UAF Summer Sessions boosts home-school curricula with virtual classes

December 21, 2020

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is tapping into a growing appetite for virtual courses, with a new program for school-age youths more than doubling in size since it was introduced last fall.

The 365 SMART (Science, Math, Art, Recreation and Technology) Academy was created last fall to provide educational classes for home-schooled students. After offering 16 courses in its first semester, the number of courses expanded this spring to 34 courses starting in February.

Adaptation became a trend this year at UAF Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning, which operates the 365 SMART Academy. That process started with a slate of online youth camps and continues with a growing collection of virtual enrichment classes.

The shift began last spring, when Summer Sessions had to cancel 69 summer camps with 850 enrollees because of COVID restrictions on group gatherings. Hundreds of kids from 25 communities throughout Alaska instead participated in virtual camps, learning about subjects like medieval carpentry, babysitter training, cooking and animation.

Michelle Bartlett, the director of Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning, felt it was important to provide opportunities for students in the face of COVID-19, as opposed to just closing down.

“The gem that came out of this was the fact that what had been a local program all of a sudden became statewide and beyond,” Bartlett said. “With that realization, we pivoted again and turned our summer camps into enrichment courses for the homeschool audience.”

This spring’s 365 SMART Academy classes target students in various age groups, from elementary through high school, and include subjects like cartooning, archaeology, civil discourse, chickenology and photography. All courses include YouTube videos, weekly Zoom class meetings and kits of materials for hands-on activities at home.

Thirteen homeschool providers throughout the state, as well as the Fairbanks Native Association, offer the courses. Registrants for the spring program already include 262 students from 25 different Alaska communities, as well as Idaho, Illinois and Hawaii.

UAF also offers Alaska high school students more than 100 online courses this spring through the Alaska Advantage program. Credits from those courses count toward both high school and college, giving students a head start on their degrees.

For more information about the 365 SMART Academy, contact UAF Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning at 907-474-7021 or summer@alaska.edu. Details are also available online at https://spring365.alaska.edu/.