City excited about accelerated school proposal

At its May 24 meeting, the Borough Assembly learned of a possible development in the works for Wrangell’s Institute property.

City Manager Jeff Jabusch explained he was currently in contact with the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), an accelerated learning program aimed at Alaskan high schoolers.

ANSEP launched its Acceleration Academy in 2009, in part to address a longstanding problem Alaska’s university system has been experiencing with chronic remediation of incoming students. Compared to peers elsewhere in the country, a disproportionate number of Alaska high school graduates tend to require additional coursework in college in order to meet core requirements. The disparity can be even starker for students graduating from rural school districts.

What the program does is put predominantly Native students in a more engaging academic environment. Since 1995, ANSEP has already made gains with its middle school summer academy, a two-week residential experience focused on honing science and engineering skills, and getting students through Algebra I before leaving eighth grade.

The acceleration academy has a broader focus, preparing high school students for a collegiate environment and honing skills in the different level maths and sciences. ANSEP’s 10-week Summer Bridge program further builds on skills, putting students into a university-level advanced math class and pairing them with professional partners. The program has found 95 percent of its participants have gone on to pursue undergraduate degrees in engineering or another science.

The next step for the program is expansion to a year-round model, in this case a boarding school which could bring in up to 400 students from around the state onto a single campus. The program became acquainted with Wrangell and its prospective development of the former Institute property through a chance meeting between ANSEP founder Herb Schroeder and Wrangell schools superintendent Patrick Mayer during a conference in Anchorage.

“He spoke to the successes they’ve had and he wanted to explore residential facilities in the state,” Mayer said.

Impressed by the program’s goals, Mayer said he and new secondary schools principal Bob Davis both visited the ANSEP campus this spring to see the program firsthand. He told Schroeder about the community’s 134-acre Institute property, and how it was currently undergoing a master planning process. Acquired by the city in 1995, the property has potential for residential development, and a team of architects, statisticians and engineers has been commissioned to draw up a master plan. Based on their talks, Mayer said the property seemed like a good fit.

“It turns out there’s a

lot of interest in bringing something like this to Wrangell,” he said.

Getting in touch with city staff and other community groups, he said the idea took hold from there. At the Borough Assembly’s last meeting, member Dave Powell and city

manager Jeff Jabusch both expressed their enthusiasm for the program and its

goals, which they explained could have a significant economic impact on the community.

Architectural consultants Corvus Design were contacted with details of the idea, and the concept of a school will be included in its drafts to be presented on June 13.

“My feeling is it’s a great idea,” commented Chris Mertl, Corvus’ principal landscape architect. “We’re creating a neighborhood, so it would include support. In my mind, it’s a really good fit.” Those supports could be residences, parks, open spaces, and some small retail.

Two or three master plan concepts will be presented to the public, after which Mertl and the design team will stay on for a couple of days to develop a preferred plan for the site. It will then be shown to the public on June 15 and open to comment. He said a final report should be ready in the autumn, and will include projected construction costs and lay out an implementation strategy.

“It’s 134 acres, it’s not all going to be developed at once,” he said. Early incorporation of a facility like ANSEP envisioning into the site’s development could help spur outside interest and investment in the property, which Mertl explained would be critical to its growth.

“I think it affords a great opportunity for Wrangell. I think it could be the biggest thing Wrangell has ever seen,” Mayer commented.

Schroeder was unavailable for comment by Tuesday’s press time, but he is expected to attend the public planning sessions later this month.