Anchorage School District officials plan to transfer a special accreditation for an elementary school focused on science, technology engineering and math to a different school. That’s after a vote from the school board to close Campbell STEM Elementary School in February.
The closure is aimed at addressing the district’s roughly $90 million budget deficit, which also led officials to cut hundreds of teacher positions and close two other schools.
Campbell was the first elementary school in the state to be STEM-accredited by education nonprofit Cognia.
At a school board meeting Monday night, Anchorage schools Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the district plans on transferring that accreditation to Klatt Elementary, one of several schools where former Campbell students will be headed next year.
“In addition to transitioning that STEM accreditation to Klatt, our priority is to offer interested Campbell students and families access to that program, so those students can continue their STEM learning journey,” Bryantt said.
The accreditation transfer will occur next school year, and part of the transition will involve a site visit by Cognia officials, Bryantt said.
Deputy Superintendent Sven Gustafson said there will be a lottery held in the next month to enroll former Campbell students in the Klatt STEM program. While Campbell was the only school certified by Cognia, other elementary schools have existing STEM programs, Gustafson said, including Aurora, Williwaw, Muldoon and Russian Jack.
“For the following year, we would look at trying to add a couple more STEM programs, an extension of the transition,” Gustafson said.
The district is currently looking at starting STEM programs at Creekside Park and Bayshore elementary schools next school year.
Meanwhile, Bryantt said he wants to ensure that school closures are done differently in the future. This year, Campbell STEM parents found out the school was on the chopping block 11 days before the school board voted to close it. Bryantt said he wants future closure discussions to focus on being transparent with district data and engaging with the community.
“I recommend that the district solely focus on process next year with school consolidations, and I'd like to pause recommending additional closures for next year,” Bryantt said.
The district projects it will face a $70 million budget deficit over the next two fiscal years if state education funding remains at its current level.
