Taking the "alternative" out of alternative schools

I have to admit, I grew up scared of Truman. Tucked behind one of Federal Way’s innumerable strip malls in a dreary series of near-deserted, graffiti-ridden portables and just a block away from the din of I-5, I always wondered, “Who the heck would ever want to go this place?” And, as it turns out, until recently, Truman’s vibe was a lot like most of the alternative schools in the state.

In late 2001, Truman High School was radically restructured and divided in to two schools. This year, Seattle’s John Marshall school began the restructuring process. And, due to WASL findings that show alternative schools generally perform 20 to 30 percentage points below average, many of state’s other alternative schools may need to shift their programs, as well. They won’t be doing it alone, however. According to the Tacoma News Tribune, OSPI will soon release a study detailing the best practices of the state’s highest performing alternative schools.

“After factoring out the influence of student-poverty rates, the study also determined the 10 highest-achieving, the 10 lowest-achieving and the 10 middle-achieving alternative schools. The top 10 steadily narrowed the achievement gap, even scoring higher as a group than the statewide average in reading and writing in 2007,” wrote the TNT.

Preliminary study results: Flexible school hours, self-paced lessons, student internships and high expectations are hallmarks of the state’s best alternative schools. So are staff training, time for teachers to collaborate, and strong leadership.

This makes sense. Tailored, quality curriculum and instruction and strong leadership are the hallmarks of just about every school that “beats the odds” dealt out to its disadvantaged population — alternative or not.

Which brings me back to Truman, the school on the wrong side of my hometown tracks: Since its restructuring and the receipt of a grant from the Gates Foundation, Truman has been on a mission to personalize the education of their students, with teachers as their advisors on a self-lead learning plan. Last year, 97 percent of students passed the reading WASL and 100 percent pass the writing WASL—a full 10 percentages points ahead of the district average.

Okay, take it easy folks, the picture above isn't Truman, it's just for effect. But this is what Truman looks like today:

Doesn't look so "alternative" to me.