Location
Anchorage, Alaska
District information
SuperintendentJharrett Bryantt
Enrollment49,492 in 2009-10
Other information
Websiteasdk12.org

The Anchorage School District (ASD) manages all public schools within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the 107th largest school district in the United States, serving over 45,000 students in more than 90 schools.[1]

Operations

The district includes all of Anchorage municipality.[2]

District superintendent Carol Comeau, appointed in December 2000,[3] retired June 30, 2012. She was succeeded by Jim Browder.[4] After eight months, Jim Browder resigned and was replaced by Ed Graff; later in 2015 Ed Graff was replaced by Deena Bishop (formerly Deena Paramo), previously the Superintendent of Matsu Valley School District.[5] Bishop resigned at the end of the 2022 school term and was replaced by Jharrett Bryantt.[6][7]

Demographics

In the 2018-2019 school year, the Anchorage School District enrolled approximately 46,695 students. In terms of race and ethnicity, the Anchorage School District is considered a minority-majority district, meaning the minority groups make up the majority of the district's population. Non-white students make up roughly 58 percent of the school district's student body.

Composition:[8]

41% White
5% Black
11% Hispanic
17% Asian/Pacific Islander
9% American Indian/Alaska Native
15.78% Multi-ethnic

The district served approximately 8,600 students with special needs who were eligible for special education services in 2008-09. Also that year, the district's English Language Learner program for students with limited English Proficiency served 5,808 students and the Gifted program assisted 3,563 students.[9]

Instruction

In 2008-09, the district's graduation rate was 70.48 percent. It has increased nearly 11 percentage points since the 2004-05 school year. The dropout rate for ASD students is 3.43 percent, a figure that has been cut nearly in half since the 2004-05 school year.[10]

In 2009-10, ASD had 48 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. National board certification is voluntary and involves a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes one to three years for a successful candidate to achieve. The certification complements, but does not replace a state's teacher certificate. It is valid for 10 years and establishes the teacher as “highly qualified” and a “master” teacher in the eyes of the district and state.

In 2009-10, 99 percent of new teachers were highly qualified. The remaining 1 percent were unable to prove their HQT status and were terminated. As of May 1, 2010, the state HQT reports 95.4 percent of ASD teachers had an HQT designation in the content area they were teaching. To put this into perspective almost six years after the State adopted regulations mandating that urban District's limit instruction in core classes to HQ teachers, ASD is still out of compliance, while HQ requirements can be via Praxis examinations.

The district also has approximately 225 certificated employees such as counselors, psychologists, speech pathologists, OT/PT, nurses and more.[11]

ASD's last curriculum audit was conducted in 2002.[12]

22.5 credits are required to graduate high school in the Anchorage School District.[13] All high schools in the Anchorage School District offer AP (Advanced Placement) classes, but only West Anchorage High School offers IB (International Baccalaureate) classes.

Test Scores

The district releases test scores each fall in a comprehensive report called Profile of Performance. See [14] Expect the Best is a condensed version of that 2,000-page document: it is put forward as an annual report to the community.

In 2008-09 test scores remained relatively flat. Language arts scores declined from 81.4 to 80.4 percent and math scores declined from 73.7 to 71.4 percent since last year. These scores follow three years of steady growth.

In order to make AYP (adequate yearly progress) each school must meet up to 31 specific targets that have been established by the state in which the district is located.[15] Proficiency on state adopted measurements, test participation, attendance, and graduation rates are used to determine AYP for each school each year. 2008-09 school-wide results for the district's 96 schools are as follows:

Thirty-nine ASD schools met every requirement for which they were accountable. Fifteen missed AYP by just one target; 42 schools missed by two or more targets. Complete coverage, including historical statistics, of federal AYP requirements, are available on the district's website.[16]

In 2009, only some 27% of students in Alaska were proficient in Reading on the NAEP test.[17] For some reason, though Anchorage's population exceeded 250,000 NAEP did not include Anchorage in its review of Urban Districts.[18]

Food service

On December 16, 2019, news was announced to all students at the schools serving Subway sandwiches for lunch that the district decided to go with more healthy and convenient options for school lunches, removing Subway sandwiches from the menu. It went into effect the second semester of the 2019-2020 school year.[citation needed].

Schools

High schools

Middle schools

Combined secondary schools

Kindergarten - Grade 12 schools

Elementary schools

Charter schools

Other specialized schools and programs

See also

References

  1. ^ "Table 215.30. Enrollment, poverty, and federal funds for the 120 largest school districts, by enrollment size in 2018: 2017-18 and fiscal year 2020, Digest of Education Statistics, NCES, USDE. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Anchorage Municipality, AK" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  3. ^ School District web site: 'about' Archived 2010-11-16 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 December 2010
  4. '^ "Superintendent Search." ASD Online. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Anchorage School District superintendent has a new last name". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  6. ^ Anastas, Katie. "After six years, Anchorage Superintendent Deena Bishop prepares to pass the torch," Alaska Public Media, May 2, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  7. ^ Anastas, Katie. "Jharrett Bryantt named new Anchorage School District superintendent," Alaska Public Media, April 14, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  8. ^ "Ethnicity Report" (PDF). www.asdk12.org. October 31, 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  9. ^ asdk12.orgpopulation Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 December 2010
  10. ^ asdk12.org: expect the best Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 December 2010
  11. ^ asdk12.org: district news Archived 2010-05-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 December 2010
  12. ^ asdk12.org: Introduction Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 December 2010
  13. ^ "2020-2021 Anchorage School District Student Handbook" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-11.
  14. ^ asdk12.org: assessment and evaluation Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 December 2010
  15. ^ "The Facts About State Standards" (PDF). www2.ed.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  16. ^ asdk12/AYP Archived 2009-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 December 2010
  17. ^ "State Snapshot Report" (PDF). nces.ed.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  18. ^ "The Nation's Report Card" (PDF). nces.ed.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-01-06. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  19. ^ Chugach Optional Elementary school is not a neighborhood school, but rather an alternative program within the Anchorage School District. Students come from all over Anchorage and are accepted on a lottery system to provide an equal opportunity to all students and to provide grade level and gender balance.

External links

School districts in Alaska
Authority control databases
Category