Know Your Alternatives!

“Student recruitment is essential for the continuation and growth of the Steller program and shall be a focus of school efforts.”

-Staff Goal Setting

The past two decades have witnessed an explosion of non-traditional educational programs within the Anchorage School District.  From home-schooling, charter schools, and smaller learning communities to language immersion and IB focus programs, the choices for families and students have grown enormously.  While Steller was the first and, for many years, one of only a few options, we now find ourselves competing for students who are looking for a more personalized, experiential type of education.

One of the early signs of the impact of these emerging programs upon Steller came in the form of smaller numbers of applications in the lottery, which translated into dwindling to non-existent wait-lists for enrollment.  Lower enrollment takes it’s toll on teaching staff and with a 7 – 12 program, Steller must maintain a critical mass in order to deliver both a middle school and an high school program of studies.  The Steller community decided to take action.

Over the past three years in particular, under the stewardship of Steller Counselor Linda Samorajski, with help from the parents, students and staff, the Know Your Alternatives Tour sprang back into action.  The mission of the Tour is to educate students and families about Steller and to encourage their exploration and eventual enrollment in our program.  Key components of the Tour include Steller student visits to elementary programs district-wide during which our students present a student produced movie about Steller, field questions from curious sixth graders and leave flyers and information about our school for parents; radio spots announcing our Open House and Ice Cream Social; the Open House itself where Steller students and staff highlight the unique aspects of our program; and the Shadow component wherein Steller students host interested kids for the morning half of their academic day.

The Know Your Alternatives Tour has lead to an increase of 25 lottery applications for the coming academic year and a growing community awareness of all that Steller has to offer Anchorage’s youth.   Kudos Linda!

Linda commented, “Our school was named after George Wilhelm Steller, a German naturalist who traveled with Vitus Bering on his voyage of exploration to Alaska, in 1741. He became the school’s namesake because of such personal traits as independence, love of knowledge, courage, and a pioneering spirit.   It’s so important to communicate these values to prospective sixth graders, and our students do a great job!   Every year this process evolves, and each year it has gotten better; for example, the panels are comprised of graduates from each of the elementary schools we are invited to visit, and these Steller students are thrilled to visit their former teachers and classrooms.

Each panel I take is comprised of graduates from that particular school—which is great since those Steller students visiting with me speak the “language” of their particular school.  Albeit complicated logistically, this has proven to be an unbeatable combination!  Moreover, every single item we bring with us to share with prospective students has been created and developed by Steller students.  This includes all of our marketing brochures! Our powerpoint presentation and our iMovie were created by seventh graders.  This is huge, because the elementary students immediately see how students are walking their talk—and literally driving their own education.   The impact of these presentations is so much greater than having adults talk at them.   It’s exciting to see these sixth graders in their school’s multipurpose room respectfully listening to, and then asking, our students lots of questions. Yes, there are trainings held for our students prior to the presentations, but these sessions are mostly to familiarize them with our materials, and give them an opportunity to share their own voices—which they do beautifully.  Most times, you can feel the energy and excitement actually growing during these presentations.   It’s amazing to watch, and our parents would be so proud to see their students taking charge, and coming into their own in front of interested sixth graders, staff, and sometimes even a few sixth grade parents, answering honestly and articulately about our strengths and weaknesses.

Sometimes a Steller student will say to the sixth graders, “Look, we chose to come here today to talk with you about Steller because it’s an amazing place and we think it’s really important for you to know about.  But while we have the freedom and have made the choice to miss class, we’re still responsible for making up the material that we missed.”  This gives them a tangible example of responsible freedom, the shared process of learning, and giving back to the greater community.

Hearing from Steller students about independent studies, peer-taught classes, community involvement and even all school Hugs—just some of the vessels in which our students creatively journey–gives them a sense of wonder and excitement about navigating their own educational journey.   By the end of our presentation, most sixth graders have a sense that a Steller education is uniquely different.   The students do a terrific job conveying  the idea that a Steller education is not merely preparation for life, but life itself, as they generously share their own creative journey, navigating the sea of learning in vast adventure, like George Steller, where the only limit to achievement is their own individual expectations.”