Schools

Five Anchorage School District elementary schools, kindergarten through sixth grade, serve Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson: Aurora, Mount Spurr, Orion, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. There is also one special education facility called Mount Iliamna.

Anchorage School District's Early Childhood Special Education Department has preschool classrooms at Ursa Major Elementary and Orion Elementary on JBER. These programs provide and oversee services for children ages 3 to 5 who experience developmental delays or other disabilities.

Elementary Special Education Separate Day School, Intensive Behavioral Support Services at Mount Iliamna is for children who require significant behavioral support and an individualized behavioral support plan may receive services in a specialized behavioral support classrooms located at Mount Iliamna. Older special education students are served at their attendance-area schools. For more information, call the Special Education Department at (907) 742-4236.

The elementary school that a student attends is determined by where the sponsor lives on base.

Kindergarten and first-grade students must provide a birth certificate, up-to-date immunization records and any other school records to register for school. The address of the previously attended school is also helpful. All kindergarten children are required to have a school-entry physical examination by a licensed physician, physician's assistant or state-authorized advanced practitioner within 12 months before, or within 90 days after, school entry.

Middle-school students, grades 7-8, residing on base attend either Central Middle School of Science or Gruening Middle School. Senior high students, grades 9-12, attend either Bartlett High School or Eagle River High School. Busing is provided for all middle and high school students living on base. The middle and high school that a student attends is determined by where the sponsor lives on base.

Children who live off-base attend one of the district's 60 elementary, 10 middle or eight comprehensive high schools, depending on resident location. Parents can call the ASD Demographics office at (907) 348-5190 or visit www.asdk12.org to obtain school assignment information.

ASD has a limited open-enrollment policy for students who wish to attend school or programs outside their regular attendance area. Parents of these students must fill out and submit a zone exemption request. Elementary parents should file zone exemptions at the receiving school. Middle and high school parents must get approval from both the exiting and receiving school. Approval for all zone exemptions is granted on a space-available basis.

If applications outnumber openings, a lottery determines which students enter the program when space is available. The school district uses a lottery system to provide an equal opportunity for students who request participation in an alternative program or school for which the number of applications exceeds the number of available openings. Approval or denial is based on space availability and grade level and gender balance. Two lotteries are held annually, in March and August. Lottery application forms are available from the alternative schools, online at www.asdk12.org or at the ASD Education Center at 5530 E. Northern Lights Blvd.

For more information on zone exemptions, call (907) 742-4254 for elementary, (907) 742-4249 for middle and (907) 742-4256 for senior high students. Parents may also call the JBER School Liaison Office or call the school that they wish their child to attend directly.

All middle and high school students who want to participate in athletics or other physical activities must have a current physical exam on file at their school. A practicing physician, nurse practitioner, physician's assistant or military medical examiner must certify the student is physically fit to participate in such activities. Any student athlete wishing to transfer schools within the district should confirm athletic eligibility.

Parents are welcome at their child's school anytime. For email announcements of ASD news, including school closures, sign up for ASD Direct at www.asdk12.org.

JBER units also take part in the School Partnership Program, which has been developed to assist Anchorage School District students by improving citizenship and educational experience through the exposure of positive U.S. Army and Air Force role models.

The program is designed to help students find alternatives to drugs, gangs and violence while encouraging them in the pursuit of academic excellence. The partnership is an extension of the Anchorage School Business Partnership program, which was established in 1991 and includes the participation of more than 500 businesses from throughout the Anchorage community. More information about local schools and programs is available via the JBER School Liaison Office website at www.elmendorf-richardson.com/FamilyMember-Programs/index. php?page=SchoolLiaison.

The Military Child Education Program was established to assist military personnel and/or their families with information and resources intended to ease the transition of dependent children from one duty location to the next and to:
• Advocate for the educational needs of military children and will assist Airmen/Soldiers and families with information and referral regarding local school districts and other educational options including home schooling, private schools, charter schools, and cyber/virtual schools
• Provide information, referral services to families and students enrolled in the Special Needs Identification Assignment Coordination Program
• Ensure school personnel (classroom teachers, guidance counselors and senior school officials) are aware of the unique issues impacting military children (e.g., deployments, frequent moves, etc)
• Monitor any significant changes in dependent school demographics that may affect Federal funding formulas to local education agencies
• Assist personnel and/or families resolve problems that were not solved after using the school chain of command
• Assess needs and provide continuing work/life services • Provide information on Partnership Programs (volunteering in local schools) - making a difference in our communities.
• Alaska is member of Interstate Compact - the state recognizes transition and deployment related issues.
For more information: http://www.csg.org.ncic.