Alternative School

Mission Statement

Under the auspices of the Fayette County Juvenile Court and Washington City School Districts, an alternative school for students in grades four through twelve has been established. The mission of the school is to make schools a better place for all students who have exhibited chronic or serious disruptive behaviors that hinder the teaching and learning process. This school will comply with all local, state, and federal guidelines.

We believe that all children can learn and have the right to receive their education in an environment devoid of others who would compromise the educational integrity of the classroom.

The school will serve identified youth for short periods to be determined by the home school or for longer periods as determined on a case-by-case basis.

The focus of the Alternative School will be to develop a more cooperative attitude in the students who then may be able to function appropriately within their home school's guidelines.

Each student will be required to participate in entry and exit interviews, attend school each and every day, receive referrals for behavioral or drug counseling as necessary, do all assigned work, behave accordingly to written guidelines, and develop career choice awareness.

Goals

  • To eliminate the chronic and serious behavior exhibited in the regular classroom where they pose a threat to the educational integrity and/or physical safety of others
  • To provide a discipline option to out-of-school suspension and expulsion
  • To provide students who strive to learn with an environment more conducive to learning without disruption of peers
  • To provide an appropriate education in a learning, therapeutic environment

Admission Criteria

Some students are unable to conform to and operate within the traditional school setting. They are usually non-achieving and their disruptions are counterproductive to the goals of the school. They establish patterns of class removals and suspensions and consume enormous amounts of the schools' time. There are other students who feel they socially do not fit into the school environment and, therefore, fail to attend school enough to be successful. As a result, students fall behind academically and need intensive intervention, which is not always available at the home school.

After numerous efforts by school administrators to resolve disruptive and/or uncooperative behaviors, students in grades four through twelve may be referred to the Alternative School by school administrators. These efforts should include consultations with parents, counselors, teachers, and others with vested interests in the student. A clear record of frequent school infractions and attempts to resolve them should be present prior to referral to the Alternative School.

The Judge of the Fayette County Juvenile Court also has the authority to order a juvenile under the Court's jurisdiction to attend the Alternative School.

Operation

The Alternative School will attempt to separate the younger students from the older ones as much as possible (by placing students in grades six through eight with one teacher and/or an aide and students in grades nine through twelve with a different teacher and / or aide in another area of the facility). Total enrollment should be no more than sixteen students. The school administrators will freely communicate with each other on the use of these slots. Students disruptive at the Alternative School may be referred to the Fayette County Juvenile Court.

Note: Total enrollment was adjusted during the 2019 to 2020 school year and is currently no more than eight students. Said adjustment was made pursuant to the COVID-19 pandemic. This number will remain until further notice.

To gain the full impact of the school program, students will be required to stay a minimum number of days to be determined by the home school. The length of stay will also be determined in part by the success experienced at the Alternative School. Exit interviews will be held to determine if students are ready to return to the home school. The school will be operated in a structured and disciplined manner with an equal emphasis on building rapport and relationships with the students. These techniques will hopefully be very motivational.

Programming

The program will stress education, along with other educational components such as opportunities for counseling, rehabilitation, career education, and chemical use awareness including drug/alcohol screening. Emphasis will be placed on preparing the student to pass the Ohio proficiency tests. Older students should be able to complete work preparing to pass the General Educational Development (GED) test. School assignments are provided by the home school so students may complete their work.