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      Why now?

      • School Kids

        The ܽƵapp (ASD) is initiating the Rightsizing ASD initiative due to pressing needs and changing community dynamics. 

        ASD’s infrastructure is aging; many buildings are over 30 years old and in need of critical upgrades and maintenance. As our buildings age, our population is decreasing. Demographic shifts in Anchorage include a decrease in working-age adults and fewer students enrolled in ASD over the past decade. 

        However, more families are opting for different modalities of learning, resulting in enrollment in ASD choice programs having grown over time. Most of ASD’s charter schools are housed in leased buildings with high rent payments or in buildings that are unsuitable in size or design to fully accommodate their growing enrollment.

        Our underutilized campuses present a major barrier that could be sustainably addressed with an intentional school consolidation plan. ASD is seeking community input to thoughtfully reimagine, redesign, and rightsize ASD to offer a world-class education tailored to future realities, conditions, and resources.

      Education service

      • student

         

        ASD’s students require more specialized services, beyond the education classroom, than in the past.

        Schools with low enrollment are challenged with providing the same level of service that can be supported at larger schools. Small schools see the following impacts across a district as large as Anchorage.

        • Specialty teachers (art, music, PE, and special education) and Specialists (speech, counseling, literacy coaches, occupational & physical therapists, speech language pathologists, etc.) spend significant amounts of time traveling to multiple schools, lowering the amount of time they can spend with students.

        • Combination classes in elementary schools have become more common. For instance, there may be only one 1st grade class and one 2nd grade class that are both small, so they are merged in order to make up a whole class. These combined classes make it more difficult for teachers to spend individual time with each student.

        • At middle and high schools, small enrollments end up reducing course offerings, the amount of times desired classes can be taught in a single day, and access to sports and extracurricular activities.

        • Schools with 3 or more sections per grade (3 first grade classes, 3 second grade classes, etc.) generally have more resources for students. 

        • Schools with less than 2 sections per grade will routinely see many or most of the challenges discussed in the preceding bullets.

        In addition, correspondence school enrollment has more than doubled in the last decade.

        54% Increase in intensive needs students

        118% Increase in correspondence students

      Aging facilities

      • The ܽƵapp operates and maintains 91 facilities; 84 schools and 7 operational facilities. The average age of district facilities is 37 years. There are 33 facilities over 50 years old, including 16 facilities that are 60 years or older.

        The State provided the bulk of the funding for school district facilities, by providing 60% - 70% reimbursement for school bonds, until 2015. Since January 2015, the State has not provided any bond debt reimbursement to the school districts. Deferred maintenance within the District’s facilities has increased during the past 10 years. In 2013, the District’s deferred maintenance was just under $170 million. In 2023, the deferred maintenance was just over $1 billion.

        One Billion dollar backlog on building maintenance
         

      Declining population

      • TeacherThe Anchorage working-age population has declined more than 17,000 residents (8.5% decline) in the last decade, and ASD student enrollment has declined approximately 6,450 students (13% decline). Birth rates among Anchorage residents since 2018 have continued to decrease among child-bearing adults and we have seen that this trend is common across the nation.

        The outward migration of residents in the Anchorage community is consistent in many boroughs across Alaska. According to the State, Alaska has lost more movers than it has gained every year since 2013. Twenty-one of Alaska’s 30 boroughs and census areas lost population over the year. Complete estimates for the state, boroughs/census areas, cities and census-designated places are available .

        13% Decrease

      FAQs

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      • How can I learn more about my child’s new school?

      • How did schools get picked for the recommendation?

      • What factors were used in the evaluation?

      • How will I know which school my child will attend?

      • How will this affect class sizes at the receiving schools?

      • What about charter schools?

      • How many ASD staff will be laid off?

      • After Board approval, when will the changes take place?

      • Will Rightsizing ASD save money?

      • Will the district be rightsizing middle and high schools?

      • Rightsizing

      Board Approved Plan

      •  

        SCHOOL RECOMMENDATION RECEIVING SCHOOLS
        Year 1 (May 2025)    
        Lake Hood Elementary
        (39% capacity)        		 Neighborhood School Permanent Closure

        Facility Repurposed for Charter School        		 113 students to Turnagain Elementary
        62 students to Northwood Elementary
        Nunaka Valley Elementary
        (63% capacity)        		 Neighborhood School Permanent Closure

        Facility Repurposed for Charter School        		 39 students to Chester Valley Elementary
        57 students to Russian Jack Elementary
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      Additional Information

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