Top 7 Best Special Needs Schools in Anchorage, Alaska (2026)

The Alaska Native Cultural Charter School (ANCCS) was founded in 2007 by members of the Anchorage community with a mission to build student excellence through traditional cultural learning. It is a Title 1 public charter school within the Anchorage School District serving Pre-K through 8th grade, and it is governed by an Academic Policy Committee elected by parents and school staff alongside the principal. The academic day is built on at least two hours of Common Core language arts instruction and at least one hour of Common Core math, plus Anchorage School District social studies, health, and science curriculum. Layered on top is a cultural continuum that gives every grade level its own focus, moving from Alaska Native art, dance, and storytelling in preschool through Yup'ik and Cup'ik, Unangax and Sugpiaq, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian and Eyak, Athabascan, Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik, and on to Alaska Native government, issues, and literature in the middle grades. Coursework is organized around four quarterly themes: Living in Place, Language and Communication, Culture and Expression, and Tribe and Community. Enrollment is open to all students in the Anchorage School District through the district lottery, which provides equal opportunity regardless of race, gender, learning ability, or economic status, and no student is denied participation because of a learning disability or special need. There are no tuition or enrollment fees. Families should note that the school does not provide transportation, so parents arrange their own rides or join the carpool group.

• Public charter school (Title 1)
• Pre-K
• Elementary
• Middle School

The Alaska State School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides Pre-K through 12th grade educational options for deaf and hard of hearing students. A bilingual, bicultural model supports the development of American Sign Language and English, with services and placement shaped through each student’s IEP. Students may learn in DHH self-contained classrooms where American Sign Language is the primary mode of communication for core academics, or in general education classrooms with an educational interpreter and specialist support. Services may include audiology, ASL development, listening and spoken language support, speech-language therapy, counseling, and interpreting for school activities. Programs are based primarily at Russian Jack Elementary, Clark Middle School, and Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School. Secondary students can build advocacy, career-planning, work, independent-living, and community skills through Transition Readiness, with vocational coursework available at King Tech High School. Families can access sign language classes, outreach, and an online interpreter-request system for school activities.

• Public state school for deaf and hard of hearing students
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Pre-K
• Elementary

Anchorage Waldorf School is Alaska's only nonprofit Waldorf school, located on a 2.5-acre campus at 3250 Baxter Road in Anchorage. It opened in 1989 as the Aurora Waldorf School with a single mixed-age kindergarten class and later renamed itself Anchorage Waldorf School. Today it serves children from early childhood through grade eight, following Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf philosophy of educating the whole child (head, heart, and hands). Programs run from a toddler day care (Seedlings, roughly ages 19 months to 3.5 years) and mixed-age kindergarten (ages 3.5 to 6) through Grades 1 to 8. The Waldorf curriculum balances academics with the arts, music (including violin from grade four), handwork, woodworking, eurythmy, movement, and a strong outdoor and nature-based program that uses the nearby Baxter Bog and other Anchorage green spaces. Russian is taught as a foreign language across all grades. As an independent school, Anchorage Waldorf is funded primarily through tuition set on a sliding scale so families pay according to their ability, assessed through the TADS financial-aid service. Before-care and after-care (Golden Cottage) and a summer camp are also offered.

• Private nonprofit independent Waldorf (Steiner) school
• Financial aid
• Toddler
• Preschool

Family Partnership Correspondence School (FPCS) began in June 1997 through the efforts of parents and Anchorage School District teachers, and it is the oldest and largest home-based school in Anchorage. The school acts as a bridge between homeschooling families and formal education: parents keep primary responsibility for teaching, while a certified sponsor teacher partners with each family to design a personalized learning plan aligned to Alaska State Standards. FPCS runs year-round, with an academic year from July 1 to June 30, and gives families wide latitude in choosing curriculum. A curriculum resource list is maintained for approved materials, and families can submit new curriculum for vetting with their sponsor teacher. Distance and online options are available, and high school students can join the Early College Program to dual enroll at UAA, UAF online, BYU, and other institutions, graduating with both an ASD transcript and a college transcript. Student life includes a spelling bee, science fair, Battle of the Books, student government, and National Honor Society. Enrollment is through the Anchorage School District lottery, and because the school no longer has an enrollment cap, every student who enters the lottery is guaranteed a spot. Each enrolled student receives an annual district allotment of $4,000 in grades K-5, $4,250 in grades 6-8, and $4,500 in grades 9-12 to put toward approved curriculum and services.

