The origin of the village of Wainwright can be traced back to 1904 when the first schoolhouse was constructed. At the time there were fewer than 100 residents. Once completed, the school acted as a magnet in encouraging permanent settlement in the area and the population grew to over 400 by the mid-1980's.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) built a school building in Wainwright in 1963. The BIA school had classes for grades kindergarten through 8th grade. Alak School was created with the incorporation of the North Slope Borough and the creation of the North Slope Borough School District in the mid-1970's. The high school building was completed in 1979 and an elementary wing was added in 1983.

The first class to graduate from Alak School was in 1977. It was in the old BIA school building. In 1979 the current site was developed, but in 1988 a fire consumed half of the structure. The current school building was constructed after the fire with a new gymnasium and high school wing added. The new addition also included a multi-purpose center, a swimming pool, a new kitchen and food storage area, a weightlifting room, plus locker and shower rooms with saunas, an arts and crafts room, and a student store. A vocational facility was also part of the new construction. It included a shop area, welding area, classroom, and home economics area with sewing machines and two kitchens.

Currently, Alak School has a population of 145 students and provides education from pre-school (age 3) to grade 12. The school's programs include adult-based education classes, community library, summer school, and community recreation programs.

The physical plant has 19 classrooms, an administrative office area, 2 teacher workrooms, and a library. One of the classrooms is utilized as a computer lab with 15 computer workstations, a projection workstation, and a videoconferencing system. There is a counseling center in the high school wing and a conference room adjacent to the library. All classrooms are well-equipped with desks, tables, chairs, play facilities for grades K3/K4 through kindergarten, curriculum materials, textbooks, and classroom supplies. A large utility building is on the north end of the building that includes a garage and work area.

The majority of maintenance for the facility is provided by 7 maintenance staff, including a plant manager. These staff also maintain teacher housing. District maintenance staff provide specialist services and outside contractors bid on major projects. The exterior of the school was painted in the summer of 2002 under such a contract. The district Maintenance and Operations department has an aggressive program of preventative maintenance that keeps the facility in tip-top shape.

The school has daily bus service provided by a 20+ passenger school bus. The bus makes six runs each day for pick-up and take-home services for students.

Housing for teachers is provided in 9 different units including 6 houses, a five-plex apartment building, a duplex, and a three-bedroom apartment in a borough housing unit. Housing comes fully furnished with staff providing their own communications services, including cable or satellite television, telephone, cell phone, and internet hookups.