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Rural education programs ANSEP and Alaska Excel draw broad support in House Finance testimony
Summary
Students, parents, teachers and district officials from Bethel, Kotzebue and other rural communities asked the committee to fully fund Alaska Native Science and Engineering programs (ANSEP/ANSIP) and Alaska Excel, citing high completion rates, dual‑credit attainment and workforce benefits.
A string of students, parents and educators from rural Alaska told the House Finance Committee on March 13 that programs such as ANSEP/ANSIP and Alaska Excel provide rare career, college and certification opportunities and that state funding is essential to keep them running.
Wayne Woodgate, federal programs director for the Yupiit School District, described Alaska Excel’s role in rural communities. “Out of the 186 eligible students that attend the YSD, 66 attended Alaska Excel last year, completing 121 different learning sessions. That’s 34% of our eligible student population,” Woodgate said, and added the district’s students had a 95 percent pass rate. He asked the committee to support Alaska Excel as part of House Bill 53.
Speakers from Bethel and other regions gave similar accounts for ANSEP/ANSIP. Alex Bernard, acceleration director for the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program in Bethel, said ANSEP began with 17 students and has grown to about 50 in his component, maintaining a college GPA average of 3.4 and a 98 percent completion rate. Multiple ANSEP students and alumni — including Drini Palumbi, Maya LaValle and others — described graduating high school with dozens of college credits and said the program materially changed their post‑secondary prospects.
Supporters argued these programs keep talent in Alaska and create career pathways in fields such as engineering, health care and skilled trades. John Lavelle, a long‑time rural teacher in Bethel, said ANSEP helps students transition to college and return to serve rural communities: “They take college classes in a more structured environment with the supports so that when they do go to college, they are successful.”
Program advocates also described operational pressures: travel costs to send rural students to centralized sessions, the importance of continued state base funding, and concerns that cuts to program budgets would reduce access for remote students.
Why this matters: Supporters said ANSEP/ANSIP and Alaska Excel deliver measurable academic outcomes — dual credits, industry certificates and high completion rates — and argued that funding such programs helps Alaska produce a home‑grown workforce. The House Finance Committee will consider these requests along with other education and workforce items in the operating budget.
