The Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1939 appropriated $8,000 for the purchase of high school courses from the University of Nebraska, to be delivered via correspondence to isolated places in Alaska. In 1958 over 380 elementary courses and 980 secondary courses were purchased. In 1960 the first Alaskan certified teacher was hired to teach elementary courses. The first Alaskan course was written for grade three in 1961, and courses for all other grades were completed by 1970.

The school newsletter called the 49er was initiated in 1973 and a school library was created in 1974. A half-time librarian was added to the staff in 1977.

In 1975, the legislature opened enrollment to any Alaskan who had not completed high school or received a GED. In 1987, a summer school by mail program was piloted to provide high school students from local school districts an opportunity to improve grades, complete courses necessary for graduation, or to maintain their learning over the summer months.

In August of 1992, the school was reorganized as a separate Division in the Alaska Department of Education. In 1993, the name was changed from Central Correspondence Study because the United States military placed students from correspondence schools on a lower tier for being eligible to enter the service. The name selected by the State Board of Education was Alyeska Central School. The school continued to use the subtitle “Alaska’s Centralized Correspondence School” in publications.

In 2003, Governor Murkowski proposed the closure of Alyeska Central School, and he introduced companion bills, HB174 and SB107 to prohibit the Department of Education from offering a correspondence study program. Representative Bruce Weyrauch introduced a committee substitute for HB174, providing a “one-year transition period in which the functions performed by the Alyeska Central School can be assumed by another educational organization, such as a charter school or a school district of the state.” The school became a charter school under the Yukon Koyukuk School District in the fall of 2004. In June 2007, the school was permanently closed.

The primary source of information for historical notes is “The Alaskan School That Keeps on Working,” by Darby L. Anderson. See also: “Brief History of Correspondence and Home Schooling in Alaska,” by Margaret Mackinnon. Both documents are located in PCA 468, Folder 1, File 1.