OPINION: Is Anchorage being sold a bill of goods with ASD’s academies?

As a parent with children in the Anchorage School District (ASD), I’ve been following the district’s proposed Academies of Anchorage (AoA) program closely. Like many of you, I’ve heard the promises that this program will increase student engagement and improve graduation rates. However, after researching the “model” district ASD and their consultants, Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL), have repeatedly asked us to look at — the Academies of Nashville — I have serious concerns.

Graduation rate goals

ASD has emphasized that the primary goal of the AoA is to increase our graduation rate from 82% to 90%. We were directed to look at Nashville’s Academies as a model, with claims that their Academies boosted graduation rates from 58% to 82%. While this sounds promising, the truth is far from it.

Nashville’s graduation rate had already reached 70% before any Academy classes were offered. In fact, the graduation rate was 78.4% the year before any students had even completed the full Career Academies program. This clearly shows that the widely promoted increase from 58% to 82% cannot be attributed to the Academies program, despite Ford NGL using this narrative for years to justify its implementation.

By 2022, the graduation rate for Nashville’s Academy schools was just 76%, below their district average of 81.6% and far below the Tennessee state average of 89.9%. Given this data, ASD’s goal of improving graduation rates through the Academies model simply does not hold up.

I first identified this inconsistency in late June and reached out to ASD executives for clarification, offering to meet and discuss. To date, I have not received a response.

Academic failures

Another key promise of the program is that Academy students outperform their peers academically and are better prepared for postsecondary education or careers. However, my research tells a different story.

In 2022, the Tennessee Department of Education gave six of the 12 Academies of Nashville schools an F grade and another 5 a D grade. Math proficiency rates were abysmally low, with nine of the 12 Academy schools reporting that 5% or fewer students met state standards in math. When it comes to preparing students for life after high school, the “Ready Graduate Rate” for Academy schools was just 24%, compared to the state average of 43.3%. These are shocking numbers for a program that claims to improve student performance and readiness for the future.

Instead of outperforming their peers, students in Nashville’s Academy schools are falling behind. If this is the “model” district, it raises serious questions about whether the AoA can live up to the expectations set by ASD.

Engagement issues

We’ve also been told that the Academies program will increase student engagement, which in turn will reduce chronic absenteeism and improve academic outcomes. However, in Nashville, this is not happening.

Chronic absenteeism rates in Nashville’s Academy schools range from 37% to 65%. This shows that the very students who need to be engaged the most are not being reached by this program. Despite the focus on career and technical education (CTE) pathways, the Academies of Nashville are failing to connect with the students they need to reach. These absenteeism rates along with their low graduation rates are clear indicators that student engagement is not increasing under their Academies model, and this should be a major red flag for ASD as it considers implementing the same system.

Nashville’s shift

In a move to improve student engagement and academic outcomes, Nashville’s Academies schools this year transitioned away from the A/B Block schedule—a model ASD says we need to succeed with the AoA. Nashville found that students needed to see their teachers more than two or three times per week, so they’ve moved to a schedule where students meet with their teachers four times a week. If the “model” district is moving away from a schedule that didn’t work, why is ASD advocating for it?

What does this mean for Anchorage?

The facts from Nashville are concerning. ASD and their consultants at Ford NGL have promoted the Academies as a way to boost graduation rates, improve academic performance, and engage students. However, Nashville’s Academy schools — the “model” for this program — are falling short of these promises.

ASD’s community presentations and partnerships have targeted business, professional and government organizations, effectively excluding most parents unless they are part of these groups, despite parents and their students being the most directly impacted by the Academies program. At community convenings, parents were largely absent unless they belonged to specific professional circles. Additionally, ASD failed to hold the required Town Hall meeting this summer, a critical component of the $15 million federal grant supporting the Academies program, which would have provided regular parents with a crucial opportunity to ask important questions and engage in the process.

As parents, we deserve to see the full picture before such a major change is made to our children’s education. The business community has had its say, but what about the rest of us? Why is the district pushing for final approval without actively seeking feedback other from the very community it serves — students and parents? A survey with two schedule options doesn’t cut it.

I urge you to closely examine the facts and ask the difficult questions: Is this program truly the best path forward for ASD, or are we being railroaded into an experiment that will divert resources and teachers away from our existing programs?

If we as parents don’t speak up now, this program will move forward without our input, and the opportunity to influence these decisions will be lost. Contact the Anchorage School Board and demand transparency, data-driven decisions and honest communication about the real impact this program will have on our students.

Jarrett Boling is a parent of students in the Anchorage School District.

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