SISI - Standards and Indicators

Standard 1 - Academic Performance - Curriculum
1.1a There is evidence that the curriculum is aligned with Academic Expectations, Core Content for Assessment, Transformations,and the Program of Studies.
1.1c The district initiates and facilitates discussions between schools in the schools in the district in order to eliminate unnecessary overlaps and close gaps.
1.1e The school curriculum provides specific links to continuing education,life,and career options.
1.1g The curriculum provides access to a common academic core for all students.

Standard 2 - Academic Performance - Assessment
2.1a Classrooms assessments of student learning are frequent, rigorous and aligned with Kentucky's core content.
2.1b. Teachers collaborate in the design of authentic assessment tasks aligned with core content subject matter.
2.1 e Multiple assessments are specifically designed to provide meaningful feed back on student learning for instructions purposes.
2.1 f performance standards are clearly communicated, evident in classrooms and observable in student work.

Standard 3 - Academic Performance - Instruction
3.1a There is evidence that effective and varied instructions strategies are used in all classrooms.
3.1c Instructional strategies and activities are consistently monitored and aligned with the changing needs of a diverse student populations to ensure various learning approaches and learning styles are addressed.
3.1e There is evidence that teachers incorporate the use of technology in their classroom.
3.1 g Teachers examine and discuss student work collaborativly and use this informaiton to inform their practice.

Standard 4 - Learning Environment - School Culture
4.1a There is leadership support for a safe, orderly, and equitable learning environment (eg., culture audits/school opinion surveys).
4.1c Teachers hold high expectations for all students academically and behaviorally, and this is evidenced in their practice.
4.1g Teachers communicate regularly with families about individual students' progress (eg.,engage through conversation).
4.1h There is evidence that the teachers and staff care about students and inspire their best efforts.
4.1i Multiple Communication strategies and contexts are used for the dissemination of information to all stakeholders.

Standard 5 - Learning Environment - Student,Family, Community Support
5.1a Families and the community are active partners in the educational process and work together with the school/district staff to promote programs and services for all students.
5.1c School/distrct provides organizational structures and supports instructional practices to reduce barriers to learning.

Standard 6 - Professional Development
6.1e Professional development is on-going and job-embedded.

Standard 7 - Leadership
7.1a Leadership has developed and sustained a shared vision.
7.1d There is evidence that the school/district leadership team disaggregates data for use in meeting the needs of a diverse population, communicates the information to school staff and incorporates the data systematically into the school's plan.
7.1e Leadership ensures all instructional staff has acess to curriculum related materials and the training necessary to use curricular and data resources relating to the learning goals for Kentucky public schoolc.
7.1f Leadership ensures that time is protected and allocated to focus on curricular and instructional issues.

Standard 8 - Organizational Structure and Resources
8.1a There is evidence tht the school is organized to maximize the use of all alvailable resources to support high student and staff performance.
8.1d There is evidence that staff makes efficient use of instructional time to maximize student learning.

Scenario

Matthew is a 15 years old, white Caucasian male. He is presently wondering how to fill his days since he’s been expelled. School has offered him a teacher for 2 hours a week and given him ‘lots’ of independent work in 5 subject areas to complete and turn in. He doesn’t know why they bother, he’s not getting credit for it anyway. He isn’t like the other kids, he doesn’t understand why the teacher kept at him, in his face when he was just being honest with him, too honest. They called it an assault, he knows he just pushed his teacher away to defend himself. Now he’s out of school and struggling to learn from books about things he doesn’t want to study. Besides that pressure, he does like it at home better than at school where the teachers harass him for not finishing his work. He sometimes misses the kids, even though he often argued with them and was told to “shut up”. He loves to hunt in the morning, or just sit in the woods where it’s peaceful. Anyway, his mother will write him an excuse for not getting his homework done, she always does.

Matthew is at-risk of dropping out of school! Pro-active alternative education for at-risk high school youth can often prevent the need for suspension and expulsion.

