Academies are small learning communities that empower students through college and career exposure so they can make timely, informed decisions and discover their true passions while earning early college credit and nationally recognized industry certifications. General education content is taught through the lens of their academy while business and community partners provide authentic experiential learning opportunities at every level.

The Anchorage School District has a long history of providing students with a high-quality, comprehensive high school experience. We have the advantage of being located in a diverse economic community offering our students a variety of high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand career pathways after high school graduation. Our high schools can and should play a significant role in helping each student explore these opportunities as they make decisions about their future. We are reimagining high school because:

• We believe we can do more to connect the opportunities in our community to the talents and strengths of our students.
• We want to expand our emphasis from “college access” to “future success” and the various postsecondary pathways that can help students achieve that goal.
• We want high school to be a place where each student is intentionally and individually supported to explore and even accelerate their plans for the future .
• We believe that building a stronger network of community and industry partnerships can create high schools where students not only continue to reach their academic potential but also strategically explore and experience connections between their learning today and their opportunities for future education, training, employment, and success.

The Anchorage School District has partnered with Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) to foster a community conversation around college and career preparedness and the types of experiences, skills, and competencies our students need to truly be ready for success beyond high school graduation, whether that means enrolling in college or trade school, enlisting in service to their country, or gaining employment in a local high-wage, high-skill, and in-demand profession with an entrepreneurial mindset.

In the spring of 2022, ASD partnered with Ford Next Generation Learning (NGL) for coaching on how to reimagine high schools in Anchorage. At that point, the Ford NGL team spent several months conducting virtual and in-person focus group conversations with a wide variety of stakeholders – including ASD teachers, students, parents, district leadership, middle and high school leadership, business and community leaders, and colleges / trade schools – to examine our community’s desire and potential for transforming our high schools through more community-connected learning opportunities.

The primary strategy for achieving transformation will be the creation of career-themed academies in our local high schools. The academies will provide students with planned elective pathways within each high school beginning with an orientation experience or Freshman Academy during their 9th-grade year.

Students will choose an academy pathway within one of the available career-themed academies at the end of their freshman year. The academy pathway is made up of a sequence of at least three elective courses aligned to a viable college, trade school and / or career pathway that are completed during the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.

The progression of courses will be coupled with learning experiences that bring businesses and college / trade school partners into the school setting and send students out to college / trade school campuses and into the workplace to explore and apply what they are learning in high school at a deeper level.

In other communities across the U.S. and overseas, academy work looks like:

• Students learn in a small, personalized environment that is centered on and responsive to their needs and the needs of the community.
• Students experience applied learning opportunities within themed academies.
• Students work with business and industry partners to solve real-world problems for authentic learning.
• Students gain essential knowledge and skills to prepare them for successful postsecondary education, training, or employment.
• Students engage in a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates academic and career education.
• Students work within a culture of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking that promotes the development of leadership and teamwork skills.
• Students earn certificate credentials and have dual enrollment opportunities.

More information on the work Ford NGL does: https://www.fordngl.com/data 

A variety of stakeholders will work together on the master plan, including teachers, students, parents, district leadership, union leaders, high school leadership, business and community leaders and representatives of colleges and trade schools.

These leaders will also participate in task forces focused on a variety of topics and develop detailed plans for implementation. 

A pathway is a sequence of courses within a chosen academy designed to help students prepare for a specific career area while meeting the mandatory requirements for high school graduation.

Anchorage School District and the community will create a leadership and support structure that incorporates business engagement designed to support the work of the academies. There are tiered levels of support that have led to increased community involvement and support. Business, industry, and postsecondary education and training partners will serve on school-based academy advisory boards, district-wide industry partnership councils, and district-level CEO champions.

In addition, each high school will employ an academy coach to work directly with the academies in their building and the community. They are responsible for all contact with the business and community partners, bringing them through the school, and setting up whatever is needed while they are interacting with the students and faculty.

Resources, such as funding, staffing, and industry participation, are limited, and each school will work to offer pathways that would have broad interest and reach. Additionally, schools will use a variety of data sources to determine the pathways that embody the broadest scope of student engagement, including:

• Student interest surveys
• a history of course requests
• teacher certifications
• available community resources
• state, regional, and local labor market data

The district is also focused on ensuring that career pathways offered in our Academies foster transferable skills that will provide career opportunities after graduation.

Our Steering Committee, comprised of stakeholders from the community, businesses, post-secondary education, and ASD, will begin meeting this May to develop a Master Plan for this transformation.

Participating high schools will be matched with local industry partners who will provide training, internship and job-shadowing opportunities for students, as well as support for teachers who work in specific career-themed academies.

We're excited about your participation; there is a form below so you can indicate your interest.

Teachers will be provided with academy team training. The training is designed to build a solid foundation of a team of teachers, a counselor, and a principal who are equipped to work together to achieve their established goals. Teams develop a mission, team name, colors and rituals, routines, and celebrations.

