The Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Yup’ik Immersion School opened in the ’90s as a charter school for kindergarten through sixth grade. District superintendent Kimberly Hankins says it's become a pioneer and leader among language immersion programs nationwide.
Ayaprun Elitnaurvik’s new campus is being built next to Bethel Regional High School and the Lower Kuskokwim School District office.
On March 2, the state board of education approved the Lower Kuskokwim School District’s request to expand Ayaprun into the extra grade levels. The school district needed the state’s permission because Ayaprun is a charter school.“I think it gives a little longer for both languages to really flower, you know, bloom,” Clarence Daniel said about the immersion school’s expansion into junior high.
But Daniel said that Ayaprun is about more than just learning the Yup’ik language. It’s also about students learning Yup’ik culture. Daniel used lessons about fish as an example. “So we do frequently hear from other school districts around the state, asking us questions such as ‘how did you get started?’ You know, can we share our curriculum materials?” Hankins said.fire that destroyed the former school campus in 2015.Now, over six years later, the district is finally close to having a new school building after wrapping up a lengthy with its insurance companies.
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