Haines High School

Haines High School is a small public high school in the Haines Borough School District, serving 78 students in grades 9–12 in Haines, Alaska, a remote community in the state's southeast panhandle with no other schools within 20 miles. The school has undergone a dramatic performance shift in recent years. Once among Alaska's elite small high schools, Haines High School ranked 2nd in the state in 2017–2018 and 4th in 2018–2019 with 5-star ratings. The 2025–2026 state ranking, however, places it at 52nd out of 62 high schools — the 16th percentile and a 1-star rating.

Recent test proficiency has fallen below the Haines Borough School District and statewide averages in every subject. In 2025–2026, just 16.7% of Haines High School students were proficient in science, versus 41.5% district-wide and 37.8% statewide. English language arts proficiency was 25.0%, and math was 20.8%, both below district and state averages. Science proficiency has fallen sharply from 60% in 2022–2023, and math from 44.4% over the same period. At the same time, graduation rates remain excellent, hitting 100% in 2024–2025 — above the district's 91.3% — creating a gap between high school completion and academic preparedness.

With such a tiny enrollment, a single cohort can swing results dramatically, and subgroup rankings vary widely from year to year in ways likely exaggerated by small group sizes. The school benefits from strong resources — a 9.6-to-1 student-teacher ratio and roughly $23,605 in per-pupil spending — so recent results are not simply a matter of inadequate funding or staffing. The bottom line is that Haines High School graduates nearly all of its students but is currently in a pronounced academic slump. Given its proven capacity for top-tier performance earlier this decade, the central question is whether the school can reverse these declines and reclaim its former standing.