Providing a supportive alternative education environment for at-risk students

Many factors cause student disengagement from school that subsequently result in high dropout rates. Alternative education (AE) programs provide a different pathway for at-risk youths who do not meet the goals, standards, and requirements of traditional educational settings. However, educational agencies have vastly different interpretations regarding AE program components and operations. The absence of a consistent national protocol as to what components or criteria define an effective AE program causes confusion among practitioners and stakeholders. In the study being reported, a research-based multidimensional framework was established in the hope of building an operational AE program model.