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School of Alternatives to open in January

Seeks to attract 50 young adults who are not in school

By Lynn Hotaling

Local education officials are moving forward with plans to open a new alternative school in January. School leaders hope to attract about 50 young adults under age 22 who left high school prior to graduation back to the classroom, said Lynn Dillard, exceptional children's director for Jackson County Schools.

But the classroom they return to will be radically different from the one they left. The Comprehensive School of Alternatives will serve non-traditional learners who, for a variety of reasons, do not succeed in regular classrooms, Dillard said.

Slated to be the seventh school in the local school system, the School of Alternatives, which will serve students in grades 4-12, is Dillard's brainchild. Local school board members approved the concept in July, and Dillard recently received official approval from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

In order to meet state guidelines, the new school must have a minimum of 100 students. To achieve this goal, some 50 students already enrolled in county schools will be transferred to the new school, Dillard said. Included in that number will be 14 high school students enrolled in Discovery and a dozen middle schoolers in New Millennium, the county's current alternative programs.

Both Discovery and New Millennium students will continue to be educated at their current locations with their present teachers, who will, after January, be counted as teachers at the new school. The high school program is based in Cullowhee near Western Carolina University, and New Millennium is in the former Covenant Christian School on Fairview Road.

Another 35 students and teachers for the School of Alternatives will be drawn from existing exceptional children's programs at Smokey Mountain Elementary, Smoky Mountain High and Cullowhee Valley, Dillard said.

The ECP children will continue to receive instruction at their current schools, Dillard said, because that has been determined to be the least restrictive environment for them. State money generated by those children will also remain at their home schools, she said.

Dillard expects to fund the new school through state money generated by the 50 or so students who are currently out of school, an amount she expects to be around $75,000 for the remainder of this school year.

The program for those who seek to gain a high school diploma will include extended day course work, GED preparation and individualized programs to meet specific needs. Child care may be an option offered for teen mothers, Dillard said.

Flexibility will be a key to the curriculum of the new school. "We'll plan the schedule and hire teachers around the availability of the kids," Dillard said.

The Comprehensive School of Alternatives will be housed in space in Cullowhee formerly occupied by New Millennium and will operate without a principal initially, Dillard said.

Since the School of Alternatives has been approved by state officials, Dillard said, state funds are available to pay an administrator; however, she prefers to use that money for other needs. Presently, the new school is operating under Dillard's credentials as a principal.

Dillard said she anticipates hiring one full-time teacher who will also serve as the program's coordinator and employing a number of part-time teachers to instruct students at non-traditional high school times like late afternoons, evenings and Saturday mornings.

With more than half of the necessary students already enrolled, Dillard anticipates achieving 100 students by January. "The response has been tremendous," Dillard said.

So far she has tentative commitments from 20 or so students who dropped out of high school for one reason or another. She and her staff plan to contact some 175 young adults who left high school prior to graduation for possible enrollment in the new school, she said.

Students returning to high school through the School of Alternatives will be expected to take a minimum of two courses each semester and follow a standard course of study if they are seeking a full high school diploma.

Because enrollment may be limited by space, early applications are encouraged, Dillard said. For more information or to obtain an application, contact David Dalton at 586-2311, ext. 229.

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