Best Public Schools in Sitka, AK

Sitka, Alaska is a small coastal city served by 7 schools—two elementary schools (Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary and Xoots Elementary School), one middle school (Blatchley Middle School), three high schools (Sitka High School, Mt. Edgecumbe High School, and Pacific High School), and one K–12 alternative program (Sitka REACH)—enrolling roughly 1,500 students in grades PK–12. Six of the seven schools belong to the Sitka School District, which is ranked #1 of 23 Alaska districts with 5 stars, while Mt. Edgecumbe High School reports to the separately ranked Mount Edgecumbe district (#17 of 23).

Parents comparing schools will see that Sitka School District schools generally outperform state averages and Mt. Edgecumbe High School on test scores. Sitka High School is the strongest traditional high school, ranked #10 in Alaska with a 93.5% graduation rate and ELA proficiency (49.4%) well above the state’s 32.9%. Blatchley Middle School posts the strongest middle-school math results in the city (51.5% in 2025–26) and was ranked #19 of 90 Alaska middle schools, while Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary leads all Sitka schools in science at 64.9% proficiency. The big outlier is Mt. Edgecumbe High School, which reports a perfect 100% graduation rate yet has the lowest test scores in the city—just 10.5% math proficiency, far below the state’s 32.2%—and ranks only #45 of 62 Alaska high schools.

Families should weigh graduation rates and test scores together, since they tell different stories. Mt. Edgecumbe High School graduates nearly everyone it serves but struggles academically, while Sitka REACH has a 33.3% graduation rate despite recent ELA and math scores near district averages—a reminder that alternative programs serve different student needs. Pacific High School sits in between with a 60% graduation rate. It is also important to note a few data gaps: Xoots Elementary School serves only PK–1 students and has no test data, Pacific High School lacks recent rankings, and Sitka REACH’s reported 164:1 student-teacher ratio is not a meaningful classroom comparison. Overall, the most useful picture separates Sitka School District schools from Mt. Edgecumbe High School, while treating Pacific High School and Sitka REACH as distinct alternative educational models.