This section contains resources and information on alternative schools and alternative scheduling.  These links provide resources for schools looking for alternative means to achieve student gains on state standardized tests based on the experience of these schools, and these links also provide information for a teacher looking to work in an alternative school environment.

Montessori Schools

It is important to first point out the name “Montessori” is not copy written. When looking for a Montessori school to best fit your needs as a teacher or for placing students, caution must be used when chosing a school. Many Montessori schools differ on definition and practices, but for the most part, all can fit under one umbrella.  

Montessori schools focus on the natural development of children and preparing them to enter the “real world”. Students are given the opportunity to develop a curriculum that best suits their needs and desire in education. Activities are determined by personal choice of what is deemed the best way, personally, for the student to grasp concepts.  


Magnet Schools

Magnet schools are part of the public school systems. Magnet schools give students an education centralized around a theme, such as schools for the arts, science-based schools, etc. Parents and students are able to pick which school best fits their needs, regardless if the school is in their district or not. 


Virtual Schools

Virtual schools, where the curriculum and course work is online, are becoming increasingly popular.  School districts are taking advantage of advances in technology and access to provide a free education to all students, even those who may not succeed in a traditional classroom.


Charter Schools
 
Charter schools are schools which operate independent of the public school system.  Each charter school has its own philosophy upon which it bases its curriculum.  They still receive public funding, but are not held to state standards.  In return for this freedom charter schools make promises for increases in student performance.

This section includes links and resources for school districts, parents, and teachers to explore alternative scheduling options they can use as opposed to the traditional structure of school.

Because of budget constraints, many school districts across the country are exploring alternative styles of schooling.  One of those being considered, and actually used in more than 100 school districts nationwide  is a 4 day school week.  The idea is to still attend school for the same amount of time, but instead of 180 "days" of school, it is the "hour equivalent" of that many days.  In order to accomplish this, those hours lost for each instructional day are added to the remaining four days.  It might be something as simple as adding just 1 1/2  hours to each of the four remaining school day. 

By doing this, students would be attending 36 less days of school each year (for instance, 36 Fridays, one for each week of school).  Most schools opt to have either Monday or Friday be their "off" day. This type of schedule is often implemented in small, rural school districts because of the savings they find due to transportation costs.  Switching to a 4-day week can often be less painful for a district than dropping extracurricular activities, laying off teachers, or cutting non-core classes such as Art, Music, and P.E. 

Of course, as with every idea, there are pros and cons to its proposal.  Several studies were carried out during the 1980s and 1990s and several interesting benefits were found using the 4-Day School Week.

Pros:

-Student drop-out rates decline
-Student disciplinary referrals decrease
-Student achievement not affected
-Save Money-transportation, electricity, substitutes
-Better Attendance-both student and teacher
-Longer class periods-less interruptions to school day
-Time for faculty training on day off
-Less school missed due to athletics and doctor appointments

Cons:

-Daycare issues
-Longer class periods- attention span, especially in lower grades
-Hungry Children-no free meals at school on that off day.  So only 4 days a week
-Shorter evenings for teachers to grade papers and prepare for following day
-Shorter evenings for students to finish homework
-Children who miss one day of school can get farther behind

Websites:

-NWREL- Scheduling Alternatives:  Options for student success

A well written pamphlet that explores scheduling alternatives including: Block scheduling, 4-day school weeks, and year round schooling written by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/index.html

-AZ Central

An article written by Alex Bloom for The Arizona Republic that discusses several school districts who are considering switching to a 4-day week to ease budget concerns.  It also lists pros and cons along with parent and student reaction to the schedule.

www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/11/09/20081109ed4dayweek1109.html

 -Time- Four-Day School Weeks

An article written by Kathleen Kingsbury, August 14,2008 for Time.com which outlines some successful schools who transitioned to the 4-day school week within the last few years. 

 www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1832864,00.html

-Is the Four-Day School Week Coming  Your Way?

This article examines the result of a Saratoga, Arkansas school district's switch to a 4-day week.  It visits the school one year after first implementing the new schedule to see how the changes affected the district.

Education World:
www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin073.shtml 

- The Principals' Partnership-The Four Day School Week

A pamphlet produced by The Principals' Partnership answering three questions:

1.  Can four-day school weeks help districts save money?

2.  How do districts overcome the barriers of moving to a four-day week?

3.  What is the effect of a four-day week on students, staff and the community?

The Principle's Partnership:
www.principalspartnership.com/fourdayschoolweek.pdf 

-The Four-Day Week

An easy to read document that outlines the Hot Springs South Dakota School District's plan and gives good advice to other districts considering  moving to a 4-day week.  It lists:

Background Information:
-What our research says
- Why make the change?
- What changes can you expect?

