Benny Benson Secondary School
S.A.V.E. II
Specialized Academic and Vocational Education
The original S.A.V.E. program was started in 1970 in response to the need for an alternative to the regular high school programs in the Anchorage School District. There was a segment of the secondary student population that was not being reached by the traditional high schools. The dropout rate was an issue which needed to be met. The S.A.V.E. program began with a group of students and a teacher who met in the cove at West High School. Mr. William McDowell, A former councilor, is credited with the concept of the program and the leadership of the pilot year. In 1971 the program met in the Continental Construction Company building on Rampart Drive in Mountain View. In the fall of 1972 the program moved into a leased building with shop facilities off “A” Street where it was housed until it was moved into the current new structure on Fairbanks Street.

S.A.V.E. II was begun in the early fall of 1975 as an off-shot of the original S.A.V.E. program. Located in the upper half of the king career center, the newly developed school housed approximately 40 students and very little supplies. Through out the year the student population quickly grew to about 70 students.

Change is not new to the alternative program as is evidence by changes in locations, policies, procedures, and the type of students served. In the fall of 1981 clerical staff members were hired to relieve the teachers of attendance duties and let them go back to teaching. Teachers were spending one hour out of class as well as time after school calling parents to inform them of their child's absense.

Ms. Barbara Garrison, who had been the director of the search program, became the director of S.A.V.E. and S.E.A.R.C.H. at the beginning of the 1984-1985 school year. Durings the 32 years of S.A.V.E. II’s existence, the school has been involved in the lives of many staff members and students. From a student population of 70 at its inception, S.A.V.E. II has grown to its present enrollment of 220. From a beginning staff of one counselor with a vision, S.A.V.E. II now has a staff of one administrator, nine classroom teachers, one job coordinator, one resource teacher, one counselor/job coordinator, two secretaries, one administrative assistant, one nurse, one part-time bilingual tutor, and a technology teacher.

After being a tenant in various schools and other buildings around the city, the program finally moved into a permanent building specifically designed and built for its student population. Benny Benson Secondary School is located at 4515 Campbell Airstrip Road. The new location opened at the Beginning of the 1991 school year.