Alternative high school

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For the Calgary school, see Alternative High School (Calgary).

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Alternative school. (Discuss)

Great Neck Village School, an alternative high school in Great Neck, New York in the United States

In education, the phrase alternative high school, sometimes referred to as a minischool, or remedial school, is any public or private secondary school having a special curriculum offering a more flexible program of study than a traditional school. Many such schools were founded in the 1970's as an alternative to traditional classroom structure.^[1] A wide range of philosophies and teaching methods are offered by alternative high schools; some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, while others are more ad-hoc assemblies of teachers and students dissatisfied with some aspect of traditional education.

Generally an alternative high school serves as an extension to a larger traditional privately or publicly-run secondary school. They generally function as stand-alone schools, or in the case of minischools, as a "school within a school", where they physically operate within the walls of the larger school.

Sometimes, particularly in the United States, the phrase alternative high school can refer to a school which practices alternative education. This is a much broader use of the term, covering all forms of non-traditional educational methods and philosophies, including school choice, independent school, homeschooling, and alternative high school. However, even the narrower usage of the term may refer to a range of school type such as a school with an innovative and flexible cirriculum aimed at bright, self-motivated students; a school intended to accomodate students with behavioral problems; or a school with special remedial programs.^[2]

1 See also
2 References
3 External links
4 Further reading
5 Resources

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ "Alternative Schools Adapt," by Fannie Weinstein. The New York Times, June 8, 1986, section A page 14.
^ "Changing Perspectives on Alternative Schooling for Children and Adolescents With Challenging Behavior," Robert A. Gable et al. Preventing School Failure, Fall 2006. Volume 51, Issue 1, page 5.