Please help join us in support of our efforts to keep Fire Lake Elementary open by signing this petition. We are collecting signatures to show the School Board how many people are AGAINST the closure of Fire Lake Elementary. 

Fire Lake opened its doors in 1985 and has been a pivotal neighborhood school for our communities’ students. The school strives on building relationships not only with the students, but with the families and community. Yearly events include the spring carnival, bingo nights, pumpkin carving, school dances, movie nights, skate-a-thons, craft nights, paint nights and more. Our staff is committed to bringing families together and fostering strong connections. We believe engagement with the school enhances student success in academics. 

The largest growth of housing in our community is happening in northern Eagle River. Currently dirt work is finishing for the Carol Creek subdivision, which is a development directly next door to Fire Lake and will be over 120 houses built. This subdivision is designed to be a walking community to school, but moving a charter school into our building would cause these students to be bussed to Birchwood ABC. Just up the Old Glenn Hwy is a 58-unit apartment complex that is nearly completed, with 19 units already completed. Closing Fire Lake is a shortsighted decision as housing is rapidly being developed within the school zone.

These children need our support. They need consistency, stability and predictability in their education. Under the proposal of ASD administration, roughly 70% of our students would be rezoned for Eagle River Elementary School, and the remaining students would be rezoned for Birchwood ABC and Chugiak Elementary, with the majority of those going to Birchwood. Traffic will drastically increase in downtown Eagle River as there is not adequate infrastructure for the traffic flow going in and out of Eagle River Elementary. An increase in busses and parent drivers will congest the area of Monte and the Old Glenn. This proposed rightsizing of Fire Lake Elementary has far greater impacts on our community as a whole and will affect citizens indefinitely.

Fire Lake is the home to the Structure Learning Classroom (SLC) program within the Special Education Department for all of Eagle River/Chugiak residents. All eligible students for SLC come to our school for their education. Rightsizing wants to move these students to Birchwood ABC, which results in longer times these students will spend on sped busses. This additional time on busses will negatively impact the students and increase transportation costs.

Please sign this petition to preserve Fire Lake Elementary to stay within our community and provide excellence in education for our children. Together, we can advocate for a stable future that respects the educational needs of all our kids.