Alternative Education Albemarle County Public Schools Alternative Education Before we go into our work session, I would like to provide some back ground information on Alternative schools and programs that exist in our country. I hope this background information will help frame tonight’s work session so that we can look at Albemarle County’s programs from two perspectives: Current state and Desired state.

What is Differentiation? Differentiation of instruction is simply providing instruction in a variety of ways to meet the needs of a variety of learners. Schools have been implementing differentiation of instruction is a classroom intervention for many years Differentiation

Alternative Education What Is Alternative Education? “… a public elementary/secondary school that addresses the needs of students which typically cannot be met in a regular school and provides nontraditional education which is not categorized solely as regular education, special education, vocational education, gifted and talented or magnet school programs” (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). Research completed as far back as 1998 suggested that alternative schools and programs would increase given statistics on dropout, school failure, delinquency, substance abuse, and teen pregnancy. In the article provided, several types of alternative schools were discussed. Some alternative schools were focused on changing the student while others were focused on changing the school. Alternative Education

Alternative Education Public Alternative Schools 1993 – 1994 : 2,606 1997 – 1998 : 3,850 2000 – 2001 : 10,900 K – 12 education systems need to be supplemented with high quality alternative education opportunities that meet the same high standards developed by states in response to the No Child Left Behind legislation for the large number of students who, for a variety of reasons, have not been able to succeed in traditional schools. Alternative Education

Alternative Education Variations in Programs Enrollment Criteria Funding Sources Curriculum/Educational Program Staffing Outcomes Enrollment Criteria: 1. Students have been academically unsuccessful and would benefit from a nontraditional school setting, 2. Students meet some form of at-risk criteria, 3. Students have been disruptive in the general education environment, and 4. Students are admitted as a result of suspension or expulsion. Funding: Throughout the country, Alternative Programs are funded in many different ways. Federal and state funds have been available through grants and charter schools. Most are funded through local or private funds. Curriculum: Depending on the purpose of the schools and why the students are in the alternative schools, curriculums vary greatly. Some schools offer core curriculum and cover state and local standards. Some programs provide more individualized instruction, working on identified individual student needs, trying to catch students up on achievement. Other programs offer more community based vocational type instruction or GED based programs. Staffing: Most programs have certified teachers and require alternative education programs to comply with state staffing standards. Most schools have small teacher to student ratio’s. Some programs provide social workers and counseling services. Outcomes: not much research on outcomes and program effectiveness. Most programs have some type of internal measurements with the main focus being on the educational components and how students are being prepared academically. There should also be some evaluation of how the additional needs of students are being met. Alternative Education

Albemarle County Programs Community Public Charter School Murray High School Charlottesville City Schools Alternative School Program K – 12 Homebound Instruction Enterprise Center Middle and High School TAP ISAEP Theses are the programs we will be discussing tonight. I do believe we have additional programs in our division such as The NewComer Center, Ivy Creek, CATEC, MESA, JROTC, Monticello Scholars, and APEX Learning that are alternative programs that being used to meet the needs of students in our division. Albemarle County Programs

Work Sessions Session 1: Room What alternative programs are available in Albemarle County? Session 2: Room How are student needs being met? Session 3: Room 241 What are our student needs? Work Sessions