Organizations we support
Community Schools
Community Schools Back Up and Running
ACEA takes reigns from school district
It’s back! The Anchorage Community Education Association (ACEA) has taken over the administration of the Community Schools program from the Anchorage School District (ASD) and resumed classes this past fall. Since then, the organization has offered more than 1,300 classes at Community School sites throughout Anchorage, Eagle River-Chugiak and Girdwood.
“The school district program had a great history for us to work with and that, along with the support of the community, will help position ACEA for continued growth and development over the next year,” said Lora Jorgensen, ACEA Executive Director.
On July 1, 2004, the Anchorage School District (ASD) transferred over the responsibility of all Community School program operations to ACEA, a private non-profit agency, in an effort to ensure long-term program sustainability. The Community Schools program has provided educational programming for all ages for the past 30 years. This year alone more than 15,000 residents participated in classes.
ACEA is dedicated to providing affordable educational opportunities to residents of all ages. Its services and activities are guided by a passion for lifelong learning and a dedication to continued school enrichment and community development. All programming seeks to maximize facility and resource use and build upon agency collaboration.
In addition to new management, other changes to Community Schools include on-line registration for all classes at ACEA’s website, http://www.alaskacommunityschools.org
Also for the first time in 15 years Community Schools will be having a full summer program, including half-day youth camps. The summer Community Cache was just released in the Sunday, June 5th edition of the Anchorage Daily News with on-site registration held on Thursday, June 9th.
Summer classes are scheduled to begin the week of June 20th at these school district locations - Mirror Lake, Kincaid, Baxter (evening programming only), Inlet View, Trailside, and Four Valleys (Girdwood) - along with many other off-site locations throughout the Anchorage metro area.
ACEA is actively recruiting volunteer instructors for its year-round classes. “Are you passionate about a subject matter? Are you willing to give back to your community? Then you will make a great instructor,” said Jorgensen. You do not need to be a certified instructor to teach with our program, she stressed, all you need is a desire to share what you know with your community.
If teaching is not your style but you still want to have an active role in the future of Community Schools, ACEA has recently formed a new Program Committee and is looking for community involvement. This committee will help research new programming opportunities, as well as assist in developing business partnerships.
If you’re interested in becoming involved, teaching a class, or just finding out more about ACEA and Community Schools, visit our website at http://www.alaskacommunityschools.org or contact the administrative office at 569-2232 or email us at .