Mat-Su School Board Superintendent addresses the increasing number of district students attending correspondence schools outside the district

According to Mat-Su School board superintendent more Alaskan students choose homeschooling each year. These include state-wide correspondence schools like Raven, IDEA, Cyberlynx, and the district’s own Mat-Su Central.

Dr. Trani said these state-wide correspondence schools are competing for students. However, there is one big difference between Mat-Su Central and the other schools. Mat-Su Central does not currently offer the State-minimum diploma, their diploma requires more from students. A fact Dr. Trani attributes Mat-Su students attending correspondence schools outside of the district to.

“We can have students who live in the Mat-Su and go to other statewide homeschool programs because you know it’s an easier path or because there’s less oversight and there’s less oversight because it’s an easier path.”

In 2023, around 3,000 Mat-Su students attended a statewide correspondence school outside the Mat-Su Borough.

Dr. Trani proposed changing Mat-Su Central to offer two distinct learning experiences. One would be a state-wide correspondence program offering the state-minimum diploma. The other would be a brick and mortar hybrid-learning program styled after community college.

Dr. Trani said he hopes offering the state-minimum diploma will encourage Mat-Su students enrolled in other correspondence schools to attend Mat-Su Central. Additionally, he said offering the hybrid learning program would create new funding opportunities for the district.

While the proposal is in its early stages, Dr. Trani said he hopes to see progress within the next few years.