New Mat-Su Central School prepares for ribbon cutting

The new Mat-Su Central School (MSCS) is days away from the official ribbon cutting, and while final preparations are made, the principal Stacey McIntosh gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the new hybrid homeschool.

“We are ready for the kids,” McIntosh said.

This marks her 11th year as principal and she has seen many changes to the school, including the new construction, which will allow the district to own the building where it was leasing the previous location in Wasilla, and an additional building in Palmer, at a hefty $600,000 a year.

“It’s amazing!” she says of the new building, which was funded in part by money earmarked for the Houston High School reconstruction, but when that funding ended up coming from FEMA, the district was able to filter the money into the new building.

McIntosh says the old building had a small area for families to wait and students to work, but all too often, she would see some students completing work in their cars because there was no space for the students to come in and work.

“It’s really nice to have a home for our families. And to have this space, for the students to come in to, it is so nice.”

MSCS does not have traditional classrooms, but it has dedicated art, music and technology rooms, plus a student-run coffee shop and flexible spaces for a variety of programs. The school is divided into separate wings, with the first floor dedicated to elementary and middle school students, while the second floor is dedicated to high school students.

On any given day, those rooms might be used by teachers for traditional subjects like history or Spanish, but they may also be used for walk-in math labs or guitar or ukulele lessons.

Some new features in the building are Career and Technical Education (CTE) items. McIntosh says they are developing an Aviation program, Construction Trades, and a culinary program, pointing to a new activities space off of the reception space that can be used for culinary classes, construction, and other items as needed.

She says another bonus to the new building is that the school will not have to turn away students due to lack of accommodations.

“Having extra classrooms here means we don’t need to turn away kids. That’s the part I really disliked, so having this extra space means we’ll be able to let kids come in and take more classes.”

MSCS is a K-12 public school with nearly 3,000 students in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD). The program is one of the oldest homeschool programs available, with an origin story that dates back to 1972, when the district realized a need for a school to serve students in remote areas within the MSBSD. The district opened a correspondence school to meet that need, later known as Mat-Su Central, allowing students who couldn't physically attend traditional schools to complete coursework at home.

As the district has grown, so too has MSCS grown and is now the largest school in the MSBSD, operating as a hybrid school that offers both in-person and online learning options. The licensed teachers function more like advisers, working with families to create an educational plan for every student, but parents take some responsibility for teaching and even grading their child’s work, with the school providing ultimate oversight to make sure kids remain on track.

Some families opt for fully virtual classes, similar to private homeschooling but with the guidance and oversight of MSBSD teachers. Other students can choose more in-person interaction, and they can take up to two classes at their local public schools. They also have flexibility to enroll in college courses, attend classes on site, or participate in local community programs. This flexibility affords families choices about what classes their kids want to take and what format they want to take them in.

“We are a school of choice. I think that’s why a lot of parents want to come here, because they have choices in the curriculum they want to use. If students want to take a class at a local school, take college classes, go in-person or online, there are all kinds of opportunities.”

The ribbon cutting for the new Mat-Su Central School is Friday, April 4 at 1 p.m. The celebration will take place at the new building located 2055 N. Stringfield Road in Palmer. Families and supporters may also stream the ceremony on both the District's Vimeo and Facebook pages.