All students must meet the federal No Child Left Behind standards even those who are homeless and endure domestic violence.
“Not all of our children live in an ideal environment,” said Sally Pelham, Anne Arundel school system?s assistant superintendent for strategic initiatives.
“The goal for alternative education is to keep kids in the least restrictive environment while still giving them the attention they need.”
Each year, around 3,000 public school students are enrolled in programs that offer an alternative setting to address academic, behavioral or emotional concerns with the goal of transitioning them to the regular schools. School officials estimate about 500 students in the county are homeless.
However, fewer programs exist for elementary school students than middle- and high-schoolers, officials say.
One possible solution for more elementary alternative options is creating a charter school through a partnership with Children?s Guild Inc., a Baltimore City-based nonprofit that provides special education, group living, treatment foster care and mental health services statewide for children with emotional issues.
If the system approves the nonprofit?s application for thecharter school, it could open in the 2009-10 school year, officials say.
Numerous options exist for older students, said Kathy Lane, the school system?s director of alternative education.
Middle-schoolers, for example, have J. Albert Adams Academy, an alternative education program for 120 six-, seventh- and eighth-graders.
In high school, students can attend evening schools at Glen Burnie, Northeast, South River, Meade, and Annapolis, as well as Mary E. Moss Academy, an alternative education program for about 80 ninth- and 10th-graders.
The benefit of having these programs is evident in the rise in graduation rates and decrease in dropout rates, Lane said.
Since the inception of the alternative education division in 2004-05, the graduation rate has risen from 83.35 percent to 86.44 percent in 2006-07. Dropout rates have reduced from 4.83 percent to 1.95 percent in 2006-07, Lane said.
The Children?s Guild could not be reached for comment.
