ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska
Airlines has renewed its partnership with the Alaska Native Science
and Engineering Program (ANSEP) to provide a brighter future for
middle school students from rural communities across the state of
Alaska.
The second, three-year $1 million
grant brings Alaska Airlines' total investment in ANSEP to
$2 million. Over the next three
years, funds will help transport nearly 2,000 Alaska students in sixth, seventh and eighth
grades to Anchorage to attend
ANSEP's award-winning Middle School Academy education program at
the University of Alaska Anchorage.
"We're proud to see the continued success of ANSEP in fostering
an interest in STEM education in the state of Alaska," said Marilyn
Romano, Alaska Airlines' regional vice president for the
state of Alaska. "Our goal is to
make sure that as many students as possible have the opportunity to
attend this program. We know the skills these students gain by
attending ANSEP will benefit their communities and the state of
Alaska, while preparing them for
future success."
The ANSEP grants are among the largest financial donations
Alaska Airlines has made in the state in its 85 years of operating
in Alaska. In 2016, Alaska
Airlines donated $3.6 million in cash
and in-kind contributions to support more than 300 different
nonprofit groups and organizations throughout the state.
ANSEP Student Scorecard at a Glance:
- More than 75 percent of Middle School Academy students complete
Algebra 1 before graduating from eighth grade, compared to 26
percent nationally.
- 95 percent of ANSEP's High School Acceleration Academy students
advance one full level in math or science after attending a
five-week summer course.
- Since the program's inception in 1995, more than 70 percent of
ANSEP students who begin a collegiate bachelor's degree in STEM go
on to graduate.
During the Academy students from Barrow to Wrangell attend classes that include
problem-solving, research and communication skills incorporated
with biology, chemistry, physics, environmental sciences, earth
sciences, engineering and design concepts and field excursions.
STEM professionals and university faculty teach the classes, giving
students a university experience within a small structure. Learn
more about ANSEP at
https://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/alaskacares/ansep-lift/.
"Alaska Airlines' support provides access to educational
opportunities and the attendant economic benefits not otherwise
available for thousands of Alaskans. We're on track to have 4,000
students in the ANSEP pipeline by 2020," said ANSEP Founder Dr.
Herb Ilisaurri Schroeder. "The Urban Institute has found that ANSEP
students on the average outperform all other students in the nation
at every level.
About ANSEP
In the last 23 years, ANSEP has evolved
into a longitudinal education model that provides a continuous
string of components beginning with students in sixth grade and on
through high school, into science and engineering undergraduate
degree programs and through graduate school to the PhD level. By
successfully completing the ANSEP components, every student in
Alaska can earn the Alaska
Performance Scholarship regardless of where they live. ANSEP
provides inspiration, guidance and opportunity for students from 95
communities. ANSEP arrived at this model after over 20 years of
effort and with the awareness that a fragmented approach that
focuses on one academic level is not adequate to deal with the
scope of the problem and ultimately falls short. ANSEP is based on
the fundamental Alaska Native principle of working together in a
community.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines, together with
Virgin America and its regional partners, flies 40 million guests a
year to 118 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights
across the United States and to
Mexico, Canada, Costa
Rica and Cuba. With
Alaska and Alaska Global Partners,
guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900
destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer
Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the
J.D. Power North America Satisfaction Study for 10 consecutive
years from 2008 to 2017. Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service at
newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines,
Virgin America and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group
(NYSE: ALK).
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines