Anchorage School District

Starting this year, the Anchorage School District will begin serving more after-school meals to students in special at-risk student programs, but now some district leaders are questioning how healthy those meals are. Some of those meals include chicken salad, applesauce and milk.  Others include cheese with pepperoni flavored beef sticks and fruit punch. This week, some school board members raised concerns that those prepackaged meals weren't very healthy. With milk, some of those meals amount to as much as 57 grams of sugar, but the district says a lot of that sugar is naturally occuring in things like milk, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Both of Alaska's U.S. Senators are pushing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to stop the proposed Eielson F-16 move to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. This comes as the Anchorage School District is preparing for as many as 1,000 students who could join the school district. The move would mean relocating around 500 service men and women, and their families, but a Major Joseph Coslett with JBER said housing on JBER is close to capacity.  “By fiscal year 2013, we'll have roughly 3,200 housing units.

The Anchorage School District launched its revamped website on Monday, August 13, which is phase 1 of a three-phase process over the next year. Heidi Embley, ASD spokesperson, said “it's totally rebuilt and much cleaner for parents, students, and school district staff.” Over the past year, the ASD web staff has migrated much of the content over to the new site and focused on pages where parents and students visit most, such as the school calendar,...

The future looks promising for the class of 2013 in the Anchorage School District with thousands of students graduating this week at the Sullivan Arena. ASD says more than 3,200 seniors have been offered $44 million in scholarships and awards from local and national universities, companies and organizations. On Monday, Bartlett High was among the many high schools saying goodbye to the class of 2013. Some students will further their education and others will jump immediately on a career path.

The Anchorage neighborhood of Spenard could soon wake up to the smell of fresh bread again, after a Portland, Ore.-based firm announced plans to reopen the Sunrise Bakery Friday. A press release from the Franz Bakery says the company placed a winning $30.9 million bid for “select Hostess properties and products” in the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands Inc., which closed the Spenard bakery last year when labor negotiations in the Lower 48 fell through. Franz hopes to bring the bakery back to fulfilling its major contracts in Anchorage with grocery stores, restaurants and other institutions, including the Anchorage School District.

Last fall, the Sunrise Bakery in Spenard closed its doors after Hostess Brands Inc. announced it was going out of business. But, a recent purchase will have the Alaska bakery producing bread again. Earlier this week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York approved the Portland-based Franz Bakery's $30.9 million bid to purchase several Hostess bakeries across the nation, including Anchorage's Sunrise Bakery. "We're excited to move forward with reopening the Sunrise Bakery and start supplying Alaska with fresh bread products," said Marc Albers, president of Franz Bakery.

The Anchorage School District has earned a C+ from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine when it comes to their school lunch program. That report says that's because on a general day, the Anchorage School District doesn't serve as many vegetarian options as other school districts in the county. It says Anchorage could replace some of its processed meats like pepperoni pizza and ham sandwiches with meatless or low-fat options. ASD says it is trying creative ways to sneak healthy foods into kids lunches, including a three-bean salad that they call "Cowboy Confetti.

Anchorage School District nurses volunteered their time Saturday to give free influenza vaccinations to ASD students. Health officials say that the upcoming year is starting off with high numbers of Alaskans becoming sick with the flu. The nurses spent four hours Saturday administering flu vaccines to students either by the nasal spray method or with the traditional shot vaccine. It is said that more than 400 students received vaccinations this past Saturday. Nurses say that the nasal spray method is a better choice for younger children because it is easily absorbed and pain-free.

Anchorage School District has cancelled all after-school activities on Friday. ASD cites deteriorating road conditions for cancellation. The cancellation applies to after-school sports, high school dances, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Project K'il and other activities. ASD says all buildings will remain for groups scheduled to rent ASD facilities and warns that it is the renter's discretion whether to continue its planned activity.

The Anchorage School District reports 2013's high school seniors have been offered $44 million in scholarships and awards. The money comes from various universities, companies, and organizations and the district says it is likely that much more money has not been reported to schools. Graduation and completion ceremonies for various high schools and programs in Anchorage will continue until May 23.   Contact Jessica Ridgway  

The Anchorage School District reports 2013's high school seniors have been offered $44 million in scholarships and awards. The money comes from various universities, companies, and organizations and the district says it is likely that much more money has not been reported to schools. Graduation and completion ceremonies for various high schools and programs in Anchorage will continue until May 23.   Contact Jessica Ridgway  

The future looks promising for the class of 2013 in the Anchorage School District with thousands of students graduating this week at the Sullivan Arena. ASD says more than 3,200 seniors have been offered $44 million in scholarships and awards from local and national universities, companies and organizations. On Monday, Bartlett High was among the many high schools saying goodbye to the class of 2013. Some students will further their education and others will jump immediately on a career path.

The Anchorage School District wants the public's help to beef up its social studies curriculum and move the district and its students towards the nationwide common core standards. Some of ASD 's history books will be a thing of the past, next school year. The new social studies coursework will be tied into other subjects to prepare students for post-graduate success. Officials are adding on to the social studies curriculum by moving World History and U.S. History to the tenth and eleventh grade levels.

Do you know what's in your kid's school lunch? Neither does a Chugiak High School student, who is on a mission to make the Anchorage School District show every ingredient it serves to students -- in a very kid-friendly way. The push for the policy change came directly from students, who say they're very conscious of what they are eating. Just like the lessons they learn in school, they say learning that nutrition data is an easy change which will benefit them for a lifetime. The traditional school lunch has shifted into different shapes and sizes over the years, as ASD has moved to healthier options -- but for Chugiak High sophomore Tasha Boyer, it's a menu that isn't completely transparent to her or fellow students.

The Anchorage School District has dropped girls' hockey beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, with Anchorage School Board President Jeannie Mackie saying declining participation was responsible for the move. Girls' hockey has existed under a waiver basis from the Alaska Schools Activities Association since being included as a program about eight years ago. In each season, teams consisted of two schools combining for one roster. Outside of Anchorage, a composite of Mat-Su Valley girls hockey players and a group from Fairbanks also combine to function as one team at the high-school level.

Competing against the world's best, the Anchorage School District is trying to prepare students for a tougher nationwide curriculum in language arts and math. But the new math curriculum could mean a noticeable dip in student test scores next year. In a push to get Anchorage School District kids more prepared for college and careers, expectations are being raised. This is why ASD is putting all hands on deck to make sure every students' math skills equate to success. The sky's the limit at Scenic Park Elementary when it comes to math.

The Anchorage School Board discussed school choice in local facilities Monday, exploring how to give parents and student more opportunities -- as well as how those choices should look in the future. It's the beginning of discussions on what options in education the Anchorage School District currently offers, and what could be changed to make them more successful. One topic of those talks is ensuring that all students in the district are free to choose where they learn. With programs ranging from Chinese and Spanish immersion to cultural and specialized learning, ASD officials say numerous selections can be found in the city at neighborhood, charter and alternative schools.

Last fall, the Sunrise Bakery in Spenard closed its doors after Hostess Brands Inc. announced it was going out of business. But, a recent purchase will have the Alaska bakery producing bread again. Earlier this week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York approved the Portland-based Franz Bakery's $30.9 million bid to purchase several Hostess bakeries across the nation, including Anchorage's Sunrise Bakery. "We're excited to move forward with reopening the Sunrise Bakery and start supplying Alaska with fresh bread products," said Marc Albers, president of Franz Bakery.

According to officials at the Mat-Su Borough School District, "Core" Area Schools served by First Student are closed today, Tuesday, April 9, due to icy road conditions and accumulated fresh snow. The following MSBSD schools are open: Su Valley Junior/Senior High School, Trapper Creek Elementary, Talkeetna Elementary, Willow Elementary, and Glacier View School. All schools in the Anchorage School District are open today.   Contact Jessica Ridgway  

The Anchorage School District is trying to identify a virus similar to norovirus that's affected dozens of students, although health officials remain unsure whether it's the direct cause of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Nancy Edtl, ASD's director of nursing and health services, says on Friday 46 students from Dimond High School went home sick, and 100 other students called in sick. An extra nurse was sent to the school to help the school deal with the incident.