News

Kenai Peninsula College graduates proceed into the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium for Kenai Peninsula College’s 53rd annual commencement on Thursday, May 11, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Celebrating ‘a milestone’

Kenai Peninsula College graduates honored at commencement ceremony

Kenai Peninsula College graduates proceed into the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium for Kenai Peninsula College’s 53rd annual commencement on Thursday, May 11, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A trombone player in the robes of a jedi warms up during Pops in the Parking Lot at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai bands take annual concert outside

“Pops in the Parking Lot” stood in for Kenai Central High School’s year-end band concert

A trombone player in the robes of a jedi warms up during Pops in the Parking Lot at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna High School student Emerson Kapp, second-place winner, is joined on stage by judge Bruce Jackman as she presents the Kenai Peninsula Maze Board during the 33rd Caring for the Kenai competition at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Caring for the Kenai winners named at annual environmental event

Ccontest challenges peninsula students to devise ways of improving the environment or preparing for a natural disaster

Soldotna High School student Emerson Kapp, second-place winner, is joined on stage by judge Bruce Jackman as she presents the Kenai Peninsula Maze Board during the 33rd Caring for the Kenai competition at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion Soldotna High School Principal Sargeant Truesdell speaks during the school’s commencement ceremony on May 18, 2022, in Soldotna.

SoHi Principal named regional Principal of the Year

The award honors educational leaders who play a pivotal role in student success

Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion Soldotna High School Principal Sargeant Truesdell speaks during the school’s commencement ceremony on May 18, 2022, in Soldotna.
The members of Sankofa Dance Theater Alaska perform for a crowd of students during an opening performance at Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science in Kenai, Alaska on Monday, March 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Uniting through movement

Kaleidoscope students learn about western African dances and music with in-residence artists

The members of Sankofa Dance Theater Alaska perform for a crowd of students during an opening performance at Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science in Kenai, Alaska on Monday, March 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Eli Castro, Blake Gillis and Kaizen Fuller either celebrate victory or cry out in defeat at the end of a practice match of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate played ahead of a scheduled game at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Esports back with new games, players

High school esports, in Alaska and locally in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, are growing. More games are being played and more students are… Continue reading

Eli Castro, Blake Gillis and Kaizen Fuller either celebrate victory or cry out in defeat at the end of a practice match of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate played ahead of a scheduled game at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central High School student Abby Castillo shadows Officer Megan Swangel at the Kenai Police Station in Kenai, Alaska, during Job Shadow Day on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Cadance Bitterich/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai students ‘shadow’ professionals for annual career event

KCHS program connects high schoolers to community workplaces

Kenai Central High School student Abby Castillo shadows Officer Megan Swangel at the Kenai Police Station in Kenai, Alaska, during Job Shadow Day on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Cadance Bitterich/Peninsula Clarion)
The first period product caddy to be installed is seen at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Jan. 30, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Chera Wackler)

Group fights war on period poverty

Peninsula Period Network makes free period supplies available in local schools

The first period product caddy to be installed is seen at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Jan. 30, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Chera Wackler)
The Kenai Community Library children’s section is seen on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Literary competition returns to local schools

Battle of the Books aims to instill in kids a love of reading

The Kenai Community Library children’s section is seen on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Kristin Davis performs a dissection on a donated lynx on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo provided by Kristin Davis)

KCHS students get rare opportunity to dissect lynx in class

“A local trapper let me know there was a lynx, would I want to have it?,” anatomy and biology teacher Kristin Davis said

Kristin Davis performs a dissection on a donated lynx on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo provided by Kristin Davis)
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school district calendars OK’d

School start and end dates were moved by one week

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Elementary school students line up to touch a salmon during the annual egg take demonstration at the Anchor River on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, in Anchor Point, Alaska. Students leave the egg take event with fertilized salmon eggs to raise into fry throughout the year through the Salmon in the Classroom project hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sport Fish Division. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News file)

Kids to get close-up look at fish life cycle

Alaska Department of Fish and Game representatives will conduct presentations at coho salmon egg takes

Elementary school students line up to touch a salmon during the annual egg take demonstration at the Anchor River on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, in Anchor Point, Alaska. Students leave the egg take event with fertilized salmon eggs to raise into fry throughout the year through the Salmon in the Classroom project hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sport Fish Division. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News file)
Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire This photo shows Sít’ Eetí Shaanáx - Glacier Valley School on Tuesday evening. The school is one of three sites of the Juneau School District’s RALLY program. On Tuesday, children were served floor sealant instead of milk during breakfast at the school’s RALLY site.

