Not everyone who wants or needs a high school education fits into the classic high school classroom. Fairfax County Public Schools offers alternative programs for a variety of students: older students returning to school; older students who need a flexible schedule since they work full-time to support their families; students who speak a language other than English; students who may or may not have learned to read and write in their native language; teenage girls who are pregnant or caring for babies and small children of their own; and high school students who were not comfortable at their assigned schools and need a different setting.
The county’s three alternative high schools serve all of these students as well as some students who have been assigned after disciplinary problems.
Education reporter Brian McNeill researched data concerning students who are expelled from Fairfax County Public Schools. Among his findings, on pages 4-5 of this report: Fairfax County continues to provide an education for most students who have been expelled in a variety of settings, from drug treatment programs to on-line courses, in private schools and even in the juvenile detention center.
Projects editor Ken Moore interviewed dozens of students and staff at the county’s alternative high schools, and their stories appear over the next eight pages. Their stories reflect the human face of diversity of the county, and ongoing efforts by the county to provide services and education that can lead to economic independence.
We welcome comments and feedback.
<1b>—Mary Kimm, editor
<pc>marykimm@hotmail.com