Despite it’s far flung geographical location, America’s largest and least densely populated state is not without its excellent school districts serving towns and boroughs in a number of regions.

Alaska’s top school district is Wrangell Public School District, serving Wrangell City and Borough in the southwest part of the state. Comprising one elementary school, middle school, and high school, Wrangell Public School’s forward looking vision statement promises to “foster and encourage all students to achieve their potential within an increasingly global society.”

Unalaska City School District is the number two ranked school system in the state. A small district of just one elementary school and one high school, UCSD serves Unalaska, the largest city in the Aleutian Islands and home to Dutch Harbor, one of the largest fishery ports in the United States.

We head north to Denali Borough for #3 on the list, Denali Borough School District. DBSD is notable for its Career and Technical Education programs that apply unique learning approaches with the aim of setting students on a career path that interests them.

#4 Petersburg City School District serves Petersburg, a borough located near the home of the state’s top ranked school district, Wrangell, Alaska.

Closing out the top five is Haines Borough School District, which encompasses schools in both the city and borough of Haines. Its sole elementary school, Haines Elementary School, was named a National Blue Ribbon School for the school year of 2014-2015.

Methodology

The following contributed to the ranking: student performance (math and reading test scores), dropout rates, school funding, and area poverty rates. Data was collected from a total of 9,577 school districts.

Did your district make the list?