"Ayaprun Elitnaurvik"

Reports show Bethel high schoolers failed 59% of their first semester classes. In 36% to 52% of kindergarten through eighth-grade classes, students didn’t even turn in enough work to receive a grade.

Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities are keeping Yup’ik alive through immersion schools, bilingual media, teacher training programs and speaking the language at home. Bethel native Christopher Liu is doing his part to bring his language into the 21st century.

The declaration asks the governor to declare an emergency and allocate recovery funds to the city to help rebuild the school and repair city equipment, among other requests.