• Public correspondence and homeschool support charter school
• Elementary
• Middle School
• High School

Established in 2003, Frontier Charter School is a parent-directed K-12 program serving students who reside in the Anchorage School District. Families design the education that fits their child, supported by generous funding, academic advising, and flexible learning options that range from Anchorage School District classes and vendor-led courses to online opportunities. Frontier funds one of the highest allotments in Alaska, at $3,500 for grades K-8 and $4,300 for grades 9-12, which families direct toward curriculum, instructional vendors, music, fine arts, physical education, and university coursework. Three setups are supported: traditional homeschooling using the Frontier Learning Profile to understand how a child learns, blended learning with part-time classes at colleges, local public schools, or small homeschool groups, and a traveling learner path built on correspondence study for student athletes and families with flexible lifestyles. Students can take classes or play sports through Anchorage School District schools, use NCAA-approved curriculum, and earn an Anchorage School District high school diploma. Frontier has a dedicated special education staff member and a separate IEP support advisor on the team, and has funded structured dyslexia intervention including the Barton program for enrolled students. Frontier is a Purple Star School and supports military families new to Anchorage, with a military liaison on staff. A second location serves families in Eagle River.

• Public charter school with parent-directed homeschool support
• Dyslexia
• Financial aid
• K-12

PACE Statewide Homeschool is a public correspondence program of the Craig City School District, open at no cost to any Alaska resident student in grades K-12. State-certified teachers support families as they educate at home, helping choose curriculum, track progress, and build an individualized learning plan. The Anchorage Learning Center is one of two learning centers, the other being in Craig. Each enrolled student receives a homeschool allotment: $2,600 for grades 9-12, $2,400 for grades 3-8, and $2,200 for grades K-2 (full-time). PACE pays for core classes (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Technology, World Language) and reimburses many elective and enrichment expenses. Dual-enrollment and part-time options are available. PACE keeps a lower student-to-teacher ratio and has a full-time special education teacher on staff to coordinate services, collaborate with families, and keep the program compliant with IDEA and ADA. The Anchorage center also runs group activities and outings for homeschool families.

• Public statewide correspondence and homeschool program
• Accredited
• K-12

Whaley School is an Anchorage School District separate day school for students whose behaviors require a more structured environment than a neighborhood school can provide. Students are placed at Whaley through their Individual Education Plan because of severe emotional and behavioral needs, and the program covers instruction in academics along with vocational, behavioral, and social-emotional skills. The school runs on a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework organized into preventative and restorative systems. Preventative supports include a school-wide token economy through PBIS Rewards, break and hot passes, and direct teaching of self-regulation and co-regulation. Restorative supports include the Reset Room, structured behavior interventions, and Whaley Trackers, a data system where student information is recorded at least every 15 minutes so case managers, BCBAs, and school psychologists can spot patterns and build functional behavior assessments. School social workers provide individual and group counseling covering anger management, problem-solving, interpersonal conflict, grief and loss, substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, and career planning, plus family liaison work with Anchorage community agencies. Whaley runs bell schedules for elementary, middle, high school, and Life Skills classrooms, and the campus also houses the district's Outreach alternative placement program for students in grades 6 through 12 who have been long-term suspended or expelled. Throughout, staff work toward transitioning students successfully back to their neighborhood school.

• Public separate day school for special education
• Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities
• Elementary
• Middle School