Longtime Immersion teacher Tish Hernandez-Moorhead (right) and her teaching assistant, Lulu Simpson, help kindergartners learn Spanish at Chugiak Elementary School. Photo courtesy Matt Crockett, Chugiak Elementary School

The four elementary school programs offering alternative teaching methods in Chugiak-Eagle River are banding together to offer an Alternative Schools Fair 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at Hindman Family Chiropractic across from the Duck Pond car wash in Eagle River.

The event is open to the public, and parents and caregivers of children entering elementary school are encouraged to check out the varied educational opportunities for their kids. The schools involved include Eagle Academy Charter School, Eagle River Elementary "Open Optional," Birchwood ABC "Back to Basics" and Chugiak Elementary Spanish Immersion.

The programs are available on a lottery basis, so children must register to be entered. Children living in the Birchwood district are automatically entered. The spring lottery is set for March 25.

"We used to do the fairs out here (at Carrs or Fred Meyer) but there was a space problem," said Susan Schmidt, principal at Chugiak Elementary School. "Now we'll be in our own space, and hopefully it will be quieter."

Other years, the fair was combined with the Alternative Schools Fair in Anchorage, Schmidt said, but the local principals decided that was too inconvenient.

"The problem is when you live in Eagle River and Chugiak, you don't think to go out there, so we decided to take this on here just for our community. We want to target that area and show off what we have."

There are four alternatives for education available to incoming students, as well as the traditional neighborhood school focus available at most other schools in the area. At Eagle River Elementary's optional program, the teaching method is child-centered, and students are grouped by their learning strengths.

"It's a smaller learning community with four multiage classes," according to the school's mission statement.

Birchwood ABC's "Back to Basics" platform focuses on just that – the basics. ABC stands for "Anchorage Basic Curriculum," and the school emphasizes high standards for academics and deportment.

"Character development, patriotism and excellent manners are consistently emphasized," says the school's mission statement.

Eagle Academy, said principal Jon Forbes, is similar to the ABC method, only in a smaller class setting. It's the only charter school in the area, and in its fifth year, has a growing population of students.

"We're a back to basics, very academically centered with standards-based instruction," Forbes said. "Our instruction is based on (students') achievement level rather than grade level."

Also, Forbes said, "Our students wear uniforms, ... and we do also require families to perform 16 hours of volunteer time over the course of the year.

"We emphasize ideals of patriotism and good character," he added. "As far as discipline and expectations, we do hold our kids to a high standard."

At Chugiak Elementary, students learn Spanish in a bilingual environment. Students have two teachers. For half of the day they speak Spanish only with their Spanish teacher, then switch to English for the other half of the day. Unlike the other schools, the Spanish Immersion program only accepts students in kindergarten and first grade because by second grade, the students are far too advanced in their language to accommodate new Spanish speakers.

"If you don't live in our attendance area it's pretty hard to get in," Schmidt said. "We fill up fast. But we still encourage everyone to sign up for the lottery because you just never know."

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, February 4, 2010.