Bering Strait School District (BSSD) is a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...

in northwestern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, serving approximately 1,700 students in grades K-12 in fifteen isolated villages. All schools in the district serve students of all ages, and most classrooms are multi-age. The district headquarters are in

Unalakleet, Alaska Unalakleet ( ; ik, Uŋalaqłiq, ; russian: Уналаклит) is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States, in the western part of the state. At the 2010 census the population was 688, down from 747 in 2000. Unalakleet is known in the ...

.DISTRICT REPORT CARD for 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR
" Bering Strait School District. Retrieved on May 2nd, 2018. "from the school or district at: 225 Main Street, Unalakleet, AK 99684"

Communities

The student population is roughly 98%

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a num ...

, including

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

, Siberian Yup'ik, and Inupiat. Travel between villages is by air; the nearest road connection to the outside world is almost east to the district office in Unalakleet. The communities in the district are traditional Inuit and Yupik villages which rely on

subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...

activities such as

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

marine mammals and migratory birds, and gathering berries. Native dance and traditional crafts such as

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

carving are still strong. At least four villages practice traditional

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

. There are few cash economy jobs, and the school is often the largest employer in each village.

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

is visible from four district schools with the naked eye, most notably from Diomede School located on the island of Little Diomede, where it is only 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the

International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific ...

. The route of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race runs through six district villages, where it is a major event. Many current and former Iditarod mushers live in the district, and participate in school activities focusing on the history and cultural traditions of

mushing Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most com ...

Mission statement

"Achieving excellence by nurturing the whole student in a culturally based learning community that is safe and supportive"

Vision statement

"All students are thriving and contributing culturally ~ locally ~ globally"

Schools

Anthony A. Andrews School
(

St. Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

)
Aniguiin School
( Elim)
Brevig Mission School
( Brevig Mission)
Diomede School
(

Diomede Diomede (; Ancient Greek: Διομήδη ''Diomēdē'') is the name of four women in Greek mythology: * Diomede, daughter of Xuthus. She married Deioneus, king of Phocis, and was the mother of Cephalus, Actor, Aenetus, Phylacus and Asterodia. ...

)
John Apangalook School
(

Gambell Gambell ( ess, Sivuqaq, russian: Гамбелл) is a city in the Nome Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located on St. Lawrence Island, it had a population of 640 at the 2020 census, down slightly from 649 in 2000. History ''S ...

)
Hogarth Kingeekuk, Sr. Memorial School
(

Savoonga Savoonga is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska. It is located on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. As of the 2020 census, Savoonga's population was 835, up from 671 in 2010. Savoonga was incorporated in 1969. In 1971, it became joint owner ...

)
James C. Isabell School
( Teller)
Koyuk-Malimiut School
( Koyuk)
Martin L. Olson School
( Golovin)
Paul F. Asicksik School
( Shaktoolik)
Shishmaref School
( Shishmaref)
Tukurngailnguq School
( Stebbins)
Unalakleet Schools
( Unalakleet)
Wales Kingikmiut School
(

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

)
White Mountain School
( White Mountain)

References

External links

Bering Strait School DistrictBSSD OpenContent Initiative
{{School districts in Alaska School districts in Alaska Nome Census Area, Alaska Education in Unorganized Borough, Alaska