New approach blends home school with classroom instruction

MAT-SU -- A new K-12 charter school is proposed for the Valley next year called Twindly-Bridge Charter School. If approved by the Mat-Su Borough School Board, the school would begin for the 2005-2006 school year.

The educational philosophy behind the program is to promote learning by having students use multiple parts of their intelligence -- including visual, verbal and physical aspects -- to brainstorm solutions to open-ended problems.

The idea for the school was designed by longtime home-school educator Anna Roys.

After decades of home-school teaching and extensive research, Roys conferred with Mat-Su School Board members, educators and school administrators to prepare what she says is an innovative approach to education.

A member of the academic policy committee for the school, Roys said the educational program is a hybrid, mixing classroom experience with labs, home-school projects and classes taught by local artists, musicians, scientists and other specialists.

Family involvement is also a key element to the success of the program. Parents are permitted to teach as many subjects as they like at home but are also free to enroll their kids in group classes taught by certified teachers and specialists.

Parents will also help determine which classes are offered by requesting certain subjects when they send in student applications.

"We want parents to be part of school government and involved in making school policy," Roys said.

Potential course offerings include, among other subjects, playwriting, anthropology, sculpture, music theory and world languages. Standard subjects like history, mathematics, reading and writing will also be offered.

Roys said the proposed school is different from the current Mat-Su Schools Track 2 Homeschool Support program.

"Track 2 is more home-school advising," Roys said. "What makes this different is that there will be an actual building with classrooms and labs in the school itself. Everything is not just taught at home."

Roys said she envisions the school becoming a place where students regularly see each other and build a sense of school pride.

"Home-schoolers normally don't know what it's like to be a part of a school," she said.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the school is designing individual education programs to fit the interests and needs of each student so education is more connected to subjects that inspire them.

"We believe that when you build individual programs to fit individual kids, they will be more motivated," Roys said.

The project-based program involves parents and students coming up with interesting problems and then working toward solutions.

"Oftentimes these projects lead to further studies and this ends up developing critical thinking in ways that memorization doesn't," Roys said. "It works much better to integrate various studies and disciplines."

In order to assure that children learn the necessary material to pass state benchmark exams, certified teachers will be responsible to make sure parents cover required content. Certified teachers will approve all textbooks and materials.

The Mat-Su Borough School Board has asked Roys to get the names of as many interested parents and teachers as she can before Nov. 3, when the board will decide whether to approve the application for a new school.

For more information about the proposed school, contact Roys at roysfamily@alaska.net or call 892-1899.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.