ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Adrienne Michel, mother of three and member of the Parent Teacher Alliance, is unhappy with the way the Anchorage School District released the list calling for the closure and reconsolidation of seven neighborhood elementary schools is proposed by Anchorage.

Michel enrolled a first- and third-grader at Bear Valley Elementary, a school now facing permanent closure.

“I've received text messages from teachers and administrators who I know have just said, 'You just don't believe this,'” Michel said Saturday, a day after the announcement.

On Friday, ASD staff and families of students were informed of the possible changes to their schools, an evolution of the “rightsizing” initiative that ASD introduced in April.

“Within about 10 minutes of those text messages, we received the mass email that ASD sent out to families enrolled in those schools,” Michel said, describing how surprised she was when she heard the news.

If the proposal is implemented, the schools in question would be permanently closed within three years and merged with others or repurposed for another use.

In interviews with ASD Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt and Anchorage School Board President Andy Holleman, both cited declining enrollment at the listed schools as a primary reason for the decision. According to Bryantt and ASD documents, the seven schools are understaffed. Fire Lake Elementary is the lowest at 47%.

When deciding which school to send their children to, parents often want smaller class sizes, but Bryantt dismisses that idea as a misunderstanding. “There is a lot of research showing that small schools can have a positive impact on student development and achievement, but the fine print of these studies is that it is a full-service school,” Bryantt said.

As Bryantt explained the district's plan, he expressed sympathy for the feelings that closing schools can cause, but was ultimately hopeful about the prospect of giving students more access to what they need.

Upon hearing the argument, Michel completely disagreed that the proposal was necessary. From their point of view, their children and their classmates are doing well in school and they are not overindulging in their school activities. According to Michel, most of the concerns raised by ASD are unfounded when it comes to their experiences with Bear Valley.

“I don’t feel like our school lacks resources. We have specialists who are consistent in the school,” Michel said. “You know, we have a librarian, we have art and health teachers that rotate. We have a nurse.”

Bryantt repeatedly pointed out that “full-service schools” were the goal of this project, meaning that arts and health teachers would work full-time at a school and students could take physical education or music classes every day instead of part-time.

Michel doesn't think the massive upheaval is worth it. “I honestly don’t know how much more access our children could have to professionals while still adhering to the curriculum the school board has put in place. The reading curriculum they implemented last year is extremely rigorous…I can't imagine adding another physical education class or special activity to the schedule.”

In addition to the panic that Michel said was caused by the sudden announcement, which she said didn't provide much reassurance about job security for the teachers she had heard from, it's also about telling students what they are have to expect.

Michel suspects that the six weeks until the final vote on the list will be full of uncertainty.

“I don't think anyone will stop teaching or the kids will stop trying, but it's a very discouraging thing to not have time to prepare. “A semester is a very, very short time,” Michel said.

Because of her involvement in school activities, waiting to tell her children wasn't an option, and Michel said it was a difficult conversation.

“There were tears… the students are upset. “They like where they are,” Michel said.

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