Building Supportive School Environments for Alternative Education Youth

Abstract

This article reports findings from a study of an alternative educational program for at-risk secondary students, comparing student perceptions of their public school environment, measured upon intake in the alternative school, with their perceptions of the alternative school environment after four and eight months of attendance in the program. Student perceptions of teacher support in the alternative school environment were significantly more positive than their perceptions of the public school environment. Another purpose was to assess the relation between student perceptions of various aspects of the school environment with specific academic, behavioral, and socioemotional variables. The implications of these findings and future research inquiries are addressed.

Creating Communities of Support Within Alternative Settings: Perspectives of Practicing Alternative School Administrators

“…Several administrators noted positive interactions with adults and the smaller, family-like environment of their schools as being effective in serving the needs of individual students. The power of positive teacher-student relationships is present in the literature about alternative schools (i.e., Edgar-Smith & Palmer, 2015;Phillips, 2011;Quinn et al, 2006) and traditional schools (i.e., Guess & Bowling, 2014;Scott, Cooper, & Hirn, 2015), indicating the importance of supportive adults and the roles they play for all students.…”

“…Upon intake at an alternative school setting, researchers (Edgar-Smith & Palmer, 2015) measured students’ perceptions of their previous traditional school environment. Students’ perceptions were measured again at 4 and 8 months from within the alternative setting.…”

“…Students’ perceptions were measured again at 4 and 8 months from within the alternative setting. Edgar-Smith and Palmer (2015) reported the following findings: (1) students perceived teacher support as being higher at the alternative school than at the traditional school, (2) students carry negative assumptions and memories of failure with them, and (3) teacher-student relationships and a sense of belonging are important to students’ social-emotional learning (p. 139). Despite positive responses regarding school environment, Edgar-Smith and Palmer reported students’ reduced task orientation from intake to 8 months as an unexpected outcome in the study.…”

“…Extant literature about alternative school administrators creating a community among educational stakeholders provides a foundation for the conceptual framework in this article. This review includes the following topics derived from the literature: (1) status of students pushed out of traditional schools (Johnson, McMorris, & Kubik, 2012;Lehr et al, 2009;Selman, 2017;Souza, 2005;Tuck, 2012;Wilkerson et al, 2016), (2) students' perspectives of their own experiences in alternative school settings (Edgar-Smith & Palmer, 2015;Lagana-Riordan et al, 2011;Phillips, 2011;Quinn et al, 2006), and (3) alternative school administrators and personnel working together to provide necessary supports (Hallinger & Murphy, 2012;Mottaz, 2002;Patton, Parker, & Tannehill, 2015;Rivera-McCutchen, 2012). The following discussion may provide insights for educators who work with students considered at risk-potentially releasing the stigma attached to students' past negative experiences and providing supports necessary for their success.…”

Building Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Structures at an Alternative High School

“…Despite reasons for enrolling at an alternative high school, these settings may be the most conducive to offering a pathway to success for students with trauma, disruptive behaviors, and past disciplinary concerns (Edgar-Smith & Palmer, 2015;Simonson & Sugai, 2013). Raywid (2001) agreed there is a need for alternative programs to support students not thriving, and highlighted there is no single formula or model that can fully predict the needs of all unique students.…”