Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, University of Alaska Anchorage
Abstract
Prepared for:
CITC’s Anchorage Realizing Indigenous Student ExcellenceThere are many ways a child in the Anchorage School District (ASD) can access advanced course
offerings. To a parent these pathways may seem complex. ASD offers options for gifted and
highly gifted students at the elementary and middle school level, and accelerated, and enriched
learning opportunities such as honors and advanced placement courses at the secondary level.
These opportunities, though linked, are not the same, nor do they necessarily follow from one
to another in a straight path. Moreover, pathways to and through these opportunities can be
quite different. Offerings are different at the elementary, middle and high school levels, with
differing qualifications and eligibility. And, some of the programs are only offered in a few
particular schools. This variety provides lots of flexibility. It also creates a complex path of
choices and decisions. In all of these pathways and choices, active advocacy by a parent is
necessary to ensure that their child receive the best and most appropriate opportunities.
In this report we describe the many advanced and accelerated learning opportunities available
in Anchorage elementary, middle and high schools, and the ways students can access these
opportunities. We provide visuals including figures, tables and text to highlight the pathways to
and through advanced offerings from Kindergarten to 12th grade.
This document is based upon publicly available information. We have combined information
from the ASD gifted program website the ASD High School Handbook, the ASD High School
Program of Studies guide, and minutes of the ASD Board meetings. We also spoke with staff in
the gifted program at ASD. Individual school-level issues that are outside of ASD policy and
procedures have not been included.
This report focused on the services, programs and schools within the Anchorage School District
that service as pathways to college preparation and advance academic course offerings. As we
describe in more detail in this report, there are very different offerings and paths at the
elementary, middle and high school. In general, there are gifted and highly gifted programs at
the elementary and middle school level, and a highly gifted program at the high school level. At
all school levels, the highly gifted programs are offered at a limited number of schools. In high
school, all students (including those in the highly gifted program) have the opportunity to take
honors and advanced placement classes. Math is not included in the middle and high school
gifted program. Math instead is a curriculum progression. Advanced math opportunities
usually start in 6th grade, when students can choose placement into math courses that are a
higher than the usual level. Opting for advanced math in 6th grade puts a student on track to
reach Algebra I in 8th grade and calculus in 12th.
At the elementary school level ASD operates gifted programs in all schools and a highly gifted
program in one. There are also alternative and optional schools, which offer accelerated and
enriched learning environments.
If a student is in the highly gifted or gifted program in elementary school, he or she usually
transitions to gifted and highly gifted middle school programs. In middle school these programs
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include gifted language arts and science classes. Students who were not a part of the gifted
program in elementary school can access the middle school gifted program, by testing in. Many
optional and alternative programs provide enriched and accelerated classes to all students in
them.
For high school students there is a greater variety of advanced offerings. Starting in 9th grade
there are honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, Credit-by-Choice options, and optional
programs within the high schools and alternative schools. Students in the middle school gifted
and highly gifted program have the opportunity to transition into the high school Highly Gifted
Program.Introduction / Glossary of Terms / Elementary Level / Middle School Level / High School Level / Highlights / Future Research Question