ANSEP Acceleration Academy coming to Nome Schools
As soon as next year, Nome students could begin earning a bachelor’s degree in tandem with their high school education.
In a special meeting last Tuesday, Nome Public School Board approved the implementation of the Alaska Native Science Engineering Program, or ANSEP, Acceleration Academy.
The academy is put on by ANSEP and works with the University of Alaska network to provide free university courses to high schoolers, while they remain in their district.
Board approval is one step toward bringing the program to the district, the next would be a memorandum of agreement with ANSEP.
“There’s some work to be done before the end of the year,” Superintendent Jamie Burgess told the board at the special meeting. “We might end up starting small next year, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing. And then grow the program over time.”
Introduced to the school board by a group of interested parents last spring, the academy gained momentum this year as funding from community organizations were solidified.
The board discussed it throughout the year during special sessions and held meetings with teachers at the middle-high school to explain how the new program would impact the school’s dynamic.
“The biggest concern that came out was the potential about what would happen to students that have elected not to or have not qualified for ANSEP that still might want access to some higher-level classes,” Superintendent Jamie Burgess told the board.
Dual credit classes will still exist outside the program, and students can take as many or as few classes as they choose, if they test into ANSEP.
The cost of starting the program was initially estimated around $463,000. That includes creating a modular building, though it might not be needed if they can find classroom space, which Burgess says is likely. That puts the price point at $363,000 to get the program up and running in Nome.
Entirely funded by outside resources, ANSEP won’t cost Nome Public Schools anything to implement. Contributors to the program are Bering Straits Native Corporation, Norton Sound Health Corporation, Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation and grants from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and the Rasmuson Foundation.
Funds will have to be raised each year to cover the cost of the academy, as the district has made it clear they do not have a budget for it.
The funding was sourced by a parent group working over the past year toward the program.
Parents Sophia Pantelis and Kelli Breuker became interested in the program because of the opportunities it offers the kids of Nome.
“One of the things we were kind of hesitant about in regard to staying here was education,” Breuker said in an interview with the Nugget. “Not great reviews.”
When Pantelis told her about the Acceleration Academy, Breuker jumped at the idea and the two began a campaign to inform the community of what ANSEP could mean for the district.
Through flyers and word of mouth, they got the community interested, collecting signatures of support on a petition sheet. Melanie Bahnke joined in to help fundraise with local organizations, ensuring the program could get off the ground.
“It was hundreds of hours of planning, and we were just so excited to hear yes from the board,” Breuker said.
ANSEP Acceleration is not new in rural parts of the state, with active sites in Bethel and Kotzebue.
As the district has struggled in recent years with lower enrollment rates, Burgess pointed out it could help with student retention.
“We recognize that this could potentially be something that would draw students and families to stay within the district,” Burgess said. “Families that are homeschooling might want to come back into a brick-and-mortar situation instead, to take advantage of this academy.”
Sophomore Renee Brown is excited at the prospect of learning in the ANSEP program, she told the Nugget.
She said there are certain dual enrollment classes through the high school now that aren’t available every year, but with the Acceleration Academy she can take as many as she wants at once.
“It prepares people for what college will be like when they do go,” Brown told the Nugget.
Beyond teacher and staff hesitation, some community members expressed criticism about the speed in which the program came about, and its sustainability.
“There’s short term commitments, that gives us a couple years. But if there's not a long-term viability of the project, then it makes it look like this is a pet project of somebody. And we're going to push it through, and then a couple years from now, we’ll see whether that holds out or not,” Adam Lust said at the recent special meeting.
School board member Nancy Mendenhall also expressed concerns with the program. She talked about how many kids follow a different path besides traditional four-year college after high school, and many struggle to keep grades during.
“My concern is that we’re not doing nearly enough for [the students who don’t go into a four-year program] as we can,” Mendenhall said. “There are things that we can do for them, too, and we're not doing them. And maybe we need a memorandum of agreement to do something for them for a change.”
Burgess agreed, but didn’t really cite any specific ways the district would uplift the students who might be falling behind.
“We have high achievers. We have kids at the bottom end, we also have kids in the middle, and they all need support in some way, shape or form,” Burgess said.
The resolution passed with the only opposing vote coming from Mendenhall.
Next steps will be for the district to sign a memorandum of agreement with ANSEP and begin formulating the program, which includes hiring a full-time director based in Nome and finalizing the physical location.
“The processes for both are underway, and we are confident we will be able to offer the program's unmatched educational opportunities for students in Nome by this fall,” ANSEP Executive Director Matt Calhoun, PhD wrote to the Nugget.