 The Lower Yukon School District is located in very remote area of Alaska. Geographically, our District is half the size of the State of Louisiana and includes 11 very small villages with no connecting roads. Most travel is by small airplanes although occasionally, travel is by snow machine in the winter and boat in the summer. The children are almost exclusively of Yup’ik Eskimo
descent.
Nine villages are served by LYSD are on the Yukon River which is one of the largest rivers in North America and flows through two countries. Two villages are on the coast of the Bering Sea. The Lower Yukon River reputedly produces the most flavorful and tasty salmon in the world. King Salmon (among the grandest of fish) run in mid  June and produce fish ranging in size from 30 to 80 pounds. Chum and silver salmon are smaller in size of often run in June through early September.
Yup’ik Eskimos combine a contemporary and a traditional subsistence lifestyle in a blend unique to the arctic. Modern Yup’iks work and live in western style but still hunt and fish in traditional subsistence ways. Locals fish salmon, whitefish, lamprey eels and pike. They also hunt moose, bear, fox, beaver, lynx and other animals to put food on the table.
All villages have at least one store and a post office. Villages also have good telephone systems, satellite TV, and Internet access. LYSD technology is among the best in the nation.
LYSD developed from schools originally established and run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) but now maintain school districts much like their southern (lower 48) brothers and sisters.
The shared vision of LYSD is to teach kids at their appropriate instructional level using a standards-based model that involves involve all stakeholders in the educational process. The purpose of LYSD is to ensure tradition, culture and a quality education for all of our children.
Lower Yukon School District has implemented a Quality School Initiative effort that has developed into the Lower Yukon Model of Instruction. LYSD is a member of RISC (ReInventing Schools Coalition) under a grant from the Gates Foundation. LYSD realigned its curriculum into student levels that directly correspond to State of Alaska Standards and Grade Level Expectations. Students are taught at their correct level of instruction using best teaching practices.
 In addition, our District is currently implementing the use of the AIMS Web (Assessment Information Management System) and RTI (Response to Instruction). These are programs that use frequently collected data and teacher collaboration to adjust instruction to improve academic performance.
These efforts have resulted in substantially improved test scores on state assessments for four consecutive years. Four schools made AYP this past year, five last year, two schools in 2006 and three schools in 2005. No school in our District made AYP prior to 2005. In fact, three of our District schools have exited the AYP level system entirely by achieving AYP multiple years.
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