Overview

Students at Chugach never receive grades on their work or at the end of the semester. We believe students should be motivated by their work and interests, not by an external reward such as a grade. One benefit of this approach is that students focus during assignments on learning rather than on how to get a certain grade. Without grades, students develop an ability to evaluate their own progress and become aware of their capabilities. They earn a greater stake in deciding when work is satisfactory. Students usually work to their potential, and we see them doing well when they move on to an environment with grades, in middle school. We communicate student progress without grade in various way, including with student-led portfolio conferences, held twice a year.

Students at Chugach don’t receive grades (see “Why don’t students receive grades”). We judge how students are doing by looking at their work and their performance in class. Teachers pay attention to student work and behavior to develop a sense of their strengths and needs, with teacher knowledge of grade level expectations. Students learn to judge their own performance and communicate it to teachers and parents every day and in twice-a-year student-led portfolio conferences (covered in this FAQ). Parents spend time in the classroom, check in with teachers at the beginning or end of the day, and talk with their children about their work. Parent commitment to this level of involvement is an important part of deciding to come to Chugach. Chugach also administers all standardized testing required by the Anchorage School District and State of Alaska.

A core element of the Chugach philosophy is that students become responsible for their own learning. We emphasize self-directed learning rather than directed instruction by teachers. The goal of each Chugach student is to develop through the years with progressively greater responsibility to become an in-charge learner. The Chugach Handbook (page 2) defines “in-charge learners” as able to take responsibility, self-directed, able to work in a team, able to communicate clearly, able to think critically and creatively, knowing how to learn and excited about learning, able to evaluate their own work, values and choices, and empowered to make positive changes in themselves and the world. Chugach places lesser emphasize on repetitive practice and rote learning than traditional programs, an important consideration for parents in their choice of schools.

At Chugach, grades 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 are combined. We call these multi-age classes the primary, middle and upper groups. Creation of classes with these broad ranges of age and ability levels reflects our philosophy of allowing students to work at their own level. The two ages in each class are called “elders” and “youngers.” The elders take responsibility to help the youngers with their work and to help set the tone of behavior and academics in the classroom. Teaching can be the best way of learning. The younger students often teach the elders, too. Staying together two years also helps teachers, students and parents bond, creating a stronger group and more trusting learning relationships. 

Students address adults by their first names at Chugach. Besides creating a friendly atmosphere, this practice has a deeper purpose. We believe that every person has equal value and deserves respect. Allowing students to speak to us in the same way we speak to them demonstrates our respect for them. When students are respected, they tend to value themselves and their abilities, and are more inclined to take on responsibility for their own learning and behavior. By showing we respect students as we do adults, we express our expectation to them that they will behave as responsible, autonomous and purposeful members of our community. 

Inquiry learning engages students in learning by exploring ideas and asking questions. It requires students to think about what they know on a topic and then create meaningful questions or predictions to investigate and guide further learning. Instead of learning isolated facts, inquiry learning involves asking questions, researching answers and then evaluating those responses. Students learn how to learn and how to reflect on their own learning. With this method of instruction students learn to think critically, examine facts, clarify their own thoughts, make observations or comparisons, and analyze data. Inquiry learning sets the stage for life-long learners who ask important questions and seek answers.

In the early grades reading instruction is scaffolded by the teachers. Children read in small groups that focus on reading strategies and comprehension. As children develop the ability to select “just right” books for themselves their time in groups diminishes. In the later grades, the emphasis swtiches from learning to read to reading to learn. Students read a wide range of material to enhance theme studies, to experience various literary genres, and to follow their own interests. Classes at Chugach rarely use basal readers. Children more often choose their own books.

We believe everyone is motivated best by his or her own interests and desires rather than by being told what to do. Students at Chugach have choices in what they read and how they study so they can develop interest in what they are learning. Adults trust students to be curious about the world and enable them to pursue their curiosity rather than dictating outcomes. Students also gain motivation from the social environment in which they work. As they work together with partners or groups in class, positive peer pressure pulls each student along and reinforces personal interests as they are shared. The classroom can appear noisy and disorderly when this process is happening, but parents need to accept that this environment is essential to Chugach, not the traditional, teacher-directed approach.

Since the instruction is child centered, motivation comes from the child’s personal challenge, not competition with others. Children are encouraged to appreciate others’ talents and learn that everyone can to contribute to the learning process. Children frequently work on group projects in which they learn the benefits of cooperation and pooling their talents. In the end, the focus on cooperation, rather than competition, results in the child becoming more intrinsically motivated. They judge their work on inner criteria, knowing whether they did their best, from learning how to evaluate themselves honestly. Competition builds a more extrinsic way of looking at the world, in which students compare themselves to others.

A high level of parental involvement is a huge part of the success of Chugach Optional. The program is designed with the expectation that parents will be involved at many levels. Teachers cannot deliver our level of classroom enrichment without parent help. Volunteer opportunities include classroom work, help with special trips, teaching mini-courses, and working on community events, such as the Halloween Carnival or Spring Festival. Children get to know all of the families by their being part of the schools’ daily life. Having parents involved builds community. In addition, parents must be involved to track their students’ progress, since Chugach doesn’t issue grades.

Chugach provides services normally available at Anchorage School Districts schools, including services for speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, bilingual, visual and auditory disabilities, and special education resource. However, Chugach does not offer multi-sensory instruction for students with dyslexia. Ask at the office for more details.

Because of our student-centered philosophy, Chugach teachers need additional planning time to coordinate theme studies, shared programs and special events and for professional development. The daily schedule is slightly longer than is required by ASD and the school uses this time credit to send students home early on certain days, giving teachers the additional planning time they need. Early release days are generally two Fridays a month, when children are released at 11:15.

Since Chugach Optional is an alternative school, admitted by lottery only, the Anchorage School District does not provide busing service. Families that attend Chugach come from all over Anchorage, mostly driving their children each way, or participating in self-organized car pools.

Known within the school as “specials,” children enjoy specialist-taught classes almost every day in the form of art, music, physical education and library. Keeping with Chugach’s integrated, thematic approach, specialists often collaborate with classroom teachers to incorporate class themes into their content. For example, when kindergarteners delve into a science unit on rocks and stones, they might hear a story about a pet rock in library and make colorful paper “rocks” in art. Likewise, when students focus on Alaska Studies, they might explore Alaska Native drumming in music and learn some Alaska Native games in PE. 

A note about the library: Although students visit the librarian at scheduled times, those are by no means the only times children can explore the library. Generally, students can independently visit the library whenever their classroom teacher gives permission. Chugach students are avid library users. It is common to see students quietly reading in the library during moments of free time, or doing independent research for a class project.  

Parents and teachers provide after-school activities throughout the school year. These may include running club, Battle of the Books, garden club, Lego League and Scouts. These programs can run for a specified number of weeks or continually through the year, depending on the program. The activities often rely on parent involvement, even if they are orchestrated by a teacher. Parents can look for announcements of upcoming activities in the school newsletter, The Scoop, or on flyers often posted throughout the school.