The federal Education Department has denied the Anchorage School District’s appeal of its decision to cancel grant money for career and technical education at each of the district’s large high schools.
The funding came from the Fostering Diverse Schools grant program, which was awarded in 2023 under President Joe Biden’s administration and was meant to increase “access to and equity in diverse and inclusive learning environments.”
“I have determined that your grant provides funding for programs that reflect the prior Administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflicts with those of the current Administration,” wrote the Education Department’s deputy chief of staff for policy and programs, Lindsey Burke, in a Sept. 25 letter denying the district’s appeal.
On his first day in office this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the cessation of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In the letter, Burke cited specific language from the district’s original grant application as justification for why their appeal was denied:
“Specifically, in support of my conclusion, you state in your approved grant application ‘Over the past two years, ASD has been developing structures and processes to ensure we move away from inequitable pockets of excellence to systemic change for all students in access to rigorous coursework. Our most successful initiative has been to incorporate development from Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) to increase enrollment of underrepresented students in AP/IB courses by breaking down barriers to increase access, belonging and success… And ‘ASD students also lack access to teaching staff that are representative of the diverse student and community population with 0-12% of students from other racial groups having a teacher of the same race compared to 93% of White students,’” Burke wrote.
At over $14 million, Anchorage’s five-year total grant award was the largest issued nationwide, according to the Education Department’s website. Anchorage was one of 16 state and local educational agencies awarded money through the program, and one of four districts that had funding cut off in the second year of a five-year grant.
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In Anchorage, the grant supported the Academies of Anchorage, a career and technical education training program aimed at increasing graduation rates and bolstering the local workforce by providing job training opportunities to every student in the district. The grant money paid for the salaries of six of the district’s more than 50 career and technical education teachers, as well as Academy coaches at each of the district’s eight comprehensive high schools. At a Sept. 16 Anchorage School Board meeting, school district Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the six teacher salaries would be covered by funding set aside for currently unfilled teacher positions.
In an email, district spokesperson Corey Allen Young said that same pot of funding will be used to pay Academy coaches through the end of the first semester.
Academy coaches provide curriculum support for career and technical education courses and act as a liaison between students and the business community. They coordinate the first day of school for freshmen and arrange guest speakers and job shadowing opportunities. District officials say over the last two years, they’ve seen a 7% increase in students who are on track to graduate.
The Academies launched last fall with a mandatory precursor class for freshmen, but career and technical training opportunities have existed in Anchorage high schools for decades.