Alternative schools are a subset of public schools designed to serve students with significant challenges whose needs often cannot be met in a typical school program. The odds are often stacked against young people enrolled in alternative education settings. Yet a recent report from the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools reveals some bright spots for students that attend alternative school campuses that operate as public charter schools.
The discussion featured alternative and public charter school experts, public charter authorizers, and public charter alternative education school practitioners who explored these schools’ role in the K-12 landscape and what their successes and challenges can teach the education community about developing success measures that reflect unique student contexts while maintaining high expectations.
Panelists shared lessons learned from public charter alternative education schools on creating flexible learning environments, including data on alternative school performance, ways to measure the success of schools designed to serve students on the margins, and how state policy can help ensure these schools can best serve these students while also navigating traditional accountability expectations. Learn from school leaders, researchers, and state policymakers who recognize there is no one-size-fits-all education and are undertaking impressive work to tailor public charter alternative schools to meet students’ specific needs.