Fred Gann, founder of four alternative education programs, believes that all true alternative education programs exist for one fundamental purpose: to make a positive difference in a student's life. In Groundwork, Gann delivers a roadmap to re-engage disenfranchised students through an effective alternative education program. This step-by-step guide demystifies the principles of alternative education and outlines how to create a program in which each student assumes personal responsibility for his or her learning and experiences a framework for developing success. With personal examples and anecdotes, Gann provides a clear, accessible plan for the implementation of alternative programs in support of a district's traditional school setting. Groundwork examines the following: • The four questions that must be asked when founding a new program • The components of a true alternative educational program • Five techniques for implementation • Positive-based disciplinary practices • Program longevity and the art of survival In Groundwork, Gann presents a blunt and uncompromising demand for educators to invest in kids and calls for public education to provide programs which reconnect at-risk youth with their educational environments.

Groundwork

A Practitioner's Guide to Building Alternative Education ProgramsBy F.M. Gann

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 F.M. Gann
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-9142-2

Contents

Chapter 1 Foundation Questions.................................................................1Chapter 2 Criteria for Implementation..........................................................12Chapter 3 Components of a True Alternative Educational Program.................................23Chapter 4 Positive-Based Disciplinary Practices................................................41Chapter 5 Alternative Education Programs in Support Of Traditional Schools.....................64Chapter 6 Program Longevity: The Art of Survival...............................................72Chapter 7 Soap Box Discussions.................................................................79

Chapter One

Foundation Questions

All true alternative education programs exist for one fundamental purpose; to make a positive difference in a kids life.

Throughout the process of creating four alternative educational programs (AEP), I have found that school district's planning to implement an AEP should focus on four basic questions. Once these questions have been satisfactorily answered by the district's stakeholders, a format for moving forward in the process will be set.

1. Whom will the program serve?

2. How will students be referred to the program?

3. How will the program be evaluated?

4. How will the district inform the public and promote the program?

Whom Will The Program Serve? (Characteristics of Intended Population)

District stakeholders must first determine the mission of the program as it furthers the mission of the district as a whole. From that discussion, an overview of the program should emerge based on answers to the following questions:

? What will be the program's primary focus based on the identified needs of the district be?

? At which academic level will the program be implemented?

? What type of students will benefit from enrollment in the program?

? What should the program seek to accomplish in working with these students?

Talk. Think. Talk some more. Rethink. Then reach consensus. For example, would the program exist to support the academic efforts of all secondary students' grades 7-12 or focus, only on grade levels 9 -12? Will special needs students utilize the program as a mainstream setting prior to their re-entry into the larger high school? Will the program serve as a setting in which students with chronic disciplinary issues work to resolve the issues which hinder their academic, personal, and social success? Will the program's primary goal be one of drop-out prevention offering priority placement to those seniors in danger of not graduating? Once the committee of district stakeholders has determined who the program will serve, the next step will be to create a pathway for those possible enrollees to transition from their current school settings into the alternative environment.

How Will Students Be Referred To The Program? (Pathways Into The Program)

Your counselor recommended you, your parents seem excited for you; but, if after our discussion, you are not convinced that this is the place for you, you should not come.

The program's administrator or principal, school counselors, school psychologists, and instructional staff's recommendations may constitute a starting point for identifying prospective students. When I began Center Alternative School in 1989, I served the previous school year as the assistant principal at Center Junior High School. From my contacts with kids in the office that year, I put together a list of students I felt would benefit from an alternative school setting. Based on the four foundation questions, I began talking with students about the possibility of entering the alternative program their freshman year in lieu of attending the traditional high school. Over the course of the year, I had developed strong relationships with both the students and their parents; and we talked a lot about the upcoming school year, their academic and behavioral progress, and our hopes for their educational future.

In preparation for implementing the alternative program, the school counselor and I met frequently to begin identifying specific students with chronic disciplinary problems, attendance issues, poor academic performance, or on-going peer group issues which remained unresolved and consumed a major portion of their school day.