Introduction

The profile presented by Matthew’s scenario is all too familiar. The 2000-2001 Kentucky Safe School data reports that 199 youth were expelled from school and given some level of education services during expulsion. During this same year 47 were expelled and not given any education services. (see www.kysafeschools.org/ This site is rich in resources for safe and drug free schools as well as alternative education best and promising practices.) Matthew’s case scenario prompts some basic questions:

• Is there a question of special education needs?
• Are there other alternatives for Matthew during his expulsion period that would assist in preventing him from dropping out of school?
• What alternative strategies can be best employed to keep Matthew in school once he returns?
• Are intensive interventions (wraparound services) necessary to provide the strength based programming in home and community needed for Matthew’s success?

Barr & Parrett (1997) reported that through alternative education programs the at-risk students achieve more than they did in their previous school, have more positive attitudes, improved self esteem, better attendance, less drop outs, and decreased violent and disruptive behaviors. In general alternative education programs better meet at-risk youth’s academic, behavioral, and social needs. See Alternative Education (Kentucky) resource guide (revised 2001: http://www.kde.state.ky.us/odss/family/dropout.asp Provides alternative education standards, characteristics, methods and strategies for alternative educators). A state law passed in 1998 requires school districts to provide alternative programs so that expelled students can continue their education. School boards that expel a student must provide educational services in an alternative program unless there is ''clear and convincing evidence'' that the student is a threat to the safety of others or cannot be placed in a state-funded agency program.

Those cases usually involve weapons, drugs or a severe assault. In Matthew’s case, he was offered limited educational services at an alternative setting. Alternative settings in Kentucky are:

• court placement in residential treatment programs,
•  homebound
• day treatments
• school within a school
• alternative schools
• reporting centers
•  Saturday school
• individualized programs within a GED/vocational/technical school setting, and
• private provider alternatives

 Robert Barr and William Parrett in Hope Fulfilled for At-Risk Youth (2001) believe that High School is the final battleground for at-risk youth. By the time an at-risk youth gets to high school level they are often filled with humiliation and rage from the “blows” that school has dealt them, their unique learning styles and their failure in the social arenas of their lives. Traditional schooling or not, if an at-risk adolescent is still in school at age fifteen, he or she most likely has some internal or external assets which have supported them continuing. ( http://www.search-institute.org/assets/ Provides researcher with current research on assets for achieving success in home, school, and community). Alternative public schools may be the most important at-risk program at the high school level. Through the establishment of an asset based, differentiated curriculum and caring relationships, it is possible to create an environment that will serve as a surrogate family for our at-risk youth where an education becomes more important than “schooling” (Gatto, 1991). By using both prevention and intervention alternative methods of educating our youth at-risk, we reduce the risk of them dropping out of school while setting the stage for future of independent and interdependent living. Let us look at some best practice strategies that address Matthew’s specific needs and develop some differentiated, alternative courses of action.

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Strategies

Matthew’s presenting issues must dictate a course of action in order to:

A. Rule out special needs (assessment). The Kentucky Center for School Safety in partnership with KY Department of Education, Division of Student, Family, and Community Support Systems recommends using the 703 KAR 5:130 Standards and Indicators (2001) together with KDE’s Alternative Education Program Resource Guide to evaluate all Alternative programs (KDE, Division of Student, Family, and Community Support Services, 2001). These documents help to assess the setting as well as the individual youth.

KDE has Standards and Indicators for School Improvement (SISI) for alternative schools which  provide additional direction for alternative settings as follows:

Standard 1 (Curriculum)

•  High quality academic instruction, small interactive groups, and direct response of students. Curriculum selection and use are dependent on grade level, functional level, performance level, learning styles, multiple intelligences, emotional intelligences, and behavior management needs.

Standard 2 (assessment)

• Individualized behavioral interventions are based on functional behavioral assessment to identify causes of behavior, persistence and replacement of behaviors, student interviews and involvement and the use of multi-component interventions that influence student learning.

Standard 3 (Instruction)

• High quality academic instruction includes individual student instruction and learning strategies. 
•  Highly structured classrooms with behavioral management provides student with self management skill instruction.
• High quality diagnostic instruction that has value, meaning and relevance for students.

Standard 4, (Culture)

• Low ratio of student to teachers offers more personal time, better behavioral gains, and higher quality instruction.
• Highly structured classrooms with behavior management provide opportunities for high rates of positive reinforcement.
• Positive rather than punitive emphasis in behavior management that offers reward for acceptable behavior and compliance.

