It’s official, the residents of Nikolaevsk – a conservative-minded community established by Russian Orthodox Old Believers in the 1960s – now have an innovative charter school that will be tailored to their values, beliefs and traditional way of life.
Located about 20 miles outside Homer, the closeknit community struggled mightily for the past four years to convince the Kenai School District to approve the school. Despite adamant and unrelenting resistance from district administration, the school board voted 5-3 in November to accept the charter and on Jan. 20, the State Board of Education unanimously voted to give its stamp of approval.
Now, the community of roughly 300 residents can begin enrolling students, hiring staff and preparing to open this coming fall.
In May of 2025, it was a much more dire situation. That’s when the school board voted unanimously to shutter the school in order to save money for the cash-strapped district, which was facing a $17 million deficit due to plummeting enrollment districtwide. At that time, Nikolaevsk only had 21 students enrolled in a school that could serve 175.
The launch of the new charter school reflects both the enduring traditions and emerging needs of a unique Alaska community.
The problem was that many Nikolaevsk families had opted to utilize alternative homeschool programs rather than send their kids to what was then a standard public school. Under the new charter, however, parents will have more influence and can opt to blend homeschooling with classroom learning in order to tailor academic instruction to fit their child.
With the fundamental shift in philosophy, the school expects to enroll roughly 80 full-time students and another 75 homeschoolers this coming fall.
Educationally, the K-12th grade school will use the hands-on Montessori model to teach core academic subjects along with practical skills associated with homesteading, farming and other trades. In high school, the focus will be on career and technical education.
Nikolaevsk will follow the Kenai District’s policies and procedures but there will be some key differences. For example, the school calendar will have an extended, three-week Christmas break to accommodate the observation of Russian Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated on Jan. 7 – not Dec. 25. Additionally, spring break will include an extra week so Orthodox Christians can observe their traditional Holy Week that precedes the Easter vigil. Those days will be made up by starting a week earlier and ending a week later than the other public schools.
The school will also give parents the option to homeschool fulltime, blend homeschooling with in-class instruction, or attend classes fulltime – five days a week.
“Our school serves both families seeking a traditional public school experience with a focus on hands-on learning, and those who prefer the flexibility of homeschooling, ensuring every student has access to a supportive, community-centered education,” the school’s charter application states.
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Additionally, all students will have access to sports and extracurricular activities, while cutting down on long costly drives on rough roads.
“Nikolaevsk Charter School offers those services closer to home – keeping education accessible, consistent and community-based,” the charter application states. “Many homeschooling families in the area underutilize existing programs because of geographic barriers.”
Nikolaevsk was originally founded by five families of Russian Orthodox Old Believers who travelled from Siberia following the Russian Revolution. After living near Harbin, China, and São Paulo, Brazil, this community moved to Oregon and then to Alaska in the late 1960s. Since that time, it has become more diverse but retains a large and prominent population of Old Believers.
The launch of the new charter school reflects both the enduring traditions and emerging needs of a unique Alaska community.
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— Click here to visit the school’s Facebook page.
