"Ten years ago, when oil revenues were high and Alaska's economy was booming, the state agreed to put high schools in virtually all of its rural villages. These small schools, many with fewer than twenty students, cost hundreds of millions of dollars; but for the first time, villagers can attend high school without traveling hundreds or thousands of miles from home. "To find out how they are working, the University of Alaska's Center for Cross Cultural Studies spent a year studying these small schools. Their findings are important to all Alaskans. However, for the most part, only a few education officials will ever make use of the written report. "A Right to Learn retraces the steps of the Center's study, visiting rural high schools across the state. Traveling to Eskimo villages in southwestern Alaska, an Indian community on the Yukon River, and a mostly white settlement on the Alaska Highway, the program looks at how such small, diverse schools can provide high quality education, and whether they are worth the tremendous cost. "Today, with revenues rapidly declining, all state programs are being closely examined for possible cuts. A Right to Learn is a 'meritorious public service' in that it makes the Center for Cross Cultural Studies' original report broadly accessible at a time when all Alaskans must be involved in setting the future direction of education in the state."--1986 Peabody Awards entry form. The program discusses the consequences of the Molly Hootch case in Alaska. Interviews with researchers, teachers, and even students are done to gain all perspectives for the effectiveness and benefits of rural Alaskan high schools.
