The Anchorage School District must stop pressuring families and students to return to school during a pandemic. I am currently a senior and have always dreamt of the day I get to graduate high school, making my family proud as I take this next step in my life. I cannot have that if our community is too hasty to succumb to the allure of normalcy. Instead, ASD must focus on providing every student the materials they need to be successful this year as well as include the wisdom of our teachers, principals and staff when making decisions that come at the cost of lives.

ASD is one of the most diverse school districts in the country, but students of color are constantly being let down. Indigenous students, in particular, have the lowest graduation rates and earn the most failing grades. The district recently announced that 9.1 percent of high schoolers in ASD are Alaska Native/American Indian, yet 43.6 percent of this group’s grades were failing this past quarter.

The adjustment to online school is difficult for all students. I am an AP student with a 4.07 grade point average and at the beginning of the year, I was taking three classes across three different software platforms. The learning curve that came with it was aching, but still, I am privileged with access to devices and resources. The ASD presented in a school board meeting this fall that 38.6 percent of economically disadvantaged students’ grades were failing for the first quarter of this unpredictable year. Sadly, this makes sense. If a student does not have WiFi or a device suitable for classwork and homework, they face a monumental setback in this new realm of education.

I believe that the purpose of education is to create a level playing field to foster creativity and passion for students. But the statistics above tell a different story; a story where Indigenous and economically disadvantaged students must climb over barriers to meet that level.

Read the full article about equal access to learning by Nyché Tyme Andrew at The 74.