Partnerships, personalized learning key to Mat-­Su Central’s success

WASILLA — In a school district where choice reigns supreme, Mat-Su Central exemplifies successful personalized learning.

What started out in 1972 as a small group of homeschool students and teachers in Palmer is now an accredited public school in downtown Wasilla that last year served 1,435 kindergarten through 12th-­grade students. About 600 of those 1,435 accounted for students in grades 9­12, 161 of which graduated with a high school diploma this spring.

The big difference, according to Mat-Su Central School Principal John Brown, is that those 161 spent a lot less time in the classroom and more with parents and other community members than their traditional high school counterparts. “You still have to have that strong foundation of reading and writing and math — you gotta have that,” Brown said. “But where did we ever come up with, learning looks like 5 days a week, 7.5 hours a day ... 180 days a year?”

How it works

Mat-Su Central supports more than 100 different homeschool curriculums that are vetted by the school’s Academic Committee of Excellence and designed for flexible or non­traditional schedules. Students with their parents can choose the curriculum that works best for them at registration, then sign­up for as many or as few electives in the art, music and technology “academies” as they please. High school students can even register for additional classes at their neighborhood school or the University of Alaska if they want and are capable of doing so.

The result, Brown said, is what Mat-Su Central Staff call individualized learning plans (ILP). “It’s all about personalization,” he said. Registration at Mat-Su Central works just like any other Mat-Su Borough school — either online via iParent, for those already enrolled in the district, or for new students, using the form provided at Mat-Suk12.us. Mat-Su Central students can also participate in varsity sports at their neighborhood school if they so desire. Academy classes are taught on­campus by about 20 certified middle and high school teachers like Jesse Carnahan, a father of two who’s worked in various schools throughout the district for 14 years. Carnahan said he was reluctant to transfer to Mat-Su Central at first, despite the fact that his daughter was already enrolled there. Getting out of the classroom and spending more individualized time with students, parents and outside organizations seemed daunting. But once he realized that the model was working and “affecting real change” in the Mat-Su Valley, Carnahan said he didn’t want to leave.

“All those things we talk about in education that don’t always com to fruition, like parent and community involvement, I saw that this was a place where we could actually do that,” he said.

Carnahan specializes in creative technologies, teaching things like videography, photography, graphic design and web design. Recently, he’s worked with students on video projects for The Children’s Place, the Palmer Police Department and the Wasilla and Palmer museums, where students will soon be filming testimonies of Alaska veterans for the archives. Carnahan said he’s also in the process of partnering with Last Frontier Magazine to amp up journalism education at Mat-Su Central. “These kids can get out in the community, which is one thing that’s really hard for kids to do in their regular classroom,” he said.

In addition to collaborating with local communities in this way, Mat-Su Central students also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of field trips and activities throughout the year, such as whale watching in Resurrection Bay this past spring and painting a mural for the MTA Sports Center this summer. “A lot of people don’t know that there’s this huge opportunity for kids here ... it’s not just homeschooling,” Carnahan said.

Not for everyone all the time

Like Carnahan, Brown has worked at multiple schools in his 18 years with the Mat-Su school district, as a teacher, principal and parent. His three girls went through traditional elementary, middle and high schools in Wasilla, but given the opportunity again, Brown said, he might choose differently. “I think this would’ve been a great place for our kids,” he said, of Mat-Su Central. That said, Brown bet that not all his daughters would have thrived as home school students, just because of their different personalities and educational needs and desires ­­ and that’s OK. Carnahan said his children are now at Tanaina Elementary ­­ “my son really needs a teacher that’s not his mom right now,” he explained ­­ but in all likelihood will return to Mat-Su Central when they’re ready. “A lot of students come in and out of the system when it’s right for the kids and for the families, and we support that,” Carnahan said.

Paying for itself

Brown said Mat-Su Central receives enrollment allotments that amount to 90 percent of the base student allocation (BSA) of traditional high schools, which funds the approved curriculum chosen by the student — so there’s no cost to the family. Thanks to a dedicated parent advisory board and community partners, Brown said, Mat-Su Central has also been able to encourage further education by implementing a small college, scholarship program. But the true dividends, Carnahan said, are in preparing students take control of their own education.

“The modern homeschool students here don’t really think of themselves as homeschool kids, they see themselves basically as owners of their education,” he said. That development and understanding of personal responsibility, Carnahan said, gives Mat-Su Central students a leg­up in the world. “They will have experience with so much more adult decision making than most high school kids will,” he said.

To learn more about Mat-Su Central School, visit www.MatSuCentral.org.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352­2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.