In an effort to recognize the work of educators and programs that serve at-risk students, the Kentucky Department of Education has named 11 Alternative Programs of Distinction and Covington Independent’s CIPS Alternative Education Program was one of them.
An alternative education program exists to meet the needs of students that cannot be addressed in a traditional classroom setting, but can be met through the assignment of students to alternative classrooms, centers or campuses that are designed to remediate academic performance, improve behavior or provide an enhanced learning experience. Alternative education programs do not include career or technical centers or departments.
The 11 programs named as Alternative Programs of Distinction for 2015 are:
School districts nominated their programs for recognition based on criteria developed by KDE and the Innovative Pathways for Success Cadre. A three-member panel screened the applications and the finalists received site visits from a three-member team.
Each program selected as an Alternative Program of Distinction will receive $1,000 for instructional support and will be formally recognized at the Kentucky Board of Education’s June 2 meeting. Information on the schools also will be posted on the KDE website, so that other schools can use the programs as models.
KDE began highlighting exemplary practices in public school alternative programs in 2009. Alternative programs include school district-operated and -housed instructional programs that provide services to at-risk students with unique needs. They also can be district-operated instructional programs that are located in non-district facilities or schools and serve youth who are considered state agency children through the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Community Based Services and/or the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities.
From KDE