The Anchorage Daily News reports that 680 students from Central Middle School had to abandon the building Tuesday after a blocked underground pipe caused a backup of raw sewage.

The students were initially split up by grade and sent to different schools. Seventh graders were sent to Chugach Optional next door, and eighth graders were bused to Romig Middle School about a mile away.

Central Middle School is a district-wide alternative school program, with a strong focus on math and science (its official name is "Central Middle School of Science"). Central accepts students from throughout the Anchorage School District. The academic program "infuses science and technology throughout all curricular areas" and assigns students to teams of teachers, rather than offering a traditional top-down class structure.

Side note: I myself attended Steller Secondary for grades seven through twelve. Steller also offers a district-wide alternative school program, but without the focus on science and math, and with a more traditional class structure. We didn't have a Central Middle School when I was there (1984 through 1990) or I might have been intrigued by the science program. (The math, not so much.)

Central Middle School is planning to open today as usual. No early reports as yet regarding any lingering odors or residue. This writer encourages the students at Central Middle School to celebrate this occasion, which combines two of the best things in the world, if you are a seventh or eighth grader:

1. Raw sewage.
2. A catastrophe at school which injures no one, but shuts down classes for the day.