Ridgefield School District Alternative Program
The purpose of the Ridgefield Alternative Program is to give students a chance to succeed where a traditional classroom setting has not been successful. Students are expected to follow the same rules and graduation guidelines as other Ridgefield High School Student's. The student's day however reflects their academic and social needs, and is individually developed when they enter the program. We feel that communication with parents is one major key to our student's success. Parents receive weekly phone calls to discuss how their student is doing, and there are mandatory monthly face to face conferences with students, parents and staff to review learning plans and to go over progress. Parents are also encouraged to contact us at any time to discuss issues or problems that may interfere with student achievement.
Each student in the program has an individualized plan centered on his or her academic goals. Each individualized plan has included in it:
1. A start and end date
2. An estimate of hours per week students are expected to be engaged in learning activities
3. A description of how weekly contact will be met
4. A description of the objectives of the learning experience
5. A list of instructional materials
6. A description of timeline and methods for evaluation of student progress
7. An indication on where the plan meets one or more EALRS or other district benchmarks
8. An identification of how the plan meets the district graduation requirements
There is a morning and an afternoon session available to students. The morning session is from 8:00 am - 11:45 am. The afternoon session begins at 11:45 am and ends at 2:45 pm. During each session students are expected to work on NovaNet (our online based curriculum) and/or projects related to their course work for two or three periods. Most students have one "out class" where they attend a class with the general population in a course (usually Vocational, WASL, PE or an elective) not offered in the Alternative Program but needed for graduation. Students are expected to arrive on time and work for the entire time they are on campus. When students arrive at school they are expected to go directly to the Alternative Classroom, and leave campus when their session is over. Breaks will be provided each hour.
Transportation will need to be worked out during the registration process. Currently, students in the morning session will have transportation to school, but will need to find their own transportation home. In the afternoon, students need to find their own transportation to school, but can ride the bus home.
For those who need to use NovaNet for credit recovery, it will be available before school from 7:00 am to 7:55 am and after school from 2:45 pm to 4:00 pm. A Nova Net usage fee will be applied to students who are not in the Alternative Program at these times ($100 for each half credit $50 for students on free and reduced lunch). However, no fee will be applied to any student taking Washington State History.
We will be using NovaNet as our base for curriculum in the Alternative Program during the 2011-12 school year. This year we will be offering NovaNet's Web-based program to give students better access from home.
For further information about the program and/or enrollment processes please contact Paul Hulbert or Karen Stolberg at 619-1332.
