Arctic Light Elementary is a public elementary school located in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 467 students. The school is part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, which is ranked 12th out of 24 districts in Alaska and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.
While Arctic Light Elementary has a relatively diverse student population, with a racial makeup that is more varied than many nearby schools, the school's academic performance, as measured by standardized test scores, is generally below the district and state averages. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (28.88%) and Mathematics (29.41%) lag behind the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (34.23% and 33.12%, respectively) and the state of Alaska (31.8% and 32.53%, respectively). However, the school's proficiency rate in Science (50%) is higher than the district (42.79%) and state (36.93%) averages. Concerning trends emerge when analyzing the performance of specific student groups, with the school's Hispanic and White student groups ranking in the bottom quartile of Alaska elementary schools, and the military-connected student group ranking last among all Alaska elementary schools.
When compared to nearby schools in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, such as Barnette Magnet School and Chinook Montessori Charter School, Arctic Light Elementary is underperforming, with significantly higher academic achievement across multiple subject areas and grade levels. The school's location on a military base, the high percentage of low-income students, and the transient nature of the student population may all be contributing factors to the school's academic challenges, which have resulted in a consistent ranking in the bottom third of Alaska elementary schools over the past several years, with a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.
In the 2022-23 school year, 467 students attended Arctic Light Elementary.
Students at Arctic Light Elementary are 45% White, 27% Hispanic, 13% African American, 8% Two or more races, 4% Pacific Islander, 1% Asian, 1% American Indian.
Students who attend Arctic Light Elementary usually go on to attend:Middle : Tanana Middle SchoolHigh : Lathrop High School
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
Arctic Light Elementary ranks 119th of 176 Alaska elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.