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In education, the phrase alternative high school, sometimes referred to as a minischool, is "any junior high school, high school, senior high school, or secondary school having a special curriculum offering a more flexible program of study than a traditional school." An alternative high school serves as an addition to a larger traditional junior high school, high school, senior high school, or secondary school.

Many such schools were founded in the 1970s as an alternative to mainstream or traditional classroom structure. A wide range of philosophies and teaching methods are offered by alternative high schools; some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, while others are more ad-hoc assemblies of teachers and students dissatisfied with some aspect of mainstream or traditional education. In 2003 there were approximately 70 alternative schools in the United Kingdom. In the UK public funding is not available for alternative schools and therefore alternative schools are usually fee-paying institutions.

Sometimes, particularly in the United States, the phrase alternative high school can refer to a school which practices alternative education. This is a much broader use of the term, covering all forms of non-traditional educational methods and philosophies, including school choice, independent school, homeschooling, and alternative high school. However, even the narrower usage of the term may refer to a range of school type such as a school with an innovative and flexible cirriculum aimed at bright, self-motivated students; a school intended to accommodate students with behavioral problems; or a school with special remedial programs.

Magnet schools

Magnet schools are public alternative schools which offers innovative courses, specialized training, etc., in order to attract students from a broad urban area and thereby help to desegregate schools.

See also

• Alternative education
• Alternative school
• Continuation high school
• Education
• Free school
• Gifted education
• Liberal arts college
• Private school
• Public school
• Special education
• Unschooling

References

1. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alternative%20school
2. "Alternative Schools Adapt," by Fannie Weinstein. The New York Times, June 8, 1986, section A page 14.
3. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/0415248175/ref=sib_vae_ex/203-9331421-3267125?ie=UTF8&p=S00D&j=0#reader-page
4. "Changing Perspectives on Alternative Schooling for Children and Adolescents With Challenging Behavior," Robert A. Gable et al. Preventing School Failure, Fall 2006. Volume 51, Issue 1, page 5.

External links

• Iowa Association of Alternative Education
• International Association for Learning Alternatives

Further reading

• Claire V. Korn, Alternative American Schools: Ideals in Action (Ithaca: SUNY Press, 1991).

Resources

• Alternative education
• Alternative high schools
• School terminology
• School types