Project Partner:
CHOICES: NH/ VT Alternative Schools & Programs Network

In the fall of 2008, the new director of a local alternative high school contacted ACSR. He was seeking information about the existing networks of support for those working with at-risk students in the region. Much to our dismay, we discovered that no such regional network existed- in spite of the ever-growing numbers of students living in poverty, dropping out, and failing to succeed. In fact, there wasn't even a comprehensive list of such programs! We recognized not only an urgent need but, since one of the guiding values of Antioch University is that of idealism, our own capacity to meet that need. As the service division of Antioch University New England's education department, we take seriously Horace Mann's charge that we be "ashamed to die until we have won some victory for humanity." For the last 25 years, we have supported those who teach our students, through school coaching, instructional programs, and large-scale change initiatives. Our partners and allies in this work have included the New Hampshire Department of Education, the Coalition of Essential Schools, the National School Reform Faculty, the National Staff Development Council, and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Currently, our efforts to support both the New England Consortium, the Extended Learning Opportunities and Secondary School Redesign efforts in New Hampshire and the Vermont Transformations work have been the cornerstones of our day-to-day operations.

Our first step was to gather information. We contacted by phone or e-mail nearly every school in New Hampshire and Vermont with one simple question- who is the point person for your at-risk or underserved students? As you can imagine, we received a huge continuum of answers ranging from the name of a administrator in the district office, to an off-site program, to a single paraprofessional working in a single classroom. We also explained that we were attempting to build a network of support for these individuals and we wondered if they would be interested in learning more? The answer was an overwhelming and resounding "yes!"

Our next step was to try to gather this group, knowing that the needs we imagined might not be the needs they actually carried. We invited the entire group to join us for an afternoon meeting in March of 2009 and were thrilled when forty educators from across the two states joined us for our first gathering as a network. Dubbed CHOICES in recognition of the myriad decisions to be made by those seeking to better serve our must vulnerable, the group set out a simple and elegant set of goals:

To create twice-yearly opportunities for sharing between all agencies involved in placing students including schools, allies, and partners
To gather an online, searchable clearinghouse of information including, but not limited to:

Handbooks
Student Assessment/ Rubrics
Applications & Intake procedures
Grants/ Funding
Program Models
Partners/ Alliances
Resources
Behavior Management
Exemplary Programs for Site Visits
Employment Opportunities
State Guidelines

Want to become part of the CHOICES network? Have something to contribute to our still- developing database of resources? Contact us!

Last Updated: 6/8/10

Project Partner: CHOICES: NH/ VT Alternative Schools & Programs Network

Project Partner:
CHOICES: NH/ VT Alternative Schools & Programs Network