NCJ Number
207343
Date Published
2003
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Under the effective continuum of developmental community-based programs and services for at-risk children, this chapter provides a discussion of field-proven effective practices to document what alternative school attributes work well and those conditions that define the proven practice.
Abstract
When developing an alternative school program, each community must consider several types of alternative educational experiences because not all children respond well to regular school. In addition, alternative schools need to encompass the entire spectrum of children. This chapter presents and discusses effective practices for alternative schools within two specific areas: general effective practices and educational curricula and instructional methods. General effective practices were two-fold addressing school location and environment and administration and organizational structure. Educational curricula and instructional methods is specific to teachers and staff and presents the methods of recruitment, hiring and retention of staff and faculty, the encouragement of staff, developing the alternative school professional, and developing support staff. Additional effective practices include: the involvement of parents, making evaluation part of the daily business, and providing feedback and earned reward. Three model alternative school programs are presented and briefly discussed: (1) Mat-Su Alternative School in Wasilla, AK; (2) New Directions Academy in El Paso, TX; and (3) Discovery II in Jackson County, NC. References