Standard 5 (Student, Family, and Community Support)

• Highly structured classrooms with behavioral management that provides level systems and predictable structure
• Positive rather than punitive emphasis
• Adult mentors • Counseling, social services and health assistance are available.

 Standard 6(Professional Growth, Development and Evaluation)

• Staff is given opportunities to develop high quality skills.
• Staff use student needs assessment data to identify interventions and outcomes
• Professional Development includes training in behavior management, assessment, mentorship social skill instruction, and academic performance.

 Standard 7 (Leadership)

•  Leadership works collaboratively with staff, students, parents and families to develop implement, and evaluate program involvement and effectiveness. 
•  Leadership reinforces the program mission, beliefs, goals, rules, and routines.
• Leadership regulates, establishes, and interprets policy, procedures and guidelines, following up on all issues in a positive climate. •

Standard 8 (Organizational Structure and Resources)

• Emphasis on high quality academic instruction to measure student gains, behavioral gains, student outcomes.

 Standard 9 (Comprehensive/Effective Planning)

• Program is defined, adhere to KRS and KAR 
•  Program is effective, therapeutic, and integrated
• Best practice is evident 
•  Resources are identified
• Career preparation exists
• Collaboration and integration exists
• A Safety Crisis Mgt. Plan exists.

In addition to the above standards and indicators, schools can effectively create a learning environment by using The United States Department of Education, Safe and Drug Free Schools recommendations identified as the Principles of Effectiveness. (http://www.kysafeschools.org/clear/sdfsc.html Provides the reader with a detailed explanation of the Principles of Effectiveness as well as current articles and state and national data regarding safe and drug free schools.) In brief the Principles of Effectiveness are:

•  Base programming on a thorough assessment of objective data about the drug and violence problems in the schools and communities served. Schools are encouraged to build upon existing data collection efforts and examine available objective data from a variety of sources, including law enforcement and public health officials.
• Design activities to meet measurable goals and objectives for drug and violence prevention. School districts shall develop goals and objectives that focus on program outcomes, as well as program implementation
• Design and implement their activities based on research or evaluation that provides evidence that the strategies used prevent or reduce drug use, violence or disruptive behavior among youth.
• Evaluate programs periodically to assess the progress toward achieving set forth goals and objectives, and use the evaluation results to refine, improve, and strengthen the program, and to refine the goals and objectives as appropriate.

 B. Provide a structured, asset based, differentiated curriculum in an alternative setting(s) (best practice and promising practice alternatives). The Kentucky Center for School Safety has identified criteria which exemplify Best Practices and Successful Programs. (http://kysafeschools.org/clear/best.html This site provides a wealth of information provided by the Ky Center for School Safety, EKU, Richmond, KY, on KY safe and drug free school data, best practice, alternative schools in KY, training, and state and national resources.)

In brief, the universal, targeted and intensive strategies are:

Universal intervention strategies focus on enhancing existing protective factors in schools and communities and are intended to prevent individuals from falling into risk. Such interventions are applied to all individuals in a population (e.g., all students in a school building) through the efforts of all staff.

Targeted intervention involves activities that provide support within the school setting such as mentoring, skill development, and assistance to individuals who, because of their demographic or behavioral characteristics (e.g., poverty, history of disruptive behavior), are at risk. The purpose of targeted intervention strategies is to prevent further occurrences of problem behavior and/or negative coping strategies. These interventions focus on specific problems of individuals for whom universal intervention strategies have not been effective within the school setting itself.

Intensive intervention targets individuals with serious problems and attempts to minimize the effects of their condition within daily functioning. These strategies typically include the involvement and coordination of the educational setting with outside agencies that provide for coordinated planning of multi-agency involvement.

Best and promising practice efforts at all three of the above levels of intervention address:

• diversity and differentiation,
• real work
• real learning
• meaningful participation in the school and community,
• and physical activity

Each of these are described in detail, below:

Diversity and Differentiation To make matters more complex, youth have extremely differing learning styles which differentiate their needs even more. Further,gender, race, culture, and socio-economic status provide additional filters for taking in new information.

