Monthly Newsletter

September, 2009

Inside the Alternative School (Part One)

       When people think of alternative schools, oftentimes their first thoughts are guided by what they have seen on television. Few movies or shows devote much time to the subject, and so we have in our minds Sean Penn in Bad Boys, the young toughs from the old Scared Straight programs, or maybe the Sweathogs from Welcome Back, Kotter. In each scenario we see teens who are tough, street smart,  delinquent, not-too bright, and likely to be on the road to jail or failure.

     Our personal experience with alternative schools may be limited or non-existent; therefore, we form our perceptions from Hollywood stereotypes, rumors we have heard here and there, and what our active imaginations can create on their own.  From my own experience as an alternative school principal, I can share some of the common remarks I hear from parents and other adults in the community:

  • My child is not going to that alternative school. It is full of gangsters and drug dealers
  • My child does not belong with all those bad kids in the alternative school
  • You work at the alternative school? I hope you get combat pay!
  • I bet your job never has a dull moment

     The list could not go on, but the general idea is the same. The common view of alternative school is often that it is one step below the state prison. Sadly, I have visited schools where that is a pretty fair statement, but the majority of alternative schools are some of the best kept secrets in their school district.

     DCAC serves children who have received long term suspensions from their home schools and students who have been expelled and assigned to DCAC before they can return to their home schools. The prescribed stay is six weeks; this varies greatly from the average alternative school that holds a student for a semester or more. DCAC is designed as a behavioral intervention rather than a holding institution for expelled students.

     The DCAC program is a highly structured system that teaches students the behavioral skills and decision-making models that they need to be successful at their home schools. Students know from day one precisely what is required for their successful completion of the program. New students see the first morning that they enter DCAC that they are expected to know and abide by all rules, and they quickly learn that adherence to these guidelines is their quickest ticket back to their home schools. 

Just as in life, there are rewards for meeting expectations, and there are consequences for failing to do so.