Schools should be spaces where students feel safe and welcome, actively engage with learning, and strive for success. Discipline policies and practices should reinforce these values, particularly safety and belonging. Unfortunately, ineffective discipline practices that punish students harshly and take them away from the classroom -- like…

This toolkit informs school leaders about the authorizing challenges they may confront, illustrates opportunities and options for school leaders to navigate the authorizing process, and shares useful frameworks for considering the benefits and trade-offs of these options. The toolkit contains the following sections: (1) Strategies &…

Last fall, researchers at Bellwether Education Partners began research on how standard authorizing practices could discourage or disadvantage charter schools with nontraditional models, such as dual language immersion, Montessori, and competency-based education models. Throughout the course of their research, the authors spoke to dozens of school…

COVID-19 exacerbated and brought attention to inequities long present in public education. Facing inconsistent access to learning over distance, students will leave this period with months of what's been called "lost learning." Short of repeating a full year, addressing these gaps presents a grave challenge for traditionally structured…

There are nearly 200 million lower and upper secondary age adolescent girls and boys out of school globally, and if current trends continue, another 825 million children will not acquire basic secondary-level skills by 2030. Global momentum to achieve universal primary education has placed increased demands on secondary education systems to serve…

This guide aims to help parents understand the flexibility provided to States and school districts in the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), which amended the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act," a landmark Federal education law. Parents are the most important advocates for their children. Because States and school…

The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) is committed to offering alternative educational opportunities to ensure student success, decrease the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate. Each of these opportunities includes a blend of Career Technical Education (CTE) and traditional core academic opportunities or a WVDE approved high…

North Carolina has embarked on an ambitious effort to improve its public schools. Career-and college-ready standards, high-quality assessments, and advanced technology are all part of this effort, and each plays an important role. No part of students' educational experience matters more than the teachers who facilitate their learning. North…

REL Pacific at McREL, 1 of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), serves educators in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Guam, Hawai'i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic…

The intent of this brief overview is to define and describe alternative education, specifically as it applies to youth workforce development professionals who must provide it under Workforce Investment Act (WIA) requirements. The Brief begins by describing the types of youth who may attend alternative programs, including students with behavioral…

Described are 10 models of educational programing for gifted students as they have been implemented by different school districts. The following program alternatives are discussed: learning centers; resource rooms (implemented with native American students in a sparsely populated area); itinerant teachers; mobile learning units; executive…

Based on site visits, phone calls, and reviews of descriptive literature, this guide examines more than 250 alternative college and university programs. Each listing provides basic information on affiliation, academic calendar, yearly fees, and enrollment. There is also a brief description of the school's physical environment and facilities,…

This paper offers solutions to the apathy, social disillusionment, absenteeism, and restlessness on the part of twelfth graders approaching graduation. First it discusses causes of "senioritis" and pinpoints those students most likely to be affected. Types of senior options include bypassing twelfth grade altogether, seventh semester graduation or…

Asserts that fostering an informed concern about the natural environment and instilling an environmental ethic is a collective enterprise in which families can and should share. Presents information on the SmogWatch program, a short course designed for adults and youngsters to investigate together the phenomenon of ground-level ozone, a key…

Described is an alternative secondary school program for adolescents with such problems as failure in school because of disinterest and drug abuse. Initial sections cover the school's development and major phases of the program (communication skills; instruction on the world, people, and ideas; involvement in the family and the community; and…