Reflection #2

As a candidate for the position to revise the district's alternative education program, let me detail some of the ideas I have acquired during my time as a teacher. First, let me be up front and honest about the fact that I have no formal experience with alternative education. I have done some research and determined that alternative education should consist of a program geared to those individuals that experience academic struggles, and due to these struggles have developed severe patterns of disruptive behavior. The disruptive behavior may include but is not limited to physical altercations, insubordination, and truancy. In my opinion, an alternative program does not look like that of a regular daytime program. An alternative program needs to focus first on the behavior and emotional support, and then the academic piece. This is not to say that one is more important than the other. Studies have shown that academic intelligence and capabilities alone have not been found to be the sole key of successful social integration. Social skills, interpersonal skills and social-emotional characteristics have been found to be just as crucial. Throughout the research I have done, the word trust comes up a great deal. The alternative program should begin by focusing on trust. In order for this to occur, trust must start with the staff. The faculty must believe that the students will and are able to succeed. This confidence will flow onto the students and begin to change their attitudes and mentality towards education. As the teachers exude patience, and display a caring attitude, the students will begin to gain trust in the teachers and establish better relationships with the teachers. These relationships will ultimately make classroom management easier and allow the teacher to focus more on the academic requirements for the students. Teachers must create lessons that are more engaging to the students, and focus on individual student needs. Ideally, classrooms would be smaller allowing for the time teachers need to differentiate the instruction. Instruction should also attach education to real-world experience. This will help the engagement aspect of the curriculum.

All across the country, there are several examples of successful alternative education programs. The Centennial School in Pennsylvania has become a model for day-treatment programs. This school uses research-based practices to match curriculum to student's level, analysis of student error patterns, active engagement, and they make connections between learning and the student's world. Also, in Pennsylvania, the creation of a Twilight Academy has become very successful. This school is much different from traditional day programs. The hours of the school is three in the afternoon until seven in the evening. This school has four teachers and limits their enrollment to 60 students. It keeps the class sizes to a maximum of 15 students. The students follow a computer based curriculum that helps the teacher differentiate the learning for each individual student. The students are also exposed to job opportunities during the day, and group counseling sessions at school. The school's success was based on the fact that 11 of the 12 students eligible to graduate meet their requirements, and the following year their was a waiting list for students to be enrolled in the Twilight Academy. The teachers involved in this program also gained a great deal of personal and professional success as well. Overall, this program does need to be modified and improved, but this another example of a successful alternative education program.

If chosen to revise the alternative education program, there are several components I will strive to meet in order to make the program successful. First, I want to make sure that we have the support we need in order to run an effective program. The support has to come from the top. We will need school board support, district support and teacher support. Without the support, our resources could be limited and ultimately effect the results of the program. Their support will be necessary for long-term implementation as well. We will also need teachers and administrators who believe that the program and the students can succeed. This not a program designed to institutionalize troubled kids. This will be a program to give troubled students every opportunity to succeed. The teachers will also need to be creative and willing to diversify their teaching practices. The bottom line is that this will not be a program where students are banished and never heard from again. This is a program that if funded and supported properly could change not only the lives these students, but could improve the community as well.