr. Barbara Knox, the new medical director of
Alaska’s homeschool ranks surge amid virus outbreak
With COVID-19 shutting down all traditional public schools in Alaska, tens of thousands of parents have been thrust, almost overnight, into the role of home educators. According to leaders from some of the top state-run homeschool programs, many of these
Homeschool options: A list of all state-funded programs in Alaska
Alaska offers 30 public-homeschool programs for students across the state. These options provide parents with a roughly $2,000 educational allotment for each enrolled child. The money can be used to pay for books, materials, tutors and other educational
The sad, bizarre state of Alaska’s government schools
Earlier this month the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District published the final draft of its new policies on transgender students. It was going to be presented officially on March 17, but with the COVID-19 panic the meeting was canceled. It remains to
Anchorage candidate keeping quiet on plot to ban counseling for unwanted LGBT attraction
Anchorage Assembly Member Christopher Constant is waiting until the election results are in the bag before introducing a ban on counseling for people who wish to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction. Constant, who is openly gay and running unopposed for his
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