Anchorage Daily News

Dana Chiskok lasted only two weeks at West High this fall before he gave up.

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Maybe it was the baggy clothes he wore and the funny looks he got from other students. Maybe it was the teachers who asked too many personal questions. Or, maybe it was the headache of getting his credits transferred from his village school.

Whatever it was, the 20-year-old decided he couldn't take it anymore. He was so close to graduating, but West High seemed a world away from what he needed or wanted.

"I wasn't going to change," he said Friday, heading into a local mall. "So I left."

Leading educators gathered in Anchorage this week for a two-day summit to tackle the failure of Alaska schools to reach people like Chiskok. Alaska has one of the worst dropout rates in the country, and reaching students who give up before achieving their diplomas is becoming a statewide education priority.

"This isn't a case of Alaska falling behind. We are behind," said University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton in a speech to the hundreds of teachers, administrators and parents on Thursday.

The summit, convened by the state's new education commissioner, Larry LeDoux, was aimed at developing a first-of-its-kind Alaska education plan. LeDoux wants the state to commit to paper an education vision: How should the state track success or failure? How does the state make sure it doesn't repeat the system that has failed students?

While the Anchorage School District, which has nearly half of the state's 115,000 publicly educated kids, saw improved dropout rates last year over the year before, it still lost 950 students.

Schools that serve more diverse neighborhoods with poorer kids saw worse rates. At East High School, where almost half of the students are poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches, 7 percent, or 150 kids, quit before getting their diplomas. By contrast, at Eagle River's high school, where one in 10 kids qualifies for the free meals, less than 2 percent, or 13 kids, quit.

Of all the Anchorage dropouts, Alaska Natives and immigrants with limited English were more likely than other groups to be among them. Also of those, more males quit school than females. About 570 boys dropped out compared with 380 girls.

National statistics describe a bleak outlook for these kids. They have a greater chance of going to prison. Less of a chance of making money. And can become a burden on social service groups, different experts say.

Often for youngsters like Chiskok, though, they don't see it that way when they first quit school. Chiskok still sees a bright future for himself.

As he took a drag from a Newport Light while sitting on a bench outside the downtown Anchorage 5th Avenue mall Friday, he said he got what he needed out of his high school in St. Michael, a village with 450 people, 125 miles southeast of Nome.

And for now, although he doesn't have a job, he's getting by just fine, he said. He's living with his aunt, plans to get his G.E.D in the next couple of months and then join the military.

Finishing at West High was just about getting a piece of paper. After all, he already passed the high school exit exam.

Asked for advice he would give teachers and administrators studying the issue just blocks away in a conference hall, he said, "Teachers need to mind their own business. When they ask what's wrong, sometimes a kid doesn't want to answer. He's embarrassed. There are a lot of things kids don't want to talk about, and they don't want teachers calling (the state Office of Children's Services)."

But in the next breath, he said, "Kids have nobody to turn to."

Find Megan Holland online at adn.com/contact/mholland or call 257-4343.

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