Program Evaluation of Alternative Schools in North Carolina PDF Download

Author: Michael Orlando Jones
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alternative schools
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
The purpose of this study was to evaluate two alternative programs in a North Carolina (NC) and South Carolina (SC) public school district to determine if they are effective in delivering constructive interventions that modify student behavior once students have left the programs and have returned to their regular learning environments. This mixed-method evaluation consisted of an experimental-comparison design approach that included interviews with program participants, focus groups, and comparison of the number of out-of-school suspensions that participants received after completing the alternative school programs in both school districts. -- The researcher and trained interviewers administered a survey to 16 certified staff members in the NC district including the executive director and principal. A stratified random proportionate sample was used to produce functionally equivalent groups from the NC WISE database for the number of alternative school reassignments due to long-term out-of-school suspensions of African-American ninth graders who received major disciplinary infractions. -- The three research questions that guided the evaluation and their findings were (1) "What practices are contributing to students' success in the alternative program?" Data analysis in this program evaluation showed that academic and behavior interventions involving the use of alternative education counselors and case managers were significant contributors to the success of the program; (2) "To what extent is the alternative program following its design as planned?" Data showed that the program was following its design as planned but was strained by a lack of collaboration with students' home school counselors, teachers, and administrators of assigned students; and (3) "What is the effect of the alternative program on the recidivism rate?" In both years considered in this evaluation, there were no repeat offenders, thus supporting the notion that the NC alternative education setting was successful in decreasing the recidivism rate and increasing the success rate of students. -- Based on these findings, the companion investigators concluded that the NC and SC alternative education programs were effective in decreasing recidivism for African-American males and females in ninth grade and increasing student success when they returned to their home school. Findings also suggested a strong need for greater collaboration with the home schools and transference of interventions and practices. These elements were thought to be necessary by the alternative education staff in sustaining student success once the students returned to their traditional education settings. The investigators offered a professional development model outcome for the consideration of the executive staff and Board of Education members to improve the overall success of not only African-American students but students of all ethnic subgroups within both southeastern school districts.