Written by Carla Sobel, Jennifer Flanagan, Joey Catellinicchio, Juliana Shields, Joseph Breyer, Leslie Boyd, Erica Green, and Elizabeth Serrano
Updated: 1 hour ago, Published: 1 hour ago
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In May, Chugach Option Elementary School will celebrate its 50th anniversary as an Anchorage elementary school. This is a special occasion for all members of the Chugach family, past and present, to celebrate their accomplishments.
In the 1940s, Chugach Elementary School was the only elementary school in Anchorage. Students came from as far away as Rabbit Creek to participate. However, as more schools were built in the 1950s and 1960s, the school building was scheduled for closure and demolition. A group of dedicated parents, many of whom are educators, including Caroline Wolforth, Una Tuck, and Barbara Goldberg, are building on the picture that data shows is more effective than traditional methods. We saw this as an opportunity to introduce a new form of education. Rather than focusing on rote memorization, these parents envisioned a program that valued children as individuals and where creativity, responsibility, and problem-solving were central to project-based learning. Rather than receiving grades, the children self-assessed themselves and called their teachers by their first names. In 1973, they started a pilot options program at Chugach Elementary School.
The school paved the way for other alternative education programs in Anchorage. Stella Middle School opened in his 1974 year, and many more alternative programs have since been implemented throughout the city, including programs at Susitna, Bowman, and Chinook elementary schools and Polaris K-12. In 1980, Chugach Elementary School was converted to an all-choice school.
Chugach's ideals were once considered radical. Today they are mainstream. Although Chugach is now more organized than the early graduating class, students are still more independent in their individual studies, make frequent presentations, and take the time to collaborate with their “kind” or primary study companions. is spent. Chugach philosophy holds that education and family life cannot be separated. Chugach classes are called “Family Groups,” a title that at first sounds strange to first-time attendees. The focus on children's cooperation, the “whole child,” and how parents in the classroom help with everything from math problems to building cardboard boats for races at the local pool is a testament to the word “family.” It can only be expressed as .
Like many schools, Chugach continues to bring pride to its community. Parents are encouraged to actively participate in classes and volunteer their time to help teachers prepare materials and coordinate events. Local traditions such as “Kindbread” and parent-led mini-courses are just as strong as the school’s approach to learning. Chugach College remains dedicated to progressive ideals and has adapted over the years, always with the goal of doing what is best for its students. His former student Genevieve Beck, speaking about her own sixth-grade graduation, left a note in Chugach's extensive scrapbook declaring:
On Friday, May 10, Chugach will host a family gathering to celebrate 50 years of alternative education in Anchorage. The Chugach Community General Assembly invites all members of the Chugach community, past and present, to participate. For more information about this celebration, please visit his Alumni Association website at https://sites.google.com/view/chugachoptional50th.
Carla Sobel, Jennifer Flanagan, Joey Caterinichio, Juliana Shields, Joseph Breyer, Leslie Boyd, Erica Green, and Elizabeth Serrano are the parents, staff, and students of the Chugach Council, Chugach Education Corporation, and Chugach Selective Elementary School. They are the parent members and officers of the association and are elected. board.
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