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Public alternative schools and programs are most common in school districts
with large enrollments, those in urban areas, and those in the Southeast.
Alternative schools and programs serve students who are at risk of dropping out of school
for any of a number of reasons, including poor grades, truancy, suspension, and
pregnancy (Paglin and Fager 1997). Concerns with
maintaining order and discipline in regular
schools, combined with a desire to provide such
at-risk students with alternatives to dropping out,
have increased interest in such schools and
programs. This indicator profiles the nation's public alternative schools and programs for at-risk
students.
1
In 2000–01, 39 percent of public school
districts had alternative schools and programs (see table 27-1), serving approximately 613,000 at-risk students (or about 1.3 percent
of all students enrolled in public elementary and
secondary schools) (see table 27-2)
in about 10,900 alternative schools and programs nationwide (see table 27-3).
Taken together, alternative schools and programs
were more common in large districts (those with
10,000 or more students) than smaller districts (those
with less than 9,999 students), in urban districts
than suburban or rural districts, and in
southeastern districts than districts in other
regions.
Enrollment in alternative schools and programs varied by district characteristics. Eight
percent of districts in the Northeast and 5 percent in
the Southeast enrolled more than 3 percent of
their students in alternative schools and
programs; however, 20 percent of districts in the
Central region and 23 percent of districts in the
West did so in 2000–01. Districts with the largest
percentages of children in poverty also were more likely than districts with the smallest
percentages of such children to enroll 3 percent or
more of their students in these schools and
programs (see table 27-2).
In addition to classes, many districts with
alternative schools and programs provide their students with various services, such as
academic counseling or preparation for their GED
exam. The great majority of such districts (91
percent) offered coursework for a regular high
school diploma, while roughly half (48 percent)
offered vocational or skills training in 2000–01
(see table 27-1).
1This analysis does not differentiate between these schools and programs. Districts with either a public alternative school or program are counted the same as districts with both. For this analysis, public alternative schools for at-risk students are publicly administered schools in facilities separate from regular schools; public alternative programs for at-risk students are programs offered within regular schools. These schools and programs do not serve special education students exclusively or serve short-term (2 weeks or less) in-house suspended students. Schools and programs not administered by a regular school district or in which the majority of students attended less than half of their instructional time are excluded. (back to text)
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