At the high school level referrals to the program came from the counseling department of the sending schools. Each participating high school was allocated a specific number of slots for entry into the program at the beginning of each academic semester. Counselors from the sending schools met together to discuss which of the students on their respective lists would most benefit from enrollment in the alternative program. Once they made their decisions, they contacted the students to let them know that they were on the list to enroll in the alternative program for the upcoming school semester. Their names were given to the alternative program counselor who began to contact students and schedule enrollment interviews to discuss the program and answer any questions they or their parents had regarding the program. Early in my explanation of the program to both students and parents, I made it clear that this was a school of choice. No one could force a student to enter the alternative program. I explained to the parent, that despite the public's often negative perceptions of alternative programs, this was not a place for "bad" kids. The goal of the program was to provide a second chance for those students who for whatever reason, were not experiencing success in their current school setting.

During the enrollment interview, I was very honest with the parents and the students regarding the program's expectations both behaviorally and academically. "Your counselor may have recommended you, and your parents seem excited for you; but, if after our discussion, you are not convinced that this is the place for you, you should not come." The vast majority of parents quickly agreed that the alternative program sounded as though it was tailor-made for their child, and they expressed positive feelings about the potential for their child's success. In the few situations in which the kids and their parents asked for time to think over and digest what we had talked about during the interview, I would tell them that the waiting list was growing, and they needed to make a decision, one way or the other, within the next few days. If the student decided not to attend, I needed to have that information as soon as possible, so I could offer the slot to the next student on the waiting list.

The following criterion was developed to serve as a guide for building counselors as they identified individual students as potential candidates for enrollment in the districts alternative education program:

Student Choice in Entering Program

Providing a student with the option to choose his or her educational environment is a powerful motivator. Choice of entry eliminates scapegoating on the part of a student. Individual choice denies the viability of the victim's mentality as a credible defense in the face of personal strife or academic failure. Having made the decision to enter the alternative program, students are now accountable for their own individual success or failure. I told the students, "You chose to become a part of the program you made a commitment to change those things about yourself which resulted in your not being successful in your previous school setting. In doing so, you agreed to do the things necessary for you to walk across the stage with a diploma in your hand. I will hold you to your word."

Need for Modified Curricular Approach

Teacher-initiated adaptations to the district's curriculum enhance individual student strengths, creative abilities, and talents. Many alternative students comment on their teacher's ability to help them understand the assigned material and of the availability of the instructional staff to provide individual assistance as a major strength of alternative educational programs. "The Academy gave me a new outlook on school and an opportunity to succeed when others didn't believe in me. The teachers took their time to make sure I understood the concepts and the lessons being put in front of me, and once I started to understand them, learning became enjoyable." J.C., Senior, 2010. A parent of an Academy student commented, "The teachers know how to teach these kids so they can learn. E. was very unhappy at his huge high school. He is bright but fell between the cracks. When he transferred to the Academy, school became a positive experience again" (Academy Parent Survey, 2002)

Established Patterns of Academic Failure and Non-attendance

For various reasons, students become disenfranchised with the school experience. Such patterns of academic failure and non-attendance often result as a direct consequence of a student experiencing a complete lack of connectedness to his school environment on any personal level. Yet, these patterns can be significantly improved through a student's connection with the teaching staff, the application of flexible scheduling, enrollment in Independent Study classes, and student utilization of available on-line courses.

Diminished Opportunities for School-related Success

The relationships formed by alternative teachers and administrators with their students often serve as an in-road to changing a student's (and often times a family's) negative perceptions of the "school." Sibling drop-out history, the belief that a High School Diploma is not a determinant of future success, or the adverse impact of negative labeling on specific students by teachers and administrators reinforces the students perceptions (and those of his parents) that he is not valued as a student and that his school environment would be better off without him. In conversations with parents regarding the impact of negative labeling on their kids, it was apparent that they believed that school officials reacted in a more aggressive and punitive manner in dealing with their kids behavioral issues than with those students from "good families" who experienced similar behavioral issues. One parent I spoke with during a home visit vented his feelings towards school officials in stating, "They (school officials) ran my older boy out of there, and I'm not going to sit by and watch them do the same thing to this one."

Estranged or Disconnected from Traditional School Setting

Students considering enrollment in an AEP often cite serious, ongoing, peer group conflicts, teen pregnancy, or feelings of being totally disconnected from their school environment as reasons for their transferring to a smaller, more student-centered setting. As A, (2009 graduate), recounts, "Suddenly I felt like an outsider, a nobody, at my home school. I somehow became one of the kids I had once made fun of. But now that it was me, it wasn't funny. I stopped going to school like I was supposed to and began falling behind in my work. Then there was no hope for me, so I simply checked out completely."