While maintaining a regimented standard of education, such as Kentucky Education Reform Act Program of Studies, effective high schools must adopt a philosophy of differentiation (Tomlinson, C., 2000). Too often we hear teachers say they can not teach to Kentucky’s Core Content because their students can’t possibly learn at that high level. Differentiation and diversity must help us take curriculum and instruction to a higher level focusing on the understanding and skills of a given discipline, causing youth to consider important, profound ideas, call on them to use or generalize what they learn in important, meaningful ways, help students make sense of what they’ve learned and link it to their world and the “wider” world. Curriculum tells us what to teach, respect for diversity and differentiation tells us how. Schools that address differentiation must participate in ongoing intervention based assessment.

 Intervention Based Assessment (IBA) is designed to develop strategies that allow students with academic and/or behavioral problems to remain in an inclusive setting. IBA teams are composed of educators, parents, students, and community representatives. The Team provides a structure for a collaborative, problem-solving approach to designing, implementing, and evaluating academic and behavioral interventions for individual and group academic and/or behavioral problems. Interventions that are implemented are based upon Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. Preliminary results of effectiveness of the Intervention Based Assessment approach (OH Office of Special Education) indicate that the program reduces the number of referrals for special education, and increases services/accommodations to at-risk students within the regular education and alternative settings.

Obstacles to IBA are time and buy in from all participants. It requires ongoing monitoring with respect to diversity and differentiation. For more information on this collaborative approach contact: Dr. James Harvey, Supervisor of Psychological Services, Cleveland Public Schools, Pupil Personnel. Telephone: (216) 523-8498.

Positive Behavioral Support based on universal, targeted, and intensive levels of intervention are needed following effective intervention based assessment. Levels of intervention beyond school wide (universal) are often needed when considering targeted or intensive at-risk youth such as Matthew. Targeted, more differentiated approaches would address Matthew’s specific strengths such as love for the outdoors and solitude, hands on learning style and identified skills and abilities and challenges such as anger management, extreme denial and manipulation, cutting classes, and adult and peer relationships. For more information on Positive Behavioral Support contact: Toyah Robey, Kentucky Department of Education, behavioral consultant at 502-564-4970 or Shannon Means, Ky Center for School Safety, Assistant Director at 877-805-4277.

Referral to outside agencies and care providers for wraparound services (both in and out of school) may also be needed. Intensive, direct intervention strategies would address Matthew’s need for home and community support, collaborating regularly with wraparound services to maximize success. Kentucky has demonstrated some mental health intervention success with the Bridges program, a collaborative between the KY Cabinet for Health Services, Department for Mental Health and Mental Retardation and individual Kentucky School Districts. The major goals of the project are to redesign and enhance our existing system of care through: service expansion, school-based partnership, parent/family involvement, system level improvement, and training/education opportunities. Bridges is expanding the Kentucky system of care by placing Student Service Teams in schools. For learn more about Bridges contact Beth Armstrong, at the Department for Mental Health, Mental Retardation at 502-564-4448 Extension 4513.

Family Resource Services and Youth Service Centers are also available to assist schools in collaborative programming for targeted and intensive level youth. Youth Services Centers serve children over twelve years of age. The core components are:

• Referrals to health and social services
• Employment counseling, training and placement
• Summer and part time job development
• Drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and
•  Family crisis and mental health counseling.

For additional information about the Kentucky FRYSC initiative, please contact Dr. Robert D. Goodlett, Executive Director, Office of FRYSC at (502) 564-4986, or write to: Office of Family Resource and Youth Services Centers, Cabinet for Families and Children, 275 East Main Street, 3C-G, Frankfort, Kentucky 40621, or (http://cfc.state.ky.us/frysc/ Presents all the services and collaborative efforts of this Office).

Real work  Flexible block scheduling helps educators personalize curriculum and meet a child’s diverse or differentiated needs. The utilization of cross-disciplinary teaching, field trips, career education, and cooperative learning could all take place during a 90 to 150 minute time block, inviting in collaborators and exploring outside real world initiatives. Effective High schools develop real world, functional activities, mini courses, and exploratory courses in keep abreast with the diversity and interests of the students.

Effective programs incorporate intramural and inter-school sports programs for coed, stressing assets regardless of gender, race, special needs, etc. Programs that provide avenues for individual interests and identification with positive role models and heroes are effective in helping youth identify their personal aptitude, interests, and values. Youth can find their individuality while developing their social and vocational skills and career pathway through service learning projects. Search Institute provides educators with an easy way to help youth understand which behaviors they participate in are character building and which are detrimental to a positive life style.

Cross discipline and multi-level courses encourage personal growth, values and character development and self definition. Project Based Learning where career aptitude and interests are well defined and developed based on assets of individuals, demonstrating that together we make a difference is seen most vividly in the Habitat for Humanities project. This model is ideal for replication at a school or community level. (http://www.lexhabitat.org a snapshot of what a Lexington Kentucky’s Habitat Chapter can provide communities) 

 Real learning (Competence and achievement) It is most important that schools keep in mind that formal education must be the door to life long learning, not the end to end all schooling for an individual. In high school educators are involved in teaching content and meeting curriculum standards and see the diverse or differentiated learner as one with special needs, or challenged learners. Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock (2001) identified categories of instructional strategies that affect student achievement. By using what works as how to teach, educators can continue to teach content and learning strategies to youth at a grade level expectation. Marzano, Pickering and Pollock found the following categories to be most effective for teaching youth.

1. Teach youth through identifying similarities and differences (45%ile gain). 
2.  Teach youth to summarize and take notes (34%ile gain).
3.  Reinforce youth’s efforts and provide ongoing meaning recognition (29%ile gain).
4. Give youth meaningful, reinforcing homework and real life practice which helps to generalize skills learned (28%ile gain).
5.  Allow youth to demonstrate their learning in nonlinguistic representations (27%ile gain). 
6.  Encourage cooperative learning groups that are cross aged and transitional in nature, where outcomes of the group are clear and responsibilities for individual input is based on aptitude, interest and need (27%ile gain). 
7.  Teach youth to set their personal learning objectives and test hypotheses (23%ile gain).
8. Teach youth to brainstorm and generate and test their own and group hypotheses (23%ile gain). 
9.  Teach youth to ask questions, to understand and use cueing and advance organizers (22%ile gain).

Adolescents must continue seeing academic and social experiences as essential to building confidence and self-esteem which allow for life long growth.

Meaningful participation in the school and community Youth learn responsibility by being given responsibility. Middle school youth need opportunities to begin practicing adult roles moving toward independence. These new roles while increasing a youth’s ability to think abstractly and critically help them to explore possible careers, affirm assets and abilities and validate their ability to problem solve.

Effective high schools weave service learning or community service projects into their curriculum. Opportunities abound for youth to participate in peer teaching, peer mentoring, cross-age tutoring and community service learning. For more information how to receive training on this effective practice contact Joan Howard, Service Learning consultant Kentucky Department of Education at 564-3678 and your local county 4-H extension office.

Great love and great achievement require great risks (Einstein). Most high schoolers learn from experimentation and exploration, pushing social, sexual and physical limits,and taking risks. Research shows that youth can most often be involved in crime, drugs, violence, gangs, and other antisocial behavior during out-of-school time, especially between the hours of 3 to 6 P.M. Community Youth Programs are vitally important in helping young adolescents develop personal external and internal assets in a safe, positive, learning environment. Kentucky is calling on these supportive out-of-school programs to partner with schools which have been identified as school-wide Title I schools in making a difference for our at-risk youth. Federal dollars have been set aside through a 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant. For further detail contact Karen Schmalbauer, Division of Family, Student, and Community Support Manager, Kentucky Department of Education at 502-564-3678.

By high school the alternative partners with Community are more vocationally focused. It is imperative that participation is based on skills and abilities and choice rather than mandatory participation. Such alternatives such as 4-H, Future Farmers, Future Homemakers, business related juvenile incentive programs and supplemental high adventure programs foster relationships, career pathway development, and avocational life long interests. LINK TO High School: MENTORING, EARLY INTERVENTION, STUDENT SUPPORT/ENGAGEMENT

 Flexible block scheduling, a cross curriculum core, and organizational smallness can provide the means for developing adult/youth and peer social relationships as well as optimizing individual academic learning. Effective high schools engage in such programs as peer counseling, teacher and peer mentorships, social skill issues groups, both during school hours and before and after school. Today, more than ever, there exists a need for at-risk youth to have correct information on sexuality, drug and alcohol use and abuse, functional families, conflict resolution, and law and gender related issues. Effective high schools weave these topics into and across disciplines where both adult directed and peer directed instruction is allowed. Some of the alternative schools in Kentucky have received intensive professional development in and implemented the Discovery Learning Program. The Discovery Learning Program is published by Sopris West and designed for middle and high school students. It is grounded in values of mutual respect, sensitivity, faith in student potential, and high expectation for positive change. Activities ranging from a team-building rope exercise to a course in substance abuse - support the program’s goal to engender caring, sensitive, and responsible young people. The program is comprised of six sequential units: Effective Group Skills and Team Building, Anger Management, Transactional Analysis, Assertiveness Training, Problem Solving, and Conflict Resolution. The goal is to assist the youth and the school community in developing positive social relations with adults and peers. For more information and training contact: Dr. Bill Webb, Cropper Alternative School, Shelby County, Kentucky at: 502-461-7540.

Best practice suggests that treatment issues noted above can be also be effectively addressed through sound educational practice driven by vocational and avocational interests. Kentucky requires 14-year-old students to participate in a vocational interest evaluation and follow up with a vocationally directed Individual Graduation Plan. The typical at-risk youth who is in a public alternative school setting is neither given opportunities to develop a personal career pathway nor engage in meaningful vocational related activities. The Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice Education Branch developed and is in the process of publishing the Work Adjustment Model: Teaching to Transition. For a working copy and following up training please contact: Dr. Thecla Helmbrecht Howard at 502-376-4367 or Teresa Page, Vocational Consultant at Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice at 502-573-4327. The Work Adjustment Model stresses the development of a collaborative teaching community based on vocational aptitude and interest and the concepts of adult and peer mentorship in a collaborative teaching community.

Physical activity  Expeditionary programs such as Outward Bound was founded on the belief that at-risk youth learn more by doing and that emotions are the foundation of learning. This model focuses on action learning, teamwork, personal and group challenges and individual research on student performance (Herman, R., 1999). Many of our alternative programs in Kentucky have adopted this conceptual framework to a certain degree. Through the use of Ropes and Challenge Courses directed by certified challenge instructors, experiential learning is utilized to assist a school in developing such attributes as team-work and group trust. The school then incorporates this initial experience into their everyday curriculum through follow up activities. The Buckhorn Program, a Presbyterian owned alternative treatment setting in Buckhorn Kentucky uses the reality of daily expeditionary learning across all disciplines and curriculum standards. Youth come to Buckhorn for an intense 90 day wilderness experience where education is aligned with treatment goals during expeditionary experiences. For more on this unique program and its outcome measures contact: Mr. Joe Purvis, Buckhorn Children’s Home 606-745-1494.

High school youth can combine their need for physical activity and experiential learning through physical education inter and intra mural sports, career and vocational initiatives such as job shadowing, school to work, and part time employment in their given career pathways. Many of our at-risk youth placed in alternative education settings by their nature are high energy, physical human beings. The growing maturing body needs rigorous physical activity as it does rigorous mental activity to excel.

Strategies for High School Program Evaluation

The Division of Family, Student and Community Support of the Kentucky Department of Education, Drop Out Prevention Branch has developed a program evaluation for Alternative Sites in Kentucky based on the Kentucky Standards and Indicators for School Improvement (SISI). The self-evaluation combines the SISI with best practice for Alternative Education in the creation of a tool that results in a workable school improvement plan. For a copy of this contact Leon Swarts, Drop Out Prevention Consultant, Kentucky Department of Education at 502-564-3678 or: (http://www.kde.state.ky.us/odss/family/dropout.asp The KY Department of Education Drop Out Prevention and Alternative Education home page)

Summary of Effective Alternative High School Practices

High school programs need to address high school needs. A needs and strength based approach to programming requires that a high school demonstrate the following effective practices:

• Smaller, alternative learning communities where groups of students and teachers work together for most of the day.
•  Rigorous academic standards that align the curriculum to content standards while addressing diversity and differentiation.
•  A curriculum which focuses on needs of adolescence and interdisciplinary course subjects fostering communication, critical thinking, social development and life long learning.
• Flexible block scheduling with freedom for youth and educators to partner in what and how things are taught based on real world learning, aptitude, and interests.
• Programs that stress cooperative learning, mentoring, high interests, technology and employment readiness.
• Teachers that believe in adolescents and serve as liaisons to youths’ home and community.
• Out-of-school programs that enrich and supplement their need for socialization and risky behavior.

Additional Research Based Programs Used in Kentucky

The following programs are used in Kentucky and align with KY SISI and best practice in alternative education. For more information contact Dr. Leon Swarts, Division of Student, Family and Community Support Services, Kentucky Department of Education at 502-564-3678.

• Character Education – A program designed to foster the development of sound character, democratic values, ethical judgment, and the ability to work in a self-disciplined and purposeful environment. Contact Rhonda Bailey, Character Education Program Consultant, Kentucky Department of Education at 502- 564-1979

• Life Skills Training – A program designed to promote health and personal development (i.e., self-image and self-improvement, smoking: myths and realities, alcohol: myths and realities, drugs: myths and realities). Botvin Life Skills Training, Princeton Health Press, 115 Wall Street, Princeton, NJ 08540 or call 609-921-0540

 • Discovery Program – A program designed to teach students social skills (i.e., group skills and team building, anger management, transactional analysis, assertiveness training, problem solving, conflict resolution). Contact Dr. William Webb, Cropper Alternative School, Shelby County Schools 502-461-7540.

 • Reconnecting Youth: A Peer Group Approach To Building Life Skills (i.e., increase school performance, decrease drug involvement, decrease suicide). National Educational Services, P.O. Box 8, Bloomington, In 47402 or call 800-733-6786.

• Comprehensive Health Education/Violence Prevention – Here’s Looking at You, 2000 and Get Real About Violence, 1560 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201 or call 847-328-6700

• Student Assistance Programs – A comprehensive school-based prevention and intervention program designed to address high-risk behaviors and student success in school. KY Association of Student Assistance Professionals, Shelby Co. High School, Shelbyville, KY 40066 or call Mary Waggoner at 502-633-2344

• Second Step – A program designed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in children, teach social and emotional skills, build self-esteem, and change behaviors and attitudes that contribute to violence. Committee for Children, 2203 Airport Way S., Suite 5, Seattle, WA 98134 or call 800-634-4449

 • Discipline and Classroom Behavior Management – Powerful Strategies for Reducing Classroom Behavior Problems: Discipline Strategies that Work, Betsy Geddes 915 118th Avenue SE, PO Box 96068, Bellevue, WA 98009 or call 800-735-3503

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Barriers

The following barriers exists to exemplary programming for high school youth:

• Educators are not always willing to buy in to the needed level of commitment to make it work.
•  Scheduling for successful education sometimes becomes political in nature; adverse to change, sticking to  the ‘way things have always been done’!
• Rural areas may have difficulty coordinating intensive intervention services for at-risk youth due to travel and expense of available services.
• Leadership may not be present to provide the motivation, vision, and the big picture it takes to be a “change” agent.

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Resources

References

Barr, B. & Parrett, B. (1997). Schools for disruptive students: a questionable alternative? WV: Charleston. (Presents current case for alternative education with strategies for implementation)

Barr, R. & Parrett, W. (2001). Hope fulfilled for at-risk and violent youth: K-12 programs that work (2nd ed.). Needham Height, MA: Allyn & Bacon. (Delivers a synthesis of research efforts from the field of at-risk practitioners)

Gatto, J.T. (1991). The six-lesson schoolteacher. Whole Earth Review, Fall,. (A cynical look at what’s wrong with education by Mr. Gatto, NY State Teacher of the Year, 1991)

Herman, R. (1999). An educator's guide to schoolwide reform. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. (Challenges educators to address best practice based on the changing culture)

 Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (Provides current research based instructional strategies and specific applications for increasing student achievement)

Tomlinson, C. (2000). Reconcilable differences? Standards-based teaching and differentiation. Educational Leadership, September,. (Standards based instruction and differentiated learning can be compatible approaches in today’s classrooms)

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Key Words

school safety, crisis, intervention, intensive, Bridges, cross discipline, service learning

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