Great things

This is a thread for random wonderful things at your alternative school.

Such as: The jumping corner

If you've been through kindergarten, you know a large part of it is learning to sit and listen. In alternative schools we have a reputation for sitting as little as possible, but you do need to be able to have a meeting, read a story, or give field trip instructions. In my child's kindergarten class several years ago there was a little alcove created by some bookshelves for "getting your jumps out."

I like this idea for lots of reasons. For one thing, it recognizes that sitting still is not the goal, it just helps everybody to listen undistracted. For another, it is much more effective than the standard elementary tactic of taking recess away from the rowdies. Most of all, it teaches the kids how to manage their energy, to recognize when they need to take a break so they can come back and focus. As an example, my kid, at 8 or 9, was able to spend entire evenings playing cards with her grandparents by taking self-imposed "cartwheel breaks" when she needed them.

A new school year

Here is a thread to share stories about the beginning of the school year 2009-10. I've been waiting for something to happen, and it did. Today there was a classroom agreement on the kindergarten wall. This happens every year, in every classroom at our school, but since I'm back in kindergarten again, the moment has its magic.

Classroom agreements are consistent with the idea of shared decision-making and giving students some ownership of their educational journey. The class together decides on the kind of environment they need to feel safe, happy, and learn. Although they reach the same sort of "rules" a traditional teacher might hand down (take turns talking, listen respectfully, stay in your own space, etc.) they are in the words of the children, who have really given some thought to what guidelines are needed and why.

It does really change the dynamic. I've been in a classroom to see a teacher gesture at the agreement and say "remember what we decided about voices during [this kind of activity]?" It is a different thing an order or even a request to quiet down. The kids are nodding. They did decide.

A vision for all schools

Although I envision this blog for a lay audience, I am going to venture into school board policy now. The reason is that the answer to "what is an alternative school" is spelled out in a board policy adopted in 2006. The link is here.

This policy was a result of the alternative community getting together and working long and hard to describe what they held in common. It's very general, which I why I hope to flesh it out on this blog with real stories, but I think it's a valid and useful starting point.

Current district leadership is hesitant to really get behind the policy, in part because they say it is what should be the vision for all schools. We say great! We're approaching it in very real and sometimes different ways in our schools; come and see.

The policy, already an abbreviated distillation, can be further collapsed into 5 "bullet-points." I'm going to create 5 posts below to contain our stories that fill out the details.

My own observation is that while you hear some of these ideas on many kindergarten tours at SPS traditional schools, and may actually see some them in a classroom here and there, there will be very different things going on in the class next door. The difference is that in an Alternative school you have the entire school community working together to approach this vision.

I. Complete and personalized education

"Students, families and staff share and support the school’s philosophy, values, practices and mission to educate the "whole" child in a community based on a high degree of personalization. "

This is a thread to discuss how alternative schools are attempting to reach this goal.

II. Shared decision making

"Program design includes a shared decision making model."

This thread will show you what shared decision making looks like.

III. Alternative Assessment

"Utilization of alternative assessment, which meets district requirements, that is tailored to the individual student and avoids grades, marks or labels that compare and stratify students. "

Our ideal is no standardized testing! No self-fulfilling prophecies! Children learning as their natural development proceeds! And yes, we have ways to measure growth, described in this thread.

IV. Student-guided curriculum

"Curriculum is guided by the learning interests, strengths, style and needs of individual students."

Obviously there's a whole spectrum of possiblilties contained in this statement. Here is a place to talk about what is happening in your school

V. Social justice

"The program includes a focus on social justice and equity by actively recognizing the talents and hopes of all students and actively addresses issues of racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and other issues of discrimination.

"Reaching beyond MLK Day and Black History Month and making it last all year...read on.

2008-09 in Review

Now, while it's still fresh in our minds, let's talk about some of the great things that happened in our schools in the past school year.

I had a 5th grader this year, so the culminating project for the class was an appropriately big one: they wrote and performed an opera. The topic of their expedition (yearly focus) was children's rights, and this was the basis for the theme of the opera. The teacher used a program (maybe I can get a link for it from her later) in which the class formed a production company with departments (performers, writers, sets, costumes, makeup, lights, etc). The kids applied for jobs and each was "hired" for at least two, in different departments.

I still can't quite believe it; the kids wrote the story, the dialogue (I guess it was a hybrid opera/musical, because not everything was sung), the music, and the lyrics. I think almost all of the performers had at least some short solos, many were longer. The teacher had two artists-in-residence: an opera singer who coached the performers and a composer who coached the student composers. The teacher herself coached the writing (story, dialogue, lyrics.) And they didn't really get started until February...

I'll spare you the rave review and just mention two things that made an impression on me. First, the story was serious, relevant, and thought-provoking. Especially compared to "The Marriage of Figaro." Second, the looks on the kids faces at the end of their first performance - and it was all the kids, not just the half that were performers - I think they all had the sense of pulling off something that had at one time seemed impossible.

"Option" schools

So I've heard that the Alternative schools are now being called "Option" schools instead, when referred to by the District. Is this a choice specifically to re-brand them or is it a choice to start phasing them out?

How does it work for you/seem to you? I'm curious.

Why I chose alt

People end up participating in Alternative schools for many reasons. This thread is for people to recall what first brought their attention to Alternative education, and what attracted them, at the beginning. Many, like me, did not know much about it. I'll have other posts for what you learned, what you loved, etc. soon. Hopefully our recollections from a relatively naive viewpoint will serve as a nice introduction.

Welcome to the Seattle Alternative Schools Blog!

My primary purpose in starting this blog is to provide information to parents and community members, and to answer the question: what are Seattle’s Alternative Schools? I have met many parents who never considered an Alternative School simply because they didn't know what it meant. I would like to change this.

The short answer is that Alternative Schools in Seattle generally practice progressive, child-centered education. The short answer is inadequate both because you are still probably wondering what I mean, and because each school does this in a distinct way.

My knowledge is limited to Seattle Public Schools; I welcome postings about any schools you think should be highlighted here. In the Seattle Public School district, however, this is a very interesting time for alternative education. With the new student assignment plan in progress, we have been re-categorized as "option" schools, meaning we may, in many cases, become your one and only alternative (small a, no pun intended) if your neighborhood school doesn't fit your family as well as you'd like it to.

So, what better time to introduce ourselves! And of course, we're excited to have a chance to tell you about all the great things our wonderful children do in their wonderful schools!