High School

Completion of High School

Seventy-eight percent of Native adults in the Alaska Inupiat Settlement Region completed high school.
Native adults between 55 and 64 years of age are less likely to have completed high school (55 percent)
than younger Native adults (more than 85 percent). 

Reasons for not completing high school

The reasons for not completing high school have mostly to do with family responsibilities. Forty-two
percent of those not completing high school mentioned some form of family responsibilities. The
form of family responsibility differs by generation, however. People in their 40's and older are more
likely to mention helping parents, and younger people are more likely to mention taking care of a
child.

Location of high school

Seventy percent spent at least part of their high school experience outside of their home town. Almost a third
went away for all their high school. People in their 40's and 50's were much more likely to go to 
high school away from their community (65%) compared with those in their 20's and 30's (15-25%).

High school and stress

One-in-four Native  adults in the Alaska Inupiat Settlement Region found high school stressful. Interestingly,
those who split their high school experiences between their home town and elsewhere were more than
twice as likely to have found high school stressful than those who spent their high school careers either 
home or away (52% vs. 20%).

Adults in their 30's and 40's were least likely to find high school stressful (about 1 in 5), compared with
adults in their 60's (1 in 4) or in their 20's (about 1 in 3).

The three biggest sources of stress in high school were being away from home, the school environment,
and the difficulty of school work (24%, 21%, and 20% respectively). A woman in her 40's said, "Being away from home
and the family and all that but we had no choice. We had no high school, so all the kids were sent away."

A man in his 40's recalled, "We had no phone in the village. We just communicated by mail. We were not allowed to go home
for Christmas. We were 9 months away from home because of our financial status. Today, as I look back, I don't regret any part
of it. It introduced me to the western world. I can be away knowing I can adapt to them."

Another man in his 40's said, "[High School] was away from home and my mother who wrote letters never mentioned the elders
that I hunted with passed away, causing me grief. In 1961, I went to Catholic school and I got discouraged. My father took me
into the country which was a blessing in disguise. I was driving my own dog team for 3 years. I attended correspondence
classes during this time. After 3 years, I returned to Edgecombe for my junior and senior years. I graduated. I was 3 years
older than my classmates."

And a woman in her 40's said, "[I spent my] first two years in the BIA school, mostly spent tutoring others; [I] didn't feel challenged.
I had a great time my last two years in West High in Anchorage." Another recalled, "It's being away from here. I was used to dressing in whatever I wanted to dress. I couldn't keep up with all the trends. Lots of competition between all the Natives. After I got to know them it wasn't too bad."

Stress in high school and well-being today

As in the case of elementary school, we looked for any evidence of a continuing effect of
stress in school on well-being today. Neither relationship is significant.