Three Alaska schools won a prestigious national education award this year, and one of them is in Sitka.
Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary has been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the US Department of Education in the category of “exemplary high performing school.”
On the DOE website, Keet Gooshi Heen is also recognized for its community partnerships: from its work with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska to offer the Sitka Native Education Program and science programming with the Sitka Sound Science Center, to its partnership with SAFV to provide after school programs like Boys Run I toowú klatseen and Girls on the Run.
It’s the first time a Sitka school has won the award according to the database on the DOE website. The Department of Education has been issuing Blue Ribbon awards to schools since the 1980s. 353 schools in 46 states were recognized this year across the country. Bear Valley Elementary School in Anchorage and Fronteras Charter School in Wasilla also earned the award.
