In an era of high-stakes testing and prescriptive teaching styles, a San Diego charter high school embraces project learning, multilevel classrooms, and video portfolios of student work. The school lacks dining, music, and athletic facilities, but features hefty teacher salaries, student freedom, and real-world problem solving. (MLH)

An alternative high school teacher examined whether her students could be motivated to achieve higher performance levels, testing a theory that performance would improve if students were asked to meet detailed standards rather than be rewarded for class attendance and assignment completion. The experiment had mixed results. (Author/SM)

Profiles the Psychoneurological Institute, a turn-of-the-century scientific education establishment. The Institute developed its own syllabi, introduced new courses, and waived tuition for low-income students. This freedom attracted scholars, students, and political controversy. After the 1917 Revolution the Institute became an accepted part of…

Using the Revised Behavioral Checklist, teachers rated at-risk adolescents from an urban alternative school. Researchers compared these students to normal and severely emotionally disturbed (SED) children in order to develop a definition of at-risk students. Results indicated that at-risk students differed significantly from normal children,…

Concerned that distance education programs do not provide education equivalent to that traditionally offered, the United States regional accrediting associations expanded their standards to include such specific concerns as the qualifications of faculty, preparation and delivery of courses, access to appropriate information resources, and…

The School of Hope (Pointe Coupee Parish Schools, Louisiana) opened in January 1996 in response to industry's needs for nonprofessional employees. Curriculum is provided by an integrated learning system--35 computers linked to mainframe--that allows students to work on individualized lessons at their own pace. Seventy percent of 120 students are…

Provides a descriptive an interpretive account of how an integrated online delivery and management system, Blackboard[TM], was used in a pre-service teacher training module. Traces the development of the module over a five year period, from a conventional mass lecture and tutorial approach to its current hybrid of online and onsite learning…

Analyzed data from the National Alternative High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey to determine the prevalence of substance use on school property. Males were more likely than females and white students more likely than black or Hispanic students to have used substances on school property. Results suggest improving strategies for reducing…

Overviews the development of a California homeschooling support group into a successful charter homeschooling program. Currently, the HomeBased Partnership has 72 enrolled children ages 5-14 and 3 staff members. The program encompasses 2 "open days," each 5 hours long, in which children of all ages meet with friends, use classroom…

Proposes the establishment of a Buddhist temple that would unite Zen practice and alternative education through the teaching of the six paramitas: giving, ethical discipline, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom. Children and adults would work together on social action projects, responsible use of material resources, noncoercive teaching and…

Forecasts for the future are made against the backdrop of population growth, environmental change, information technology, and globalization. Schools and teachers as we know them will change radically, perhaps become obsolete, as computers and the Internet enable access to information from anywhere, any time. Learning will become a life-long,…

Describes the impact of technology planning on students' and teachers' learning based on experiences at a high school in Texas that provides academic alternatives to at-risk students. Discusses collaboration among teachers, principals, and district administrators; teachers' professional development; the technology committee; staff development;…

Discusses the various definitions of home education and how the term can give rise to misinterpretations. Covers recent changes to legislation and policy relating to home education in some European countries, such as France and Ireland. Argues that governments should conduct well reasoned, objective research before considering measures to limit…

Women continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). One factor contributing to this underrepresentation is the graduate school experience. Graduate programs in STEM fields are constructed around assumptions that ignore the reality of women's lives; however, emerging opportunities may…

The focus is on strategies used by 10 urban districts to reduce school dropouts. Thirty-eight strategies for dropout prevention were identified. Although the majority identified dropout prevention strategies, only two districts referred to "recovery programs." If district spokespersons mentioned their CEOs using a systems approach in…