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Mount Edgecumbe superintendent reports improved programs, notes rising withdrawals and targets work to reverse attrition
Summary
Superintendent David Langford reported operational improvements at Mount Edgecumbe High School — stronger dorm leadership, expanded CTE and dual‑enrollment offerings and new hires — while noting a recent rise in student withdrawals and plans for an ad hoc review of causes.
Superintendent David Langford told the House Education Committee that Mount Edgecumbe High School finished the academic year "very strong" after addressing facility and residential challenges earlier in the year.
"We currently have 18 total teaching staff," Langford said, describing recruitment and hiring activity for both academic and residential leadership roles. He reported expanded academic offerings, an increase in dual‑enrollment opportunities with the University of Alaska Southeast and a range of extracurricular and career‑technical pathways available to students.
Langford also provided enrollment and attrition figures. He said the school’s current enrollment was 289 students and that withdrawals this May totaled 122, compared with an eight‑year average of 78 withdrawals. Langford described that as roughly a 36% increase compared with the historical May average and said the school has formed an ad hoc committee to analyze drivers of departures, which include family hardship, homesickness and dormitory issues.
Langford described improvements in dorm leadership and residential programming, expanded counseling and therapeutic support, and progress on campus partnerships — including a new mariculture facility and a proposed middle‑college pathway that could allow students to earn two years of college credit through University of Alaska Southeast courses while completing a Mount Edgecumbe diploma.
Why it matters: Mount Edgecumbe is the state‑operated boarding high school that draws students from across Alaska; rising withdrawals and declining applications highlight retention risks that the superintendent said the school is now analyzing with the goal of reducing avoidable departures.
The committee received the update and invited follow‑up questions by email to track enrollment and program changes.
