AKTEACH decreases statewide services

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

Due to lack of funds, AKTEACH will turn away from a larger statewide presence.

The organization includes services like a home school program and distance learning program and, much like village and city schools, is a part of the Kodiak Island Borough School District.

Director Nicole Fuerst says a Digital Teaching Initiative grant allowed AKTEACH to establish partnerships with school districts off island.

“We also at that time branched out to be a statewide homeschool correspondence program.”

She says the grant has since ended.

“That means that we don’t have things to give away to our partner school districts for free. And so, obviously, since we’re not the only district that’s suffering budget cuts, it’s hard for other districts to maintain the relationship if they have nothing to give and we have nothing to give.”

Despite the loss of funds, she says AKTEACH still offers support to some of the schools it’s worked with in the past.

“Cause in some cases what we’re doing doesn’t cost anything, but both districts are willing to put in the time that it takes to develop the relationship. So, there is that piece of it, but the big piece for AKTEACH is that we have returned to Kodiak, and we’re focusing all of our attention and all of our support in Kodiak.”

Fuerst says the organization is opening up new opportunities in Kodiak.

That includes repurposing its science, technology, engineering, and mathematics lab so that local schools can use it and starting a writing workshop.