Teachers in an academy will also receive training in Project-Based Learning (PBL). Using PBL strategies helps teachers design and write transformational instructional units that help students demonstrate mastery by applying content standards to create authentic products. This inquiry-based instructional strategy requires teachers to move away from teacher-led instruction to student-led learning that incorporates real-world problems to help bring the standards to life.

An academy team is an interdisciplinary learning team that includes: core teachers, pathway teachers, academy counselor, administrator, and school academy coach.

Career academies bring together a team of teachers and a group of students around a career- and college-theme. To meet the goal of providing quality academic experiences, while promoting a close and personal, academic learning experience for teachers and students, core teachers will primarily teach classes to students within their academy. If the Master Schedule demands it, teachers can have specific classes where they teach students outside of their academy team, but the goal is to keep academy classes “pure” (i.e., teachers only teach courses within their academy).

While many of the elective classes offered at our high schools will remain the same, we believe this initiative will significantly increase opportunities for students to connect their classroom learning to career success.

In particular, we are focused on building strong connections with industry partners to ensure that every high school offers robust job shadowing, college visits, career exploration and internship opportunities. While these activities have happened previously, the academies model will provide a framework to make sure they are a consistent part of every student’s high school experience in the Anchorage School District.

Academy scheduling is student-driven; elective classes are determined by student requests rather than teacher interest. Recommended electives will be offered to enhance the student’s pathway course sequence, while also having the opportunity to select any global electives offered in the Program of Studies.

We're excited about your participation; there is a form below so you can indicate your interest.

Tactic Teams addressing specific needs will begin convening soon and this October ASD will host a larger community convening to help determine and define Anchorage's Profile of a Graduate. If you have specific areas of interest, please email Larissa Wright-Elson, CCL Coordinator. Otherwise, please watch this space for announcements updating the work. 

As a first step, students can contact their first-year student counselor with questions about their pathway options.

We encourage families to keep in mind that this initiative does not lock students into a future career or college path. Instead, it is designed to provide a deep dive into a particular area that will help them make informed choices about their path after high school.

We believe that in most cases, students will be able to identify a career pathway at their zoned school that is beneficial for them. In some cases, these pathways may provide exposure to a career field that is a good fit for that student but was previously unfamiliar to them. In other cases, the chance to visit industry leaders or participate in job shadowing may raise awareness about related career fields or opportunities.

In addition, a student who is interested in a particular career – such as becoming an attorney – may not have a pre-law pathway available at their school. However, they may have the opportunity to job-shadow, take a field trip, or participate in an internship with the legal department of an industry partner.

In addition to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at West High School and Alaska Middle College School, the academies will offer honors, Advanced Placement, and dual enrollment opportunities. The goal is to increase the number of students taking advanced courses by increasing relevance and rigor in instructional practices.

Classes in the arts, music, literature, social studies, physical education and world languages will still be offered by district high schools, even if no career pathway is focused on those areas. These classes are valuable and available to all students, regardless of the academy.

Yes. An academy is an opportunity for our young people to learn through a college and career lens of interest. This data-driven model shows academy students outperform their peers with higher grade point averages, increased attendance, and overall improved student performance. The Anchorage School District has embraced this model and wants to ensure all students have the opportunity to the learn and apply their learning within a space that interests them while building a strong foundation for a successful future.

All students will be included in an academy team, and support structures will be developed and provided for those students who need them. Ultimately, each young person’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) will support their learning and will be implemented to ensure student success.

This is a student-centered model that focuses on what is best for the student. Counselors and administrators will continue to work closely with dependent students and their families to ensure students' needs are met.  

This is a student-centered model that focuses on what is best for the student. Counselors and administrators will continue to work closely with students and their families to ensure students' needs are met.  

Students will be able to make one change after their 10th-grade year. There will be an application process for academy changes that will consist of evaluating the best interest of the student. If a student would like to make a change, they should visit their counselor to start the process by retrieving a Change Request Form.

We will work with all of our students to identify critical information that might help them narrow their areas of interest. This will be supported with career exploration experiences. Students will also meet with their academy counselor to review their data and discuss all of the options available to them.

If students are still struggling to make their choice, academies and pathways that are more focused on transferable skills will be suggested, but ultimately all students will be placed in an academy and pathway.

JROTC programs will continue to be offered as a global elective, available to all students.

The Anchorage School District and the community know the value and importance of learning a world language. ASD is committed to developing global citizens who can communicate with diverse individuals and communities, and learning a world language greatly improves this outcome. Students will be encouraged to continue with their language immersion experiences and to take a world language. Proficiency in a world language will still be highlighted with the Seal of Biliteracy program. 

At this time, students will still be able to enroll in King Tech courses.

Students will still attend their neighborhood schools and will have an option to lottery into other school choice programs.