OPINION: Academies will provide Anchorage students with essential skills

Anchorage Academies will provide students with life and career skills that will enable them to create a brighter future

The Anchorage school district began considering the possibility of implementing a secondary academy model about six years ago. This concept has been proven in school districts around the world to increase graduation rates, better prepare students for college and work, and ensure that all students have the same access to resources that will prepare them for success after graduation. We are very pleased that after years of planning, Anchorage Academies has officially arrived.

The Academies will give students access to rigorous new electives that will inspire them to think and help them imagine the future – a future we can only imagine because the world of work is changing so quickly! As parents and district staff, we want our students to be excited about their education and to see purpose and meaning in everything they do. Those of us who have been fully engaged over the past months and years know that the Academies will transform the district’s high school students.

As ASD staff have chosen to become academy coaches and have been working on this plan for a year, we would like to share why we believe Anchorage Academies is the right path for our district.

Let’s clarify some key points:

• New class schedule: The six-class schedule will not change next school year. Discussions about potential changes to the 2025-2026 class schedule will continue into the next school year. The updated Academy schedule will provide students with the opportunity to take more advanced placement classes, art classes or other electives, as well as access to more specialized coursework support – whether that’s support for a student needing help with algebra or additional classroom time to teach gifted students advanced concepts in calculus and biology. In fact, depending on the schedule adjustment adopted, the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Academy classes will constitute one elective per semester on a student’s schedule and will allow students to graduate high school with up to eight additional high school career career classes – that’s a major advantage when applying to competitive schools.

• Replaced Class: Ancient Civilizations, a class that will be replaced by the Freshman Academy Career Exploration course in the coming year, is not a required course. This has never been the case. The class will continue to be available as an option for students in the future, and its content will continue to be included in World History.

• Rooted in community feedback: Grassroots community engagement has informed our programming choices. The career paths we offer include law, healthcare, business, engineering, education, a variety of careers and more. These are the most popular careers that our students and parents are interested in – we interviewed almost 10,000 of them! These paths are also directly linked to career opportunities and growing industries here in Alaska. A career focus in our community will mean students will have access to real professionals and real work experience. We want to prepare our students not only for work after high school, but for their professional careers.

• Equal access: King Tech is a popular, effective program with fantastic results, following the Academy model. However, credit requirements and limited program space present barriers to more students having the opportunity to participate. King Tech will be an integral part of the Academies of Anchorage, and the expansion of CTE programs throughout the district will ensure all students have equal access to this type of education.

• Improving college and career opportunities: We’ve heard concerns from families who are confident their student is attending college and don’t see the value in additional CTE classes. It is important to note that the Academy model is likely to increase the chances of being accepted by university students, while improving the study and career prospects of the 60% of students for whom university is not (yet) considered a possible path.

• College readiness: There are concerns that academies will rely on vocational/technical education, forcing all students into a career and removing rigorous academic coursework. This couldn’t be further from the truth. CTE is not the same as the vo-tech of the past, but rather contextual learning of academic content. Many CTE pathways are designed specifically to support college students. Our engineering and health sciences tracks help contextualize learning from rigorous math and science courses to help prepare students who plan to study nursing, medicine, and engineering in college. Additionally, language arts, math, science, and social studies will always be the focus of high school education because these classes are required for graduation and college preparation remains the foundation. Access to AP/International Baccalaureate classes and even dual credit opportunities will be enhanced through expanded scheduling and partnerships with our local universities. Additionally, access to global electives such as music, art and foreign language is included and in many cases even expanded. This model provides our students with more opportunities, not fewer.

Thanks to these paths, students can begin to consider what career they might be interested in long before making a financial investment in a field of study. Practical experience will provide job skills and give each student the opportunity to get something positive out of the curriculum, even if they discover it is not the right path for them.

Giving students choice and a clearer focus on the future will help them connect more strongly with their education. This is an exciting and motivating time to rethink what our district can deliver. If our core values ​​truly include belief in the potential of every student, a culture of high expectations, and responsiveness to an ever-changing world, Anchorage Academies is the way to go.

This comment was written by Anchorage School District academy coaches: Tarna Armstrong in the West, Melissa Carey in the service, Maureen Cronin at Bettye Davis East, Amy Habberstad on the south, Leah Kellerby in Bartlet, Tony Lewis in Diamond, Kirby Senden on the Eagle River and Adam Warman in Chugiak.

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