The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 29% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Craig Middle School
Craig Middle School sits in the town of Craig on Prince of Wales Island, a remote Southeast Alaska community where commercial fishing and timber have shaped daily life for generations. The town is the largest on the island, serving as a commercial and government hub, with a working waterfront, two harbors, and a economy anchored by fish processing, the U.S. Forest Service, and seasonal tourism from charter fishing lodges. Transportation to and from Craig relies on floatplanes, the Inter-Island Ferry from Ketchikan to Hollis followed by a drive across the island, and local road connections. The community has seen population decline over recent census periods, though publicly reported estimates suggest a modest uptick in recent years. No major new housing developments were identified in available sources.
The school serves grades six through eight and is part of Craig City School District. Enrollment is small, consistent with what one would expect for a middle school in an island town of this size. The student body is roughly half white, with a substantial portion identifying as two or more races and a smaller but meaningful share of Alaska Native students. A single Asian student rounds out the enrollment. The data does not include free or reduced-price lunch figures, nor does it report IEP or English learner counts, so the socioeconomic and special-population picture is incomplete. A parent looking into support services may want to ask the school directly about these areas.
On state assessments through the AK STAR system, the most recent results show a split between subjects. English language arts stands as the relative strength, with nearly half of tested students reaching proficiency. Science lands in the middle range, with about two in five proficient. Math is the soft spot, with fewer than a third of students meeting the proficiency bar. Participation rates across all three subjects were solid, with most students tested. Average scale scores were not reported, which limits the ability to assess performance beyond the proficiency cut. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly around math instruction and what supports are in place for students working below grade level.
The tested cohort is small, which means a handful of students moving above or below the proficiency line can shift the picture meaningfully from year to year. This is the nature of assessment data in a school of this size and does not by itself signal a problem, but it does mean any single year's results should be read with that context in mind.
Craig itself has no walkable downtown district in the conventional sense. The built environment is oriented toward waterfront commercial activity, vehicle access, and boat access. Schools appear to be integrated into the town rather than set apart on separate campuses. The surrounding Tongass National Forest provides access to hiking, hunting, boating, and wildlife viewing. Civic life centers on the harbors, the seaplane base, the city-run medical clinic, and local government offices. A totem pole carved from an old red cedar stands as a community landmark.
We looked for recent district-level changes that would be relevant to families and found little of lasting impact reported in available sources, so that material is left out rather than guessed at. No neighbor comparison data was provided, no program offerings were listed, and no civil-rights data was available for this school. These gaps mean the picture here is partial. What is clear is that Craig Middle School is a very small middle school in a working island community, with English language arts as its academic bright spot and math as the area most worth a closer conversation with school staff.
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