Welcome to my blog about alternative education in St. Louis. I have been involved in what is described as alternative education for my entire teaching career which is going on 15 years. I started at a school in Granite City, Illinois called Coordinated Youth. I worked with some wonderful people at that school who many of whom are still there. They are a dedicated group of professionals.

My next job was in Belleville, Illinois in a school called Safe School. There are several Safe Schools in Illinois as it is funded by the state. This was also a fine school that was well run and highly organized. Since I live in St. Louis I wanted to find a position closer to home. I answered an ad in the paper for an alternative school in Brentwood called The Collaborative School. I was hired and have been working at The Collaborative School for the last 6 years.

The Collaborative School was formed and is goverened by the districts of Brentwood, Clayton, Kirkwood, Ladue, and