My Schools in Anchorage

From kindergarten to high school, I have been a part of the Japanese Immersion Program in Anchorage, Alaska. We had half of our day in Japanese. I have been with the same classmates most of my life. We started at Sand Lake Elementary together. The school has over 700 students; half are in the Japanese program and the other half are in 'normal' neighborhood school. Mears Middle School is for 6th and 7th grade and combines 5 elementary schools, making it a very crowded 900 students, but also making for the opportunity to make new friends. In middle school, the Japanese program is just 2 classes a day, social studies and Japanese language & culture. High school Japanese program is just one class, where we are trying to improve our conversational Japanese. Dimond High School has 1700 students. Anchorage has over 90 schools. Ask me about our recent, scary 7.0 earthquake we had while we were all at school (November 30, 2018.) Earthquakes are a normal part of Alaska life, but this time it really shook! We got under our desks and held on. The electricity went out. Everyone was alright, but our school was damaged a little and we didn't have school for a week. Here are some videos: Earthquake video at high school, part one

Earthquake video at high school, part two

Dimond High School

https://www.asdk12.org/dimond

My first day of 9th grade.

My mom drops me off and picks me up, even though I could ride the bus or even walk, since my house is about a mile away. Mom likes driving and being able to talk to me while I am trapped in the minivan. My dogs always come along for the ride.

Sports are at school, usually after school. It cost around $200 for each sport. For fall, I tried flag football. I didn't do the entire season since I got the lead in the school play and rehearsals were the same time as practice.

Mears Middle School

https://www.asdk12.org/mears

Sports are part of school in middle school too. I loved volleyball. It gets too competitive in high school, so I did flag football instead. I have also played volleyball outside of school, through a Boys and Girls Club.

Sand Lake Elementary.

It is right next to my house.

https://www.asdk12.org/sandlake

I can speak, read and write Japanese since I have been in the Japanese Immersion Program for 10 years.

My brother and sister also were in the immersion program.

Here are some facts about Anchorage School District:

The school year runs from early September to late May, with a 2 week break in December, a one week break in March and a 3 month summer break between the school year. https://www.asdk12.org/calendar

The district has over 90 schools, 7 are dedicated high schools. There are many charter and language programs, giving students a choice for a different type of education.

Language programs: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/6702

Charter schools: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/6701

Student diversity

A diverse student population provides students the ability to interact with peers from many different backgrounds, expanding their knowledge of other cultures and preparing for life in a global society. Anchorage has the some of the most diverse schools in the U.S. at all levels.

Race and ethnicity

Minority students comprise more than 50 percent of the student population

(48,089 students - May 2017). African American: 6% Alaska Native/American Indian: 9% Asian: 10% Biracial/Multiracial: 15% Hispanic: 11% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 5% Caucasian: 44% ‌

Non-English languages spoken

Most ASD families — 80 percent — speak English at home. The remaining 20 percent speak 110 languages. Top 5 languages spoken at ASD after English K-12, 2018:

Spanish: 1799, Samoan: 1566, Hmong: 1231, Filipino: 1126, Yupik: 364