Alaska Airlines pledges additional $1 million to support STEM education in rural Alaska

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