School district unveils specific career paths that will be offered at Anchorage high schools

The Anchorage School District on Tuesday revealed the specific career paths it proposes to offer sophomores at each of the district’s public high schools.

This is a tentative plan that the Anchorage school board is expected to vote on at its June 4 meeting. The change is expected to have a significant impact on how secondary education is structured in Anchorage schools. The plan is expected to start in the fall for freshmen, but full academies won’t launch until 2025.

The career pathways are part of a broader career initiative proposed by the district earlier this school year that administrators say aims to better prepare students for the job market and attract more students to stay in Anchorage after graduating.

The plan has so far received mixed responses from families, school board members and staff. Many praised the opportunity to give students real-world experience and explore career options early on.

“I haven’t been this excited about anything since middle school,” school board President Margo Bellamy said Tuesday.

But others questioned the district’s ability to have the resources and personnel needed to achieve such a significant change. amid larger statewide challenges related to funding and teacher retention, and whether adding a required course could take time away from electives like music and art .

During a school board work session Tuesday, trustees announced which academies students at each school could choose from during the 2025-2026 school year. They said the specific academies were chosen through a year-long planning process that included feedback from thousands of families, staff and business partners, as well as an analysis of workforce data. local and national work.

If students are interested in a career at a school they are not assigned to, they will have the option to transfer or be bused to other schools, administrators said, although the district is working still on logistics. Each academy can accommodate between 90 and 250 students, administrators said.

Lingering Questions

Despite emerging staffing and funding issues, the initiative is should start next fall with a first grade academy that all ninth graders will be required to complete. In this course, students will spend one designated class period per day exploring career opportunities as well as their own skills and interests. It will replace a required social studies course.

Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, sophomores will choose a career and path to focus on during their remaining three years of high school, the district said. Tracks will include career training, internships and certifications intended to help prepare students for life after graduation.

In order to realize the academies, the district will need about $3.5 million in additional annual funding and 30 additional full-time teachers starting in the 2025-2026 school year, said Superintendent Kersten Johnson-Struempler head of secondary education in the district. Tuesday.

She said the district will need to secure grants, solicit donations or adjust its operating budget to fund the academies. Johnson-Struempler has previously cited funding and staffing as two of the biggest challenges to making academies successful. Other school districts around the country that have launched a similar model have significantly greater funding and less severe staffing shortages, school board members and administrators said.

During Tuesday’s meeting, school board member Kelly Lessens asked how the district plans to fund the initiative given a looming budget shortfall for the upcoming school year, years of nearly flat state funding and the difficulties encountered by the school board in recent years in balancing its budget. .

“I truly believe that this curriculum design will increase graduation rates…and make learning relevant enough to see that increase in GPA that we are looking for,” responded Anchorage Schools Superintendent, Jharrett Bryantt. “We need to figure out what our priorities are to make that $3.5 million worth that investment.”

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Board members also questioned how the district’s academy offerings differed from school to school. Asked by school board member Carl Jacobs why Dimond would have four academies while other schools would have two or three — despite the fact that Dimond has fewer students than other schools — Johnson-Struempler said the decision was driven by feedback from Dimond staff and families. .

“When Dimond presented his proposal to us, the interest levels were much more varied,” she said. “And so what Dimond has often chosen to do is have multiple smaller academies instead of fewer larger academies.”

The district is also asking the board to approve a change to the graduation schedule and requirements to accommodate the additional required coursework, Johnson-Struempler said. Discussions about what the schedule will look like are still ongoing, but will likely include an alternating schedule of eight classes per day. The school board will need to approve this change.

Plans for how the district plans to accommodate students interested in an academy or a pathway to another school are also undecided. Johnson-Struempler said the district is considering a partnership with People Mover, among other options.

The school board is expected to review the plan at its May 21 meeting and vote on it June 4.

Below are the academies offered:

Bartlett

• Academy of Industry and Construction

• Academy of Health and Social Services

• Academy of Commerce and Design

Chugiak

• Academy of Commerce and Innovation

• Academy of Health Services and Education

Dimond

• Academy of Engineering and Natural Resources

• Academy of Business and Information Technology

• Leadership Academy in Law, Public Safety and Education

• Academy of Global Health Sciences

Aigle River

• Academy of health, law and public service

• Academy of Commerce and Engineering

East

• Academy of Industry, Construction and Innovation

• Community Planning and Infrastructure Academy

• Academy of Education, Health and Human Services

Service

• Academy of Commerce and Innovation

• Academy of Health Sciences

• Academy of Industry and Construction

South

• Law and Business Leadership Academy

• Academy of Sciences and Health Services

• Construction and Innovation Academy

West

• Business and Leadership Academy

• Academy of Sciences and Health Services

• Construction and Innovation Academy

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