Pouches of milk, chemicals delivered side-by-side

12 kids drink toxic fluid after supplies mistakenly delivered to school district on same pallet

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire This photo shows Sít’ Eetí Shaanáx - Glacier Valley School on Tuesday evening. The school is one of three sites of the Juneau School District’s RALLY program. On Tuesday, children were served floor sealant instead of milk during breakfast at the school’s RALLY site.
A magnet promoting the Alaska Reads Act released sits atop a stack of Alaskan-authored and Alaska-centric books. Lawmakers passed the Alaska Reads Act on the last day of the legislative session, but several members of the House of Representatives were upset with the bill, and the way it was passed. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

In last-minute move, Legislature passes early reading overhaul

Rural lawmakers push back on Alaska Reads Act

A magnet promoting the Alaska Reads Act released sits atop a stack of Alaskan-authored and Alaska-centric books. Lawmakers passed the Alaska Reads Act on the last day of the legislative session, but several members of the House of Representatives were upset with the bill, and the way it was passed. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
A.J. Wilson, 17, DeAndre Pittman, 16, and Elora Johnson, 16, eat lunch Thursday in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé cafeteria. They, like many students, agree the free meals available during the pandemic are worth continuing if funding can be found after it ends June 30, but they are likely to look off-campus for food if they are required to pay for school lunches again. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

With federal funding ending, full-priced school lunches could be on the menu for many students next year

District hopes to continue offering free breakfast, ‘reasonably priced’ lunches

A.J. Wilson, 17, DeAndre Pittman, 16, and Elora Johnson, 16, eat lunch Thursday in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé cafeteria. They, like many students, agree the free meals available during the pandemic are worth continuing if funding can be found after it ends June 30, but they are likely to look off-campus for food if they are required to pay for school lunches again. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Nikolaevsk School teacher Billeen Carlson, center, shows her Alaska Society for Technology in Education Teacher of the Year award. (Photo provided)

Carlson wins ASTE Teacher of the Year

Nikolaevsk School teacher honored for her work in using technology in education

Nikolaevsk School teacher Billeen Carlson, center, shows her Alaska Society for Technology in Education Teacher of the Year award. (Photo provided)
Spencer Kuan Co. (Photo by Kammi Matson)

Homer High student gets perfect score on AP Computer Science test

Spencer C0’s score puts him in top .29% of test takers worldwide

Spencer Kuan Co. (Photo by Kammi Matson)
Fireweed Academy kindergarteners drum along with Sankofa Dance Theatre during their residency on Thursday, Dec. 9. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Sankofa Dance Theater teaches Fireweeders traditional African culture

Sankofa Dance Theater Alaska, established in 2017, is an Anchorage-based African dance and drum group.

Fireweed Academy kindergarteners drum along with Sankofa Dance Theatre during their residency on Thursday, Dec. 9. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
A school closure announcement from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District was issued Monday, Dec. 6, 2021.

Schools closed for Tuesday in Homer, Anchor Point

Central peninsula schools are still planned to open.

A school closure announcement from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District was issued Monday, Dec. 6, 2021.
Dominique Smith, principal at Health Sciences High and Middle College, a charter school in San Diego, conducts a training session on building relationships, equity and school-based restorative practices for Juneau’s teachers, principals, and other certified staff members on Aug. 12. (Courtesy Photo/Kristin Bartlett, Juneau School District)

Teachers take a turn as students

Training class focuses on equity, restorative practices

Dominique Smith, principal at Health Sciences High and Middle College, a charter school in San Diego, conducts a training session on building relationships, equity and school-based restorative practices for Juneau’s teachers, principals, and other certified staff members on Aug. 12. (Courtesy Photo/Kristin Bartlett, Juneau School District)