Wow! What a reputation: Alaska number one in sexually transmitted diseases? (Metlakatla: low income, home)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Frostnip

Either way, resident transplants are part of the Alaska population, and they do drag most metrics up quite a bit, so I don't think it's accurate to say that Alaska's population overall is poorly educated compared to national norms, although we definitely have problems.

I didn't ****ing say they weren't. I said that the ****ing high schools had poor graduation rates, which have NOTHING TO DO with the transplants.

[Schmooky]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I didn't ****ing say they weren't. I said that the ****ing high schools had poor graduation rates, which have NOTHING TO DO with the transplants.

Anecdote, but my husband spent his life in Anchorage until college. He graduated with a masters from UMich in engineering, and is a PE and SE. All family members but one have STEM degrees that are Masters level.

They’re not transplants. And they’re not really anomalous. They were homeschooled and then went to a Christian high school though.

If we are talking McGrath or Dutch? Yeah okay, slightly lower graduation rates. Chickaloon? Depends. Prince of Wales as a whole? Yup. But still, the education most kids are getting is pretty competitive compared to what I see now, living in the lower 48. And the matriculation rate into college, in state or otherwise, is quite high. That is skewed a bit by more insular populations and immigrants who are fighting ESL barriers and poverty, but it’s still been improving. And I’m saying that as a home educator.

I try to be fair - Alaska isn’t failing hard core in all areas, but there are some unique challenges to surmount that contribute both to the high STD rate AND low educational attainment. And I didn’t see those down in Sterling or on Hillside, or even out in Palmer. Even Wasilla has been making enormous strides with a better superintendent. And the area we lived in, on the north end of the muni, has fantastic schools.

And yeah, mommy and daddy tended to both have college degrees in our neighborhood. That’s fairly unusual nationally.

[Metlakatla]

Your anecdote doesn't change the fact that Alaska high schools have a poor graduation rate.

Glad to hear they're finally catching up with the Deep South, though.

As an actual employer in the state, I haven't had good luck with locals. You're welcome to them. ETA That's a common problem in my specific area, although I guess you can't expect schools to teach common sense, honesty, and at least a marginal work ethic if these values aren't present in the home.

So gross that they aren't even smart enough to keep from spreading venereal disease.

[Frostnip]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I didn't ****ing say they weren't. I said that the ****ing high schools had poor graduation rates, which have NOTHING TO DO with the transplants.

You said Alaska has "the least educated populace in the country." That may not have been what you meant, but it's what you said. If you want to get all hyperbolic, that's your prerogative, but it's simply not accurate.

[Schmooky]

Nm

[RayinAK]

HS graduation rate in Alaska has been getting better in recent years:
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_coi.pdf

In relation to education, in 2017 Alaska is at least not in the list of the 10 least educated States:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_news...017-1701123617

[Metlakatla]

My mistake. I thought you were responding to this statement:

That doesn't change the fact that Alaska high schools have one of the lowest graduation rates in the country.

Since the subject was high school graduation rates.

I read something in the Juneau Empire awhile ago about how it has the least educated workplace in the country; I think the article may have been specific to those collecting unemployment. Maybe it was even specific to POW, I can't remember, but it resonated pretty soundly with my personal experience.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

HS graduation rate in Alaska has been getting better in recent years:
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_coi.pdf

In relation to education, in 2017 Alaska is at least not in the list of the 10 least educated States:
Education World: These Are the Most and Least Educated States of 2017

I've noticed in my area that those who do manage to graduate high school generally flee at the first opportunity. That probably contributes to the subpar labor pool.

[Schmooky]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I've noticed in my area that those who do manage to graduate high school generally flee at the first opportunity. That probably contributes to the subpar labor pool.

I got overly specific and personally identifiable, but I pretty much said as much in my deleted post. The brain drain from smaller communities is real.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by pittsflyer

Not true, I am a BS degreed chemical engineer with a PE (granted I dont have a masters ... yet), I am laid off and when I applied for an opening at the AWWU I got an email back stating that it was taking an abnormally long period of time to go through the resumes and applications becasue they have an abundance of qualified applicants. That does not sound like a city (or state) that has a bunch of neandrathal dolts running around, otherwise I would have already been interviewed and working there, if I were the lone laid off highly skilled and educated person in Anchorage that was laid off


The only exception would be if they got these abundance of applications from out of state, but who applies for an engineering utility job in Alaska from out of state (its not going to be oil company money)? There for it stands to reason (at least Anchorage) is filled with highly skilled highly educated population and the competition for these engineering jobs is fairly cut throat. I think all of the areas outside of Anchorage/Valley/Kenai skew the data drasticly.

At the place I work at we have a biologist doing desk work, and a janitor with a History degree. A lot of the graduate students in Alaska can't find jobs upon graduation. That's why there are so many store managers with college degrees working at Walmart, Sam's Club, and so on. Heck, I have worked with students who already have master degrees such as music, history, and the rest, that can't find work. A lot of these end-up attending classes to teach, and spends months if not years, working as part time teachers.

The ones who get the best jobs are in the engineering sciences, but even so a lot of them have to leave Alaska to land jobs.

That said, I bet that Alaska has one the most skillful workforces in the nation per capita (welders, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and so on).