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.
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I personally think its a move to phase them out over time...
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that some of the other schools that are being lumped into this general 'Option' category are traditional, mainstream - eg Jane Addams K-8 ... why they are being called Option I dont know - what is so different about JA compared to other K-8 schools that are traditional, such as Broadview Thompson?
Alternative Schools have at least some sort of standing in the District validating their existence - Policy C54.00 and a Checklist for best practice against which to measure themselves and be measured by - hopefully that will be recognised and incorporated in the upcoming audit... other Option schools do not, or does the District now intend to apply that policy to them also? I dont see any evidence for that...
Rather, I think the opposite is happening.... by lumping all these schools together under the Option heading, I think the District is working its way towards an argument that C54.00 is superfluous and ought to be rescinded, and voila, it does away with a major thorn in its side....
At first, it seemed to me that "option" was a larger category that simply translated to "everything that's not an attendance area school." However, in the version of the SAP passed last week, voila, option schools are largely a list of alternative schools - Jane Addams being really the only exception- oh, and Madrona.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of what the district is intending, I have a suspicion that, with the implementation of the SAP, option schools, whatever they are, are going to get very popular. I like to think of this as an opportunity for us; initially it seemed like exposure and a little marketing was all we needed.
At this moment, with standardization and the increasingly widespread public sentiment against that, it seems that the most important thing may be to put up good fight against that, and demand for alternative programs will follow.
Option schools now include Cleveland (HS), as a "STEM" (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) school.
ReplyDeleteThis makes it even less clear why other content-specialization programs e.g. language immersion are not options.