Native leaders of today owe much of their effectiveness to time spent at Mt. Edgecomb High School in Sitka. Here, Athabascans like Morris Thompson forged lifelong friendships with Inupiats like Al Adams, or Sam Kito from Southeast. This bringing together promising future leaders from across the state has been pivotal to successes we see today. Private schools at Copper Center, St. Mary’s and elsewhere provided very good education and allowed the necessary networking to take place

Since the Molly Hootch decision pushed education spending back into the village - all 240 or so of them - anywhere there were the requisite 6 or 11 students, Spending on physical plants and operations has been massive, and we are not getting an acceptable return on the investment.

A return to public, private, and parochial regional schools for parents and kids that want to win needs to be examined. For kids wanting to remain in the village, new approaches need to be tried.

One idea is to deed schools back to village councils that can make maximum use of them -- use them in a way that makes sense for their unique circumstance. Take advantage of communication and internet technologies bound for rural Alaska to provide more effective curricula at a fraction of the cost -- an education that incorporates Traditional Knowledge as a guide to success in the larger culture. The Galena School District is a model for this approach.

By reintroducing regional schools for those who want them, and new technologies and innovation in the village, we can provide better education at a lower cost.