Regional Industry & News

‘I cried a little bit’: HomeSTEAD Charter School receives state approval, prepares for 2027 opening

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - On Wednesday, the proposed HomeSTEAD Charter School, planned to occupy the building formerly housing the Two Rivers School near Fairbanks, received a unanimous final approval from the Alaska Board of Education and Early Development.

“It feels good to actually have gotten some really enthusiastic yeses from our local school district school board, from the state board, and to be to the point where the fun work can start,” said Jasmine Wicks, President of the charter’s Academic Policy Committee (APC).

“I cried a little bit,” she added, talking about her reaction to the approval.

The school has undergone nearly three years of planning, with organizers submitting their application to the state earlier this year after getting approval from the Fairbanks North Star Borough in April.

According to APC Secretary Katelyn Freeman, applying for the charter took more effort than expected and involved a lot of learning on the part of the applicants.

“As a whole, it was a wonderful learning experience, something I never thought would be as challenging but as rewarding as it was. In the beginning, it all seemed so grand, like so amazing that we could write a charter school like this,” she said.

Since submitting their application to the state, Freeman said members of the APC have had more time to spend with their families while they waited for the results.

“We did spend the summer taking a break, a pause, spending more time with their family, more time with our small businesses, more time with our homesteads, catching back on all the work that we had put off in our own personal lives to get this charter going,” she explained.

Now the APC will begin looking for a Head Teacher while doing community outreach, looking for students and volunteers.

Once hired, the Head Teacher will take over the responsibility of staffing the school.

Organizers plan for the institution to open for its first school year in July 2027, adopting a different academic year from the rest of the district.

“There are more frequent breaks throughout the year that allow families to spend time with their children,” Wick said. “However, you do still get a summer break. You do still get a spring break. We just go from July 22nd-ish and end in May.”

A minimum of 75 students must attend HomeSTEAD Charter for it to operate, but Wicks said the APC’s goal is to have around 100, with more than that number of parents already expressing interest.

It is unclear at this point when the district will open the lottery for the charter, but in the meanwhile, Wicks recommended that interested parents follow the school’s Facebook page or email homesteadapc@gmail.com to stay informed about updates.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com