Ladd Elementary School

Fairbanks Montessori School opened its doors in 1965 and is operated by the nonprofit Fairbanks Montessori Association, a 501(c)(3). It offers a fully implemented Montessori primary curriculum for children ages 3 to 6, taught by certified Montessori Lead Teachers. Classrooms are mixed-age, with 3, 4, 5, and 6 year olds learning together across the five Montessori areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Cultural. The school has been licensed as a child care center by the State of Alaska since 2008 and maintains a staff-to-student ratio of 1 to 10. Third-year students complete the primary cycle as kindergarteners, and families can choose a 10-month program (August to May) or a 12-month program (August to July). Enrollment begins with a no-fee waiting pool application, and admission depends on availability rather than strict first-come order. Fairbanks Montessori is a member of the International Montessori Council and a candidate for IMC accreditation. It accepts several tuition assistance programs, including the State of Alaska Child Care Assistance Program, Child Care Aware of America, Tanana Chiefs Conference, and the National Park Service, and offers a 5% sibling discount.

Boreal Sun Charter School provides kindergarten through eighth grade students with a cross-curricular, arts-integrated program inspired by the philosophy of Waldorf Education. Alaska state standards are met with significant attention given to the developmental model of the unfolding child. Teachers work to reach the whole child by cultivating each student's creative, intellectual, emotional, physical, and social capacities, and core themes are experienced through multiple modalities. Subjects are studied in depth over multi-week lesson blocks, with all academic disciplines addressed through a common theme. Students make their own lesson books, world language instruction (currently Spanish) begins in first grade, and handwork, music, drawing, painting, and drama are woven through core academics. Technology use is limited, particularly in the elementary years. Kindergarten is play-based, with a rich tactile environment, seasonal stories, nature walks, and natural materials. Class teachers loop with the same group of students through grades 1-5 and again through 6-8, building long relationships that support both academics and social and emotional wellbeing. Community is the foundation of the school, with seasonal gatherings, assemblies, quarterly parent evenings, and family volunteering. The school opened its doors in August 2017 after being approved by the State of Alaska's Department of Education in December 2016, and it operates in a renovated former church building in the Bjerremark Subdivision. Admission requires attending an orientation, then applying through the district's online lottery portal.

Chinook Montessori Charter School opened in 1996 with 75 students in an old school building on Fort Wainwright, and since 2002 it has filled a building designed for it at International Street and 30th Avenue in Fairbanks. Within the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, we operate as a public charter with no tuition and teach kindergarten to 8th grade. Admission is by lottery after a required family orientation. Classrooms are multi-age: Novices in kindergarten, Apprentices in grades 1 to 3, and Pioneers in grades 4 to 6. Children work with hands-on Montessori materials at their own pace under a trained teacher. Students in grades 4 to 8 take on community service, and 8th graders complete a one-week apprenticeship with a local business and a service project before graduation, where each Pioneer class sews a quilt for every graduate. We do not run sports teams or competitive activities. Instead, physical choices such as basketball skills and juggling are part of morning work time, parent-led after-school studios fill the afternoons, and the playground includes a soccer field and basketball and volleyball courts. Families commit to at least 15 volunteer hours each trimester.