This qualitative study analyzes the effects that RENEW, a person-centered goal planning model, has on students with disabilities that are in an alternative school setting. Students in sixth through twelfth grade participated in this study to determine if RENEW can affect students' awareness of post-secondary options and assist with post-high…

A Midwestern state allocated grant funding to encourage more accessible alternative programming at the middle level. Seventeen schools were approved for this grant and used the funds to supplement the operation of a new or existing program. This study provides policymakers and educators with an overview of the various types of alternative middle…

Positive behavior support (PBS) is a preventative and proactive system of managing behavior that is being used in the United States and other countries. Positive behavior support has been successfully implemented in typical school settings for students with and without disabilities. However, research documenting the implementation and effects of…

This study presents the findings related to the use of homebound instruction as a special education service model and to the practices and perceptions of service providers in the areas of personal effectiveness, model effectiveness, and administrator support. A self-administered survey was distributed to a national sample of 484 educators from two…

Many factors cause student disengagement from school that subsequently result in high dropout rates. Alternative education (AE) programs provide a different pathway for at-risk youths who do not meet the goals, standards, and requirements of traditional educational settings. However, educational agencies have vastly different interpretations…

Campus Mentors is a unique new partnership between a school district and a local university created to benefit both pre-service teachers and students at risk. The model is an on-campus alternative school targeting youth at risk. It is effective, cost-efficient, and mutually beneficial. Data collected over three years indicate a positive impact on…

This qualitative study analyzed two alternative-to-expulsion programs for high school students. Both programs, the "Learning with Peers Program" and the "Individualized Online Program", offered students an opportunity to earn credits rather than be expelled, but their philosophies presented an educational dichotomy: Should…

In June 2007, the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the College Ready School Diagnostic, a web-based diagnostic instrument. The purpose of this tool is to provide individual school profiles and customized recommendations, enabling each institution to make…

The effectiveness of a comprehensive intervention like Re-ED (Reeducation of Emotional Disturbed Children) requires a clear definition of the essential components of the model. This article describes an ongoing process to create a program assessment tool for Re-ED. Program fidelity requires being able to specify precisely what is meant by certain…

This report examines the need for alternative education programs in Virginia, submits a plan and an estimate for funding, and reports findings and recommendations. The project team developed an implementation plan that identified five major objectives: (1) provide budget recommendations and estimates for Alternative Education at the state and…

The methodological difficulty of evaluating alternative programs in specific, measurable terms is described. Based on an alternative program at Talawanda High School in Oxford, Ohio, the writer attempted to develop a model for evaluating an alternative program. The following evaluation procedures were selected: (1) attendance and grades prior to…

Examines theories of specific, nonspecific, and metaphoric transfer of learning and outlines 10 factors and techniques to assist adventure educators in linking challenging experiences to students' future learning. (LFL)

Argues that alternative education can promote excellence and high expectations within a nontraditional school setting, with educators rethinking key assumptions, and using a progressive education model with problem solving as a central feature. (SR)

Describes Alternative Education program coordinated by a juvenile probation department providing tutorial instruction by university students to secondary school students who have been referred through the juvenile court for minor delinquency and/or truancy. Discusses benefits which include providing an option for school districts for chronic…

A study was conducted to describe the use of study centers and study center networks as a support system in distance education in Australia. Information was obtained by interviewing students, tutors, and coordinators of study centers within four distance-education systems. The University of Queensland, the Riverina College of Advanced Education,…