Alternative Learning Systems
Fairbanks · AK · Fairbanks North Star Borough School District · Public · K-12 combined
📄 Shareable scorecard →Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
Steller Secondary School → Valdez High School → Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA) → Valley Pathways → Polaris K-12 School → Burchell High School → Nenana City School → Susitna Valley High →📋 At a glance
- ✅ Gifted & talented program
- 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 29% of US high schools
- 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 24% (Bottom 4% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How Alternative Learning Systems compares for families
What families should know about Alternative Learning Systems.
- ▸ LocallyAK sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Steller Secondary School, Valdez High School, Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA) and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
For Parents
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SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-21Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
Bottom 4% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
👩🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC
Teacher experience & reliability
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.
🏛️ Your state's public flagship
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $10,892/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.
Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.
Chronic absenteeism
Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.
Counselor capacity
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.
Enrollment trend & projection
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of -1.0%/year, projecting from 2024's 184 students:
A small or specialty program — naive trend math doesn't capture the school's full picture. Read the trend as directional, not predictive.
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Most similar nearby high schools
The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steller Secondary School Anchorage |
Public | 261.4 | 160 | -3.0% |
| Valdez High School Valdez |
Public | 259.6 | 175 | +6.1% |
| Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA) Galena |
Public | 272.4 | 185 | +24.2% |
| Valley Pathways Palmer |
Public | 229.6 | 143 | -20.1% |
| Polaris K-12 School Anchorage |
Public | 263.3 | 141 | +2.9% |
| Burchell High School Wasilla |
Public | 232.6 | 200 | -14.9% |
| Nenana City School Nenana |
Public | 45.7 | 130 | +19.3% |
| Susitna Valley High Talkeetna |
Public | 201.1 | 130 | +32.7% |