Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with emotional distress or suicidal thoughts, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide Crisis Line for 24-hour support. Or contact the Alaska Careline at 1(877) 266-4357.

Alumni and former staff members at Mt. Edgecumbe High School are raising serious concerns about safety and student support at the state-run boarding school in Sitka that serves Alaska Native students from villages across the state.

When the Alaska State Board of Education & Early Development met on December 3, several Mt. Edgecumbe High School alumni, as well as current and former staff said that budget and staffing cuts over the past year were putting students at risk. Several said that over 40 students have withdrawn their enrollment so far this year. 

Tanya Kitka is a member of the school’s alumni advisory board. She said conditions at the school, like limited recreation opportunities and “excessively restrictive” dorm culture are negatively impacting students, and parents are worried. 

“Parents, in general, feel left out or not included in the changes that have been made, and have a general mistrust of those in charge to where they don’t know who to who else to go to when their very real concerns don’t seem like they’re being addressed sufficiently,” Kitka said. “They’re worried for their children, and so far, the only recourse seems to be to pull their kids out of school.”

“We already started seeing issues with the budget, and we knew that there was going to be some cuts,” said fellow advisory board member Dorothy Chase of Bethel. “I didn’t think that it was going to be as bad as it is, and it’s really impacting students.”

Kristen Homer is a nurse practitioner who manages the school’s health center. But she said she was speaking as an individual. She said budget cuts this year [link] resulted in staff resignations and turnover, including the loss of a mental health services position.

“Three days prior to the arrival of students in August, the superintendent chose to move the behavioral and mental health services coordinator position over to an academic counselor position. This left a huge gap in in the dorms,” Homer said. “There was no licensed mental health provider in the dorms, no female mental health provider in the dorms. This position was responsible for providing counseling, case management, suicide prevention and substance use programming.”

Homer said that from November 12 to the 26th, eight students were hospitalized for suicidal ideation. 

That information was a bright red flag to Chase.

“It’s really concerning to me to hear that there are more issues and occurrences regarding suicidal ideation,” said Chase. “[Just] one number, one person, that number is should be alarming to begin with. Alaska Natives have the highest rate of suicide. All of this should be taken seriously.”

Mt. Edgecumbe High School has two principals- an academic principal and a residential principal who oversees the dorms. Andrew Friske worked in the latter role, and as the schools activities director, for just over 20 years. He said his retirement last summer was spurred by major concerns about understaffing and student safety- he said just four of his 14 person staff from last year remain at the school. He echoed alumni testimony, and urged the board to take action by forming an ad hoc committee to investigate. 

“Give the group the authority to ask hard questions and bring real transparency forward with this committee, and get the full picture, because I do feel that folks that make decisions are not getting the full picture of what’s happened at Mt. Edgecumbe,” Friske said. “I care deeply for the school, I raised my kids there…I worked there for over 20 years, and I’m asking you, as the only governing body at Mt. Edgecumbe…to step up…before another crisis occurs.”

At the end of the meeting, the board’s Chair, Sally Stockhausen, responded to the comments. She said the state’s commissioner of education, Deena Bishop, should get involved.

“I would like to ask Commissioner Bishop and related members of the department, to gather some more information regarding the concerns that we heard today, as well as more information regarding the ad hoc committee, and to come back to us in Jan at our January meeting, so that we can see what needs to be done,” she said.

KCAW reached out to Mt. Edgecumbe Superintendent David Langford, who is new this year, for comment.