Academic Underachiever

One of the most frequent motivators for students seeking admission to an AEP is their refusal to complete and/or hand in assigned homework. The frustration level of their parents is often palpable in response to their child's refusal to complete homework assignments. A typical student response to their failure in a specific class is often expressed as, "I have passed every one of (fill in the teacher's name) exams, I contribute to class discussions on a regular basis, and turn in all my daily assignments. To her, none of this matters. She told me that homework assignments count as 50% of my grade for the class, and then she told me that I couldn't pass her class if I didn't do my homework and turn it in on time." I have found that the majority of students in academic difficulty are there as the direct result of their refusal to do their homework. There's nothing wrong with their brains; they just refuse to play the homework game, and they are willing to fail the class rather than submit to a grade requirement they view as arbitrary on the part of the teacher.

Frequent Contact with the Criminal Justice System

Once in the court system, students are often pegged as trouble with little hope of reform. Yet, in a program that fundamentally focuses on building relationships, even the repeat offenders can find direction. C. a junior coming from California to the plains of Kansas said, "I have been on the other side of the law, and it ended up changing me in a way I would never even imagined. Going through court dates, and probation helped me recognize how the law works. And attending Mr. M's sociology class while going through my personal situation made me realize I can spend the rest of my life as a delinquent, or I can take my experience and become a juvenile attorney helping troubled teenagers work through their troubles and get onto the right path of their lives." In her graduation speech in 2010, C stated, "My high school years have been full of ups and downs, side to sides, but looking back I see my experience at the Academy as a positive one. Here is where I learned who I am, here is where I learned who I want to be, and here is where I learned how I will become the person I now believe I can be."

All prospective enrollees should reflect a majority of the agreed upon criteria for placement

Individual students seeking entry into the alternative program should experience at least 80% of the agreed on criteria. Furthermore, the sending school counselors and administrators should refer potential students to the program only after the student has indicated a strong interest in attending, and the student's parents have been made aware of their child's desire to enter.

How Will The Program Be Evaluated? (What will success look like? Expected outcomes)

The potential for individual student success, and by extension, the success of any Alternative Education Program, should be determined as the result of an evaluation process, initiated by the district and based on the criteria established by the district at the program's inception. At the conclusion of each school year the program is in operation, an informal district evaluation involving the program's administrator, its instructional staff, parents, and students should be conducted by district office. One good way is through the use of surveys in which parents evaluate the program's administrator and instructional staff. Additional surveys completed by students provide input regarding specific course content, class structure, teaching styles, individual student learning styles, exam structure, and individual course grade criteria. Interviews conducted by district office officials or their representatives should be conducted with the program's instructional staff, students, and parents, regarding their opinions. Perceptions of the program in general, its impact on their students strengths and weaknesses, and possible changes for the future should be addressed. Information gleaned from interviews and surveys is invaluable in determining which aspects of the program actually work for kids, parents, and staff. Fine tuning the program based on data received from its participants is an ongoing process and should be part and parcel of any end-of-year reflection.

Furthermore, every three years the district should bring in an outside evaluation team, usually from a university or college, to meet with staff, students, parents, and district officials. The team should focus on the program in depth. Such evaluations identify the program's strengths and the areas in which additional thought and attention for the future are needed. Evaluators seek answers to various questions regarding the program's mission from those individuals implementing, supervising, and utilizing the program as its customers.

? Is the program fulfilling its mission?

? Is the program's referral/selection process based on the established criteria?

? Are the program's percentages of special needs students (if applicable), minority students, male to female ratios, and teen parents representative of the populations of the sending schools which it serves?

? What has been the impact of the program on district dropout rates vs. graduation percentage?

? How has assessment score data been collected and in what areas is there demonstrated improvement?

? What is the total number of disciplinary referrals to the office and who wrote them most often? What are the out-of-school suspension percentages vs. other disciplinary approaches (restitution, ISS, administration conference, counselor referral, etc.)?

? How are potential students informed of the program in their parent schools?

? If a student is interested, did the parent school counselor contact the student's parents and arrange a meeting to discuss the benefits of enrolling their son or daughter in the program?

? Has the program met or exceeded the districts agreed upon criteria for success?

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Groundworkby F.M. Gann Copyright © 2011 by F.M. Gann. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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