Ak Distance Ed

Although Alaska (270,374 square miles) is about two and a half times the size of Texas, it has a low population density with an average of 1.07 persons per square mile. Anchorage, one of two major urban areas, holds 41.7% of the state's population (Boucher, 1998). However, large areas remain uninhabited, and most towns and villages are not on the road system. Some villages are so remote that they are accessible only by air, snowmobile, or dog sled during the winter (although travel is possible by car or truck over some frozen rivers especially when they connect one village to another).

Educational Service District 101 in Spokane, Washington, received a total of $9.8 million during FY 1990-91 to provide quality educational programs for students and contemporary inservice workshops for teachers in rural and remote school districts in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Approximately 3,000 students enrolled in courses such as science and technology, contemporary applied math, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish. Adult telecasts offered through the Star Schools grant included teacher inservice workshops and programs that engaged parents in building the self-esteem of their children.