Our Story
The State of Alaska is unique in that it offers full school choice to homeschooling families, by financially supplementing, supporting and assessing remote student education. Homeschool programs through public school districts empower families to educate and develop each of their students to their full potential, by treating each as an individual and tailoring their education to the learning style that best suits them.
Chugach School District’s FOCUS Homeschool was the pioneer in this effort! We initiated a correspondence program in the 1980’s to educate students residing in remote locations of the district. Young people were offered opportunities they had never known previously.
The first Advisory Teacher traversed the vast, remote territory of the district by boat, plane and snowshoes to visit families and provide support, materials and encouragement. The teacher would also report progress, acting as a liaison between the families and district. When Cordova School District requested our help in providing educational support to homeschool families who resided out of their reach, but within their boundaries, we formed a partnership with them.
In 1997, the Alaska State Department of Education and Early Development recognized the significant educational value of promoting the cooperation between school districts. Through the effort, more students could be reached outside of the district “boundaries”. Thus began Alaska’s current model of enabling school choice, from which thousands of Alaskan students benefit. It is a model that began in a spirit of cooperation and respect for home education, and as a way to meet the unique needs of Alaskan students.
FOCUS Homeschool has grown considerably since then, with students residing across Alaska. Our “focus” has never been on how big our program is or how many students we enroll. We don’t see our students as numbers, but instead, recognize that each individual student is important. We especially value the role of parents as the primary teachers of their children, and offer a unique, performance-based educational approach that provides support and opportunities for individual students. We offer homeschool staff support in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Mat-Su Valley, Girdwood and Valdez. For additional information on the history of our pioneering model, please CLICK HERE.
Let us help you write your homeschool story!
Our mission is to develop and support partnerships with parents and communities, each sharing the responsibility of providing students with the highest quality educational experience possible.
