Alternative Education
Regional Alternative Education Projects

BACKGROUND
The 1993 General Assembly directed the Board of Education to establish and implement regional pilot projects to provide an educational alternative for certain students.

	The General Assembly provided funding to establish and maintain programs towards a goal of making regional alternative education programs available statewide. Today, there are 29 regional alternative education programs with 114 school divisions participating.
	No local matching funds are required.
	School divisions provide in-kind support for such items as instructional materials, additional staff, pupil transportation and facilities.
	A Department of Education formula based on staffing patterns and the composite index of local ability to pay determines funding.

TARGETED STUDENTS
Each project involves two or more school divisions working in collaboration to establish options for students who: 1) no longer have access to traditional school programs, or 2) are returning from juvenile correctional centers. Specifically targeted are those students who:

	have a pending violation of a school board policy,
	have been expelled or long term suspended, or,
	have been released from a juvenile correctional center and identified by the superintendent of the Department of Correctional Education and the program's local division superintendent to be in need of an alternative program.

	Alternative education programs are designed to meet the needs of students. While there is some variation in programs, all use best practices and provide for:
	1. annual assessment of placement; 2. intensive, accelerated instructional program, with high standards for academic achievement and student behavior; 3. low pupil-teacher ratio (average ratio is one teacher for every 10 students); 4. collaborative efforts with parents and the community; 5. program evaluation; and 6. staff development and training.
	The delivery of services ranges from classroom instruction to distance learning, from day and after school programs to evening programs.

	Educational (core subject instruction, vocational, remediation, tutoring)
	Counseling (individual, group, family)
	Social skills training
	Career counseling (work adjustment, job shadowing, mentoring, work/study agreements)
	Technology education (direct instruction, networking, Internet, research)
	Field trips
	Conflict resolution and mediation
	Drug prevention education

	Differentiated instruction
	Flexible scheduling
	Required dress code
	Small class size
	Use of behavior modification
	Computer-assisted instruction
	Use of conflict mediation strategies
	Hands-on assignments
	Students in specially designed settings
	Individual attention
	Parent/school/business/community partnerships

PROJECT DIRECTION
The Department of Education strives to provide continued opportunities for project directors to share best practices as well as concerns in order to build effective programs to meet the needs of students requiring alternative educational settings. Currently, directors submit annual evaluations and reports that are used to guide the future direction of the program. For additional information, please contact Diane L. Jay.