‘Bold, transformative initiatives’ for Anchorage schools leave unanswered questions

Anchorage Public Schools will see three big changes this coming school year: start times will change, sixth-grade students will move to middle schools, and the district will switch to a career academy model in most high schools.

The Anchorage School Board has approved all three changes over the past year and a half, but not without considerable skepticism. With less than two months left before Anchorage students return to school, some are questioning the feasibility of career academies, the most significant of the three changes.

The Freshman Academy Career Exploration course is designed to allow students to explore potential career paths during their first year of high school. Students can choose a career path to continue their studies as sophomores or leave the program altogether after one year.

Anchorage School District Superintendent Jharrett Bryant said all three changes are designed to help students succeed.

“ASD is taking bold, transformational initiatives next year, and it will be a good initiative,” Bryantt said. “Change is hard, but know that these changes are being made because we truly want to move the needle on academic achievement for our students.”

Kelly Lessens was the only school board member to vote against the career academy plan, fearing it will result in fewer resources for students who really need help.

“I don’t think academies will have a negative impact on student graduation rates, but I also don’t think we’re optimally allocating resources,” Lessens said.

The district faced a nearly $100 million budget shortfall this spring and had considered cutting popular programs like IGNITE and elementary school arts classes to make up the shortfall. The final budget eliminated only about 20 jobs, but it relied heavily on funding increases passed by the Legislature. The district plans to spend $3.5 million this year to hire teachers to support the freshman academies, which will be matched with federal funding.

As sophomores, students can enroll in an academy at their school or choose a career track offered by another school, although the district has not yet announced how it plans to provide transportation. Students can change their academy choice only once.

Despite Lessens’ lone “no,” the School Board approved the Career Academy Master Plan in early June, which is expected to be ready for first-year students when the school year begins in mid-August.

School Board Chairman Andy Holleman voted in favor of the academies, but said many questions about the program remain unanswered. The district will have several opportunities to make changes before full-fledged academies begin in fall 2025. A key moment will be next spring, when first-years will have the opportunity to enroll in the academy of their choice or opt out, Holleman said.

“I think the most important thing was to include an opt-out option for everything beyond the freshman class,” Holleman said. “When we get to the point where students are registering for pathways, that will give us a clearer picture of, number one, how highly valued the program is as a whole and how highly valued individual pathways are in different places around the city at different schools.”

The first national career academy was implemented in 1969, and the model has become increasingly popular over the past 30 years as a way to increase graduation rates and strengthen the local workforce. Similar career academies in Akron, Ohio, and Nashville, Tennessee, have taken much longer to fully launch, Lessens said.

Lessens and Holleman are concerned the district will need more funding to successfully implement the career academy program.

“Where is that $3.5 million going to come from?” Lessens asked. “I’m concerned that it’s going to take resources away from our elementary schools, maybe high schools, or sports and activities. It’s hard to say where the money is going to come from.”

The district plans to accept help from available industry partners next year, but Lessens wondered how much aid would be awarded.

“In Akron, Ohio, Goodyear—a corporate giant—is the leading partner for the academies. I don’t know who the Anchorage academies are leaning on to be our Goodyear,” Lessens said. “Who’s ready to step up and be our Goodyear at this point?”

These concerns are not unique to students.

Corey Aist, president of the Anchorage Education Association, said he is concerned that with the expansion of the career academy program to other grade levels in fall 2025, the necessary schedule change could force teachers to cover more material in less time.

Aist fears this will contribute to Alaska’s already high teacher turnover.

“Staffing in general is a huge issue, and the more issues teachers have, the more likely they are to leave the school district and seek employment elsewhere,” Aist said.

Parents have raised concerns with the School Board about a possible reduction in the number of lessons allocated to core subjects in order to expand the timetable to eight lessons per term, compared to the six that pupils currently attend.

Bryantt said it was essentially a tie.

“From a teacher’s perspective, they work with fewer students per day and have a longer block where they can delve deeper into a topic or cover it in an innovative way,” he said.

Bryantt also noted that time spent in class will be reduced to four lessons per day.

Classes for most Anchorage students will begin August 15.