Educational Options in Anchorage, ALASKA
After an outpouring of requests for what educational direction people were trying to choose for their schoolchildren, I started building a list of options for parents in the Anchorage School District. While we opted to stay with our neighborhood school and opt into distance learning, many parents were baffled at the difference between virtual school, distance learning, ASD homeschool, homeschool charters and traditional homeschool (unschool).
We built a list of option (some are closed for the year) that parents can choose from or do their own research with.
List of Municipality of Anchorage Educational Options v.2 Including and Excluding Anchorage School District Options ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️ 🔵 ASD Distance Learning -
ASD Neighborhood Choice School
Online learning at home with future option to in-person attend. Normal student registration.
🔵 ASD Virtual Learning -
3rd Party/Local Teacher Supported Online Education. Online registration then opt-in required for virtual learning through parent portal.
🔵 ASD Homeschool (Enrollment now-closed) -
Homeschool program provided by ASD, Family Partnership, PADEIA (sp), etc. These fill up quickly and turned into lotteries. The last date to accept or decline placement was Friday, July 31st. 2020.
🔵 Homeschool - Program -
Either through a state/regional program like CYBER, IDEA, etc. Online/correspondence type. Requires district transfer and intake process. Many courses, programs available in Alaska. Most programs are well established and have been operating in Alaska for decades.
Homeschool/Correspondence Schools: https://education.alaska.gov/alaskan_schools/corres
🔵 Traditional Homeschool -
Unschool, traditional family led homeschooling. Alaska has interesting laws here. (We did this option before). You create home based curriculum on age appropriate materials sourced online or personal experience. No reporting requirements for certain ages but documentation is strongly recommended. Review online resources for more info.
More Info: https://www.homeschoolfacts.com/state-laws/alaska-homeschool-state-laws.html 🔵 Private/paid school-
Estimated Tuition of $7000, some institutions have opted to be in-person. This has been a draw for new enrollment.
🔵 Childcare Supported ASD Virtual Learning -
This is now an option through Bright Beginnings. Paid option. The childcare facility has hired local educators with full to limited accrediting to assist virtual teachers through ASD.
🔵 Homeschool Pods/Private Teacher-
This has been a national trend with small groups meeting in a designated home/space in order to watch each other’s children and facilitate small group learning for the children. This can be used with a homeschool program or ASD’s distance and/or virtual program.
Some pods have a remote, in-state or even in-person support from an accredited teacher, certainly with the distance/virtual learning from ASD.
(This seems like a fascinating trend but not all parents have the support network. It has been 100% organic.)
🔵 Change School Districts
With some Alaskan school districts still allowing in person attendance, some parents are considering this option.
Options for Older Students (Thank you Jennifer for the info)
The Alaska Military Youth Academy's ChalleNGe Program is designed to meet the life coping skills and educational needs of 16 to 18 year old Alaskans More Info: http://akmya.org Next Class Starts Jan 20, 2021
More Info: https://www.akmya.org/
🔵 Alaska Job Corps Center
Job Corps is a voluntary program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to young men and women ages 16 to 24.
More Information: https://alaska.jobcorps.gov/
New vocational training opportunity for seniors. https://www.kinyradio.com/…/avtec-now-allows-high-school-s…/
Enrollment information here: https://avtec.edu/application-process
🔵 University of Alaska & Alaska Middle College School
There are a few programs for juniors and seniors to continue and supplement their education directly through the University of Alaska system as well as the Alaska Middle College School program.
Education and employment assistance program. Available for adults as well as students 19 year old or younger.
More Info: https://ninestar.org/high-school-completion/
🔵 Galena Interior Learning Academy
An Alaskan residential vocational school offers any Alaskan high school student the opportunity to gain or prepare for industry standard certifications in aviation, applied mechanics, construction trades, health science, media and information technology, and natural resource management.
More info: https://www.galenaalaska.org/GILA/
Mt. Edgecumbe high school is a state-run boarding school providing quality education and opportunities for Alaska students.
More info: http://www.mehs.us/
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Comment: We chose to stay with our neighborhood school. There was a mass exodus of parents who opted for homeschool, whether in district or out. Which sadly, yes will affect funding. I have in the past thoroughly enjoyed unschooling and homeschooling our kids. Everything can turn into a math, biology, science, reading lesson.
So far, the district has not stated they would support at home tangible curriculum but the schools are doing an incredible job of trying to work with families directly. Those hardest hit by all this seem to be the special ed students and single parent working families. I think it’s time the people communicate their concerns, work together and not let fear drive our decision making. We’re all in this together. And in this state we have so many more options than others. I’m going to trust in patience and peace and stop letting the fear steal away this opportunity to just love and educate my children in their own home and celebrate their educational journey.
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