ARSD's educational program has qualities which are rather unique and progressive. Aligned with state and national standards, ARSD uses a mastery learning model. Students progress according to their individual abilities and interests. Student placement is along a learning continuum, and, it is a function of content mastery, not seat time; grade levels have functionally been abandoned. Students are involved in selecting which activities will be used to document proficiency and which of these demonstrations will be digitized and kept as an artifactual record of their mastery.
The district will foster a culture of high expectations
To achieve high performance, the board believes the district must foster a culture of high expectations for everyone: students, parents, educators, staff and the board. High expectations require adopting an attitude that does not make excuses for a child's academic performance. High expectations also require high performance standards for each employee, including an expectation of collaboration.
The Chugach School District Office is based in Anchorage, Alaska. Chugach's 214 students are scattered throughout 22,000 square miles of mostly isolated and remote areas of South Central Alaska. With 30 faculty and staff, CSD is the smallest organization to ever win a Baldrige Award. CSD delivers instruction in education from preschool up to age 21 in a comprehensive, standards-based system. Education occurs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Instruction is delivered in the work place, in the community, in the home and in school. Half (50%) of the students in the Chugach School District are minorities (Alaska Natives).