Mat-Su

Photos: Valley Pathways School

PALMER -- Students at Valley Pathways alternative school spent the last 14 years in portable classrooms moored in a wind-blasted parking lot near Palmer.

They clustered into four different portables to eat lunch. There were no hot meals. No gym, except for the basketball hoop outside. Limited computer access. No assemblies -- no auditorium.

The close quarters and unorthodox learning environment forged a bond among students at this school established to serve so-called "at risk" youth in danger of failing or dropping out.

But now, the portables are gone. Valley Pathways is housed in a glossy, new $22.5-million building with 15 instructional spaces, a media center and state-of-the-art equipment.

Just under 200 seventh- to 12th-graders -- a new middle school also started this year -- attend classes in rooms outfitted with high-tech everything, including what officials call a "Fort Knox" of a security system. They work out in a gym with a regulation-size basketball court and gather in a modern, airy commons area that doubles as cafeteria and auditorium.

There are labs filled with computers, natural light throughout, hot lunches -- and finally some rooms to talk privately at this school that leans hard on communication.

"Our kids deserve a building. After 14 years, they truly deserve it," said high school mathematics teacher Rob Hassen. "There is more school pride, there's something tangible. You can see it, you can touch it, you can walk on it."

READ MORE: New building transforms longtime Mat-Su alternative school

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