"JUNEAU -- Beyond simply helping kids get to college, Gov. Sean Parnell's scholarship proposal is about culture change, according to state Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux."
By giving all Alaska students an opportunity to earn in-state college tuition or vocational training if they take tougher classes and finish with good grades, the program could transform the state's underperforming education system and promote a culture that values learning, he said.
By giving all Alaska students an opportunity to earn in-state college tuition or vocational training if they take tougher classes and finish with good grades, the program could transform the state's underperforming education system and promote a culture that values learning, he said.
As the program goes forward, LeDoux said, communities will demand "that their districts, their superintendents, their principals deliver a quality program. And I believe this program will restructure schools in this state."
If the governor's scholarship bill passes, the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education estimates 2,300 out of about 8,000 graduates in Alaska's high school class of 2011 will use it.
As is, about 1 in 3 Alaska students who reach ninth grade do not graduate, according to the Department of Education, and half of the University of Alask