The Student day:
- How can I help?
- What are we learning?
- A final decision

Definition of Year Round Education

"Schools in America operate on a 10-month system. This was established when the United States was still a largely agrarian nation. Children were often needed to work in the fields during the summer. Obviously times have changed today. Many people advocate doing away with this 'antiquated' system and moving to year round education. What exactly does this phrase mean? Generally, it means that schools will continue to operate on a 180 day system, yet they will spread these days out differently with shorter breaks between each term. The most popular example of year round education is the 45-15 plan. This has students attending school 45 days and then getting three weeks (15 days) off. The normal breaks (holiday, spring) are still built into this calendar. Of course, many others ways exist to organize the calendar, including the 60-20 and the 90-30 plans. The other facet of implementation is the track. Single-track year round education involves an entire school using the same calendar and getting the same holidays off. Multiple-track year round education has groups of students attending school at different times with different vacations. Multi-tracking usually occurs because it is a way for school districts to save money. Year round education is a very complex topic with many variables that must be considered, not the least of which is the motivation behind a school district's decision to change their current calendar" (Melissa Kelly, 1).

Year Round Education:

This article discusses the pros and cons of year round education.

http://712educators.about.com/cs/reformtime/a/yearrounded.htm

 -“Should the School Year be Lengthened:”

This article Ken Reetz discusses the importance of year round education and refers to the benefits of such in other countries.

“Should the School Year be Lengthened”

www.helium.com/items/905610-should-the-school-year-be-lengthened

-“Year Round School:”

At About.com you can read parent responses to year round schooling, the pros and cons, and the way that such a schedule has impacted the educational and home life of students.

About.com:

www.homeparents.about.com/cs/backtoschool/a/yearroundschool.htm

-Pros of Year Round School

This website provides links for many articles about year round schooling. These articles include stories of how this alternative scheduling approach has worked or can work.

Reference.com:

www.ask.reference.com/related/Pros+of+Year+Round+School?qsrc=2892&l=dir&o=10601

Block Scheduling

What is block scheduling?

This is an alternative schedule that provides extended time in the classroom. The purpose is to provide a long period of uninterrupted teaching. Students essentially attend half as many classes for twice the amount of time.

What does a block schedule look like?

There are two common types of block scheduling. There is an A/B schedule and a 4X4 schedule.

Above is a fictional example of a block schedule for core classes. This schedule is an “A/B” schedule that causes certain classes to be held on certain days. Fridays, in a block schedule, provide an opportunity to rotate between the core subjects. Additional times would be added to accommodate specials and electives.

This schedule can be changed further by removing Friday as mixture of classes to either an A or B day. Weeks can be arranged by either ABABA or BABAB. This could also change by quarter or semester.

Above is a fictional example of a 4X4 block schedule. This schedule indicates a three core class per day schedule while including an additional elective class throughout the day. Each class is a semester long (in its entirety) and can either be taken two quarters back to back, or spaced out throughout the year. The electives are a quarter long, and are the focus of the third quarter. This schedule can be arranged to accommodate any order the school district feels would work best.

Why is a block schedule beneficial?

There are several reasons why block scheduling can be beneficial. The most obvious is that more instructional time is given to teachers. Within the allotted times, teachers also have the opportunity to go into greater detail with the lessons they are giving. Further, students are given the advantage of focusing more intensely on four classes per day as opposed to 6 or 7. Teachers are also able to better prepare for their classes that allows for better use of instructional time.

With more time being offered, students and teachers have the opportunity to go into greater depth with the topics that are being discussed.

Why can block scheduling be problematic?

While the benefits appear to outweigh the problems, there are still some issues with the implementation of block scheduling. Perhaps the most prominent issue is that of the attention span of the children being taught. Additional problems include the lack of preparation time for teachers. Because classes are longer, teachers must develop lengthier lessons to fill the allotted time. At the same time, teachers need to develop more interesting and creative ways to engage their students.

Resources:

http://www.middleweb.com/Fritsche1.html

This website provides a detailed outline of the implementation of an actual school district that uses block scheduling.

http://www.jefflindsay.com/Block.shtml

This site provides the negative aspects of the implementation of block scheduling in an actual school district.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_scheduling

This website provides general information regarding all aspects of block scheduling. This site includes examples of the most popular forms of block schedules.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin029.shtml

This website provides an argument for both sides of implementing a block schedule. This site also includes information on the philosophy behind this type of schedule.

http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/article3.html

This website provides detailed general information regarding block scheduling.