Fronteras Charter School

Posted: December 4, 2025

I have been a parent for there for 10yr and my students academical preforms has declined. Academic standards have lowered. Parents concerns are dismissed and feel unheard by the administrators and APC board to the point where many families have felt unwelcome after seeking solutions to issues. Parents once had a heavy classroom presence and now are struggling to find involvement despite required volunteer hours per the school charter. Also immersion has declined over the last 5 years to become more of a Spanish exposure school rather then Spanish immersion.
What once was a beautiful school is now in decline.

Posted: December 4, 2025

Posted: December 4, 2025

Posted: December 4, 2025

Posted: December 4, 2025

Posted: December 4, 2025

Posted: December 4, 2025

Posted: December 4, 2025

Posted: October 11, 2025

As a parent, I am deeply disappointed with the quality of education my child has received at Fronteras. Despite being bright, motivated, and supported at home, my child has fallen behind in both reading and math — the most basic foundations of learning.

My child is regularly sent home with homework, which students do not receive credit for completing. This completely undermines the purpose of assigning homework in the first place. When a child takes the time to complete work outside of school only to have it disregarded, it sends the message that accountability and follow through are not valued. It also removes one of the few opportunities parents have to actively reinforce what their children are learning.

I have previously raised concerns with teachers and administration, inquiring how my child compares to peers. I’ve received no meaningful answers. Based on classroom observations (during volunteering) and conversations with other parents, it appears that a majority of students may also be on improvement plans, which raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of the school’s teaching methods. If this is true, it reflects an institutional failure, not individual shortcomings.

Fronteras does not have a nurse, which is concerning for student safety and well-being. Numerous times students have been observed being in class, visibly sick and not feeling well. This violates the schools policies, yet the teachers and staff allow it.

Suspiciously, according to the Alaska Department of Education’s 2023–2024 Report Card, the school reports a 100% student participation rate in its student survey — a number that seems highly unlikely and raises questions about the accuracy or transparency of the school’s reporting. Higher ranked schools have a substantially lower survey return rate.

This school needs stronger leadership, improved teaching standards, and honest transparency about student performance and conditions. Parents deserve to know the truth about how their children — and their peers — are actually performing, and whether the data being reported reflects reality.

Until this school demonstrates accountability and measurable improvement, I cannot recommend it to other families.

Posted: October 11, 2025

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Posted: May 21, 2024

The teachers were constantly involved. When there was any sort of possible issues, the principal handled it right away. The School is safe and they're currently even improving the road in and out. The carline goes smoothly.

Posted: May 21, 2024

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Posted: October 14, 2022

This school is wonderful! I have two children in this program, one about to enter high school. The gift of a second language has challenges that overall is rewarding. Because of this school, my eldest has expanded is worldview and loves language. He has taken on a 2rd language (Spanish and Russian). His goal is to become fluent in Spanish, Russian and Madarin by the time he graduates high school. He wants to travel and expand his view both. He looks at the world with more of a critical eye and questions the geography and the history of language. The teachers we have had all have helped my boys expand, and the involvement of parents (before covid) was wonderful. There are challenges to this school, but if you trust the process, your child will be rewarded. Both of my children are above the scores when it comes to testing. My eldest son is Enrolled in 9th grade math, taking physics and his entire class are enrolled in 9th grade English. My youngest son's scores are in the top % of the state. Both of my children Love Fronteras and the community that goes with it! I would like to point out again, there has been challenges where I wasn't sure if this was the school for us when the children were younger, but overall I feel blessed that my kids have grown up in such a great environment! When you trust the process, the kids will receive the greatest gift from it!

Posted: October 14, 2022

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Posted: January 26, 2017

I have one childd at Fronteras, and so far the experience has been very positive for both my child and I.
He get the attention he requires as well as some good learning experiences to build on.

Posted: April 14, 2015

I currently have 3 children at Fronteras. All 3 are doing well and are happy. I am very happy with the staff at this school. They truly care about my kids and how they are doing, physically, emotionally, and academically. The two things that drew me to this school are, the small sized classrooms and the gift of learning a second language. Students at Fronteras truly have an advantage over their peers in other schools. They will have an advantage in High School foreign language classes and when it comes time to get a job, they will have the advantage of knowing a second language which will make them more employable, even on a global scale. Students around the world learn at least 2 different languages in school, it's about time America steps up and stops holding our kids back! Studies and our own experience show that learning a second language is nothing but highly beneficial for our kids! Even my child who has been just a little behind in English reading at 4th grade, is now moving up to be above proficient! Immersion works! This program requires highly committed parents and time, but it is a gift that will last a lifetime!

Posted: November 23, 2014

My child is currently in her fourth year at Fronteras Spanish Immersion Charter School. My goal on sending her to this school has been to give her the gift of a foreign language and provide her with a diverse learning experience. It's not always been easy, and there are times when I have doubted whether this was the right fit for us, but this past year I have seen her language usage in both English and Spanish really emerge. It's a challenging program that requires dedication on the part of the teachers, parents, and students - but one that will have lifelong benefits for those involved! The school is focusing on immersion training for the teachers and staff, working on a way to ensure our children graduating from the program have a way to continue their studies in Spanish, and have an easier transition to the high school setting (where the focus is grammar). A new building is also in the works! As long as the school continues on it's current path, I will be sending my younger children to this school as well.

Posted: November 19, 2014

We have had kids at Fronteras for 12+ years. It's been a great fit for our family! All 4 kids have consistently tested above average. They are all strong readers in Spanish and English. The unique exposure to cultures, accents, projects, reading buddies, multi-age environment, and language have been very beneficial. They have a much larger appreciation and fascination for languages and cultures than they would have developed in most main-stream schools. Our oldest two are in high school. They have adjusted seamlessly .... doing very well academically (finding some classes boring since they were used to content being taught in Spanish). One went into Spanish II, the other into Spanish III (both have done some translating). The challenge with high school Spanish is that they emphasize grammar - to equip their students to pass college tests. Fronteras focuses on real communication. With 13 verb tenses in Spanish, the transition can be a challenge. We highly recommend Fronteras!

Posted: May 13, 2014

I recently learned that after 9 years of Spanish, the students only place out of level 1 Spanish when leaving middle school and entering local high school. Really? After 9 years of Spanish? Standardized testing scores aren't overall remarkable in non-Spanish subjects either. It seems like a good idea, just not a good program. We couldn't see the benefit of staying and are moving our boys elsewhere.

Posted: May 12, 2014

Fronteras is a unique learning environment with some fantastic attributes. The immersion approach means that students learn to leverage their language acquisition into alternative ways to problem solve--a hugely beneficial, life-long skill. Having never taken a language course in my life, I've grown to appreciate the value my daughters gain from their experiences at Fronteras. The founders, teachers and staff at Fronteras are committed to building a program that embraces diversity and celebrates learning. Charter schools all struggle, but my family is proud to have made the choice of Fronteras.

Posted: March 3, 2014

In the last couple of years, the academic program of this school has deteriorated significantly. Teachers are NOT orientated with the mission of the school and therefore are set up to fail. Most do not understand the process of language immersion and therefore resort to English when they think their kids are struggling. This actually creates more problems. Administration thinks that if a teacher can speak Spanish they can teach immersion. There seems to be a lot of children struggling. I would not recommend this school at this time. They need to renew their vision and unify their staff and parents so everyone is on the same page. Sad to see.

Posted: December 6, 2012

I have currently have one child attending school at Fronteras. My child has been reading since Kindergarden. They give you online assignments to do with your children, reading and math. You as a parent, it is your responsiblity to study with your children and they will be reading and understanding math in no time. My child is reading chapter books and doing 2nd grade math and is in first grade. Parents, aunts and uncles cannot blame the public schools. Seriously, parents need to have more involvement with there childrens learning. Parents expect too much, they think a public school will teach there children all they need to know in life, wrong!