With the natural world inspiring many here in Alaska, three educators have founded a new charter school in Anchorage. They call it STREAM -- which stands for science, technology research, engineering, the arts and math.
The school's main founder, Andranel Brown, says the new school's curriculum will utilize Anchorage's unique setting.
"We heard, story after story, kids saying, 'Whoa, this is the farthest I've ever been from home,'" Brown said. "We found that to be pretty tragic, for kids growing up in Alaska not taking advantage of its opportunities."
Brown says the new charter school will work under the umbrella of the Anchorage School District. It will have the same requirements and standardized testing as ASD, but the school's focus will be getting kids outside of the class and giving them practical experiences.
"We wanted a smaller environment with a more flexible schedule," Brown said. "Teaching kids how to identify problems, know how to solve them and getting them outside are important to us."
STREAM officials hope to start enrolling students in fall 2014, and want to find an East Anchorage location for the program. Full enrollment will be 300 sixth, seventh and eighth graders.
Community meetings to discuss marketing, fundraising and outreach plans will be held on Jan. 7 and 10.