Alternative Education?

I was transferred to Alternative Education by a Superintendent with whom I did not agree. In educational circles, that is the typical solution to a philosophical difference between administrators (as long as it is not irreconcilable).It also means the virtual end of the Alternative Education administrator's career.

Regular education hates Alternative Education and Special Education. Since I was but a few years from retirement, I accepted the transfer, got a little raise for it.

And I found real education.Look, regular education students, especially advanced ones, are not hard to educate. Usually they have parental support, are stable, have goals, can read, and anyone can teach them. We have ceremonies for teachers of the year all the time, and 90 percent of the time, they are college prep or advanced placement teachers.I am not saying they don't know their subject matter, I am saying, from 35 years of experience, they teach students that WANT to learn. But a continuation school student, or an adult ed student who is an ex-felon; forget about it.

A teacher, and administrator have to work at it. You have to have alternative educational strategies, have to have the patience of a saint, and never quit. And, you usually have a success rate below 50%.This was hard for my not so friendly superintendent to accept.

So, he "reformed" alternative education, cut day school opportunities by over 50%, started an Independent Study Charter School, shuffled hundreds of at risk students into it; thus hiding the high drop out rate of the district that ensued.Essentially, in Shasta County, one of the poorest counties in the state, he was a hero, because he "cracked down" on at risk youth (and adults), and saved the district a few million dollars.

Independent Study is a very frugal, and ineffective program. One teacher has a case load of about 30, gets paid way less than a regular teacher, with no buses, no cafeteria, and no classroom.

But, as with most things, cheap is not necessarily good.

The result? Well, last week our local paper wrote an editorial describing the ridiculously low average income tax paid by county residents (most don't pay any because they are unemployed). Shasta County was recently proclaimed by the San Jose Mercury News as "the Gun Capital" of California. It also is running an unemployment rate chronically above 10%.

And as for the Superintendent? He recently retired after "spiking" his salary and had a gym named after him.

And the poor get poorer!