Alternative schools?

I went to an alternative school in grades 1-6. It was an "open" school.

There were definitely some kids who had issues -- some very serious -- and who came from rough backgrounds. I don't think that was an explicit part of its mission though. (I'll PM you a link re: the history of that particular school.)

Overall it was a fantastic school and a fantastic experience for me. I've talked about it before (the fact that it was so good is part of why I went into education as a field, and part of why I think public schools can be excellent schools), but some of its features included:

- Three grades grouped together at a time, so I had two teachers in my six years there (one for 1-3, one for 4-6), and participated in a lot of peer education both on the learning side (when I was one of the younger students) and on the teaching side (when I was one of the older students). Plus, since I had the same teacher for three years, I was able to develop a close relationship with him/ her (one of each) and vice versa. I think a lot of time was saved at the beginning of the year as the teachers really only had to get to know the newest crop of kids (about a third of the class).

- Related to that last point, education was very individualized. Everyone went at their own pace, whatever that may be. The peer thing helped a lot with that, since class sizes were big (about 30 kids to one teacher + one teacher's aide).

- There was not much homework, though homework DID exist. Weekly spelling tests, regular research projects (I still remember the one I did on Kentucky -- that was an epic project) and regular math homework. Almost all of it was made by the teacher though. (Hand-written and mimeographed. )

- Very hippy-dippy multi-culti vibe in general. Lots of music + art. Wide socio-economic and cultural range.

So, my experience was very good. I think alternative schools can be as varied as almost any other category of schools though -- charter, private, public, etc. I know that there are plenty of less-good alternative schools. (An ex-boyfriend went to one in WI and said it was terrible.)

Thanks! That sounds really, really good.

I'll check out that link. I'll send you a link to the school I'm looking at. If you get a minute to look at it I'd love to know what you think.

Mmmmm..... I loved the smell of mimeographs.

It was, I know I'm lucky.

X 2 -- Sozlet's school isn't officially an alternative school but it feels very familiar, has a lot in common with my school. (Some grades more than others -- her 2nd-grade teacher was a standout, for example, and totally would've fit in at my school.)



I know, I wrote the word "mimeograph" and suddenly the smell wafted into my memory -- I'd help sometimes with making copies, loved that.

(Thoughts sent via PM.)

I, personally, do not have any experience with alternative schools, but my understanding was these schools were for trouble maker kids. Those that were involved in drugs or were criminals. At least those were the ones from my high school and I attended a city high school that was had lots of trouble makers - the worst ones were sent to the alternate high school.

Must have been one of those bad alternative schools. I think because of the city I lived it - that is why it was used that way.

I always thought so too, Linkat. And I probably still would if I hadn't had the good luck to know a really exceptional girl who was attending one of our city's alternative high schools. She really changed my mind.

This school does say it's students are "at risk" kids but as you delve into it a bit it seems that most of them are simply at risk of dropping out of school altogether.

I just know that I'm going to have to do something and I simply can't afford private school right now. I probably could if I went back to work but with Mo that would present a whole new basket of problems. I'd really like to wait until he is at least 12.

There's a loooooong waiting list to get kids into this school.

You know I'm no expert on all this, but I'll give you my take anyway. Put him on the list while you are searching about the school - you can drop out if you get bad vibes about it in your search. Go visit, observe with your own eyes - you've really good eyes for scanning a scene and it's psychological parts.

I called them today and they told me not to send the "student interest form" until mid-March because they wouldn't start considering enrollment for next year until then (unless the student was already in middle school).

There's an interview process for the parents and students that includes a tour so I might have to wait until then -- if we get wait listed at all. There are only 50 kids in the middle school and the classes are gender specific so even getting on the wait list is a big if.

I'd love to go have a look around.

I've asked about it on a city-centric website. It was just a few minutes ago so I'm still waiting for replies.

Dammit, no apostrophe in that particular its.

; )

Denotes possessive.

Yes, I have some alternative school experience, boomerang.
Though how useful my contribution to a discussion of US alternative schools in the present day might be, I really don't know ...
I taught in one for something like 6 years ... that experience has had quite an impact about my thoughts about children & learning ever since..
I'll be very interested in following this conversation, but right now it's late & I must get some sleep.
Tomorrow.

I'll really be looking forward to reading about your experiences msolga!

I've long admired your thoughtful posts on education and hearing how working for an alternative school influenced that would be wonderful.

Could also be that they have made strides in improving these schools or could be that there was so much trouble in my city there was no where else for these kids to go.

Any way, I'd imagine you could arrange a visit. I always feel that seeing things first hand gives you so much more even if you trust the people who have experienced the school directly. In any case, it always make me feel better when I've visited schools and met with teachers.

Just read this - the fact that they interview you both and you get a tour makes it sound worth while.

We've got a lot of alternative schools here - from Montessori and Waldorf Schools to those with anthroposophy concepts, progressive education, and other "reform pedagogical" concepts; from pre-school to grammar school.

They are all (well, nearly all) private schools but funded by the states and districts/municipalities up to 95% (that differs from state to state).

The best example is a school not far away from us - see the wikipedia website. (I've done some projects with them via the university.)

Edit: there are quite a few (more than 50, I only had a quick look at the members of the larger associations) public alternative schools in Germany as well.

I'm going to ask about it next week to try to learn more. I'll probably send in the paperwork next March like they suggested and see what happens.

When I brought it up to Mo he was incredulous. We'll have to see what happens.

I suppose the high school I went to would now be considered an alternative school, or maybe they would call it a magnet school. Back in 1974 it was just presented as an option to the district school. It was a great school. A lot of my friends weren't allowed to go there because it was "in a tough neighborhood" and probably had some "bad kids".

Those would be private schools here, or maybe charter schools. (I'm not a big fan of charter schools.)

Alternative schools here are for students who really struggle with the traditional classroom setting and need something much more flexible.

Sorry, I was relying on the wikipedia definition and that of the schools and my experience.

Not necessarily, alternative schools can just be, well, alternatives to "regular" schools.

Mine was considered an alternative school, but it was for K and up, and this was before there was an expectation of preschool before kindergarten, so for most of us that was the first experience of school. As in, while we did have some transfers to our school, most of us didn't have experience at any other school to struggle with it (or not).

This Wikipedia definition aligns pretty well with my understanding of the term:



Especially the "nontraditional" part.

I think I must be bringing my own prejudices to the table when it comes to alternative schools. Now that I have a kid who flounders in a traditional school environment I'm changing my mind about it.