As your Governor, I will build an education system that puts Alaska parents and families back in charge of their child’s school day. You, the Alaskan families, know your kid best, not some bureaucrat in Juneau. Every family deserves real choices, not just the wealthy. It’s our constitutional duty to deliver a strong education to every Alaskan child, no exceptions. Stacey and I are proud products of K-12 public schools right here in Kenai and Soldotna back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Times have changed. The old model of giant centralized brick-and-mortar campuses is fading fast.
The future is decentralized, flexible, and full of options including traditional public schools, charter, online, hybrid, and homeschool; tailoring education to best-fits for your child. Technology is roaring in like a supersonic tsunami. We will harness the good of it so our kids can get twice the education in half the time for less money. No special interests will stand in the way of that progress. Smart tech makes one-on-one learning possible, at least part of every day. That frees up real time for hands-on teaching, sports, extracurriculars, and the outdoor adventures that build strong, healthy Alaskan kids.
I will adequately fund our public schools, but will demand real results and accountability, measuring my goals of reading proficiently by the end of third and proficient in pre-algebra or algebra by ninth grade. Together, we will build a “no excuses,” transparent partnership between parents and teachers to rebuild the trust that’s been lost.
Alaska kids are our greatest treasure. With common-sense reforms, real parental choice, and results that matter, we’ll give them the world-class education they deserve, prioritizing families first.
I’m Matt Heilala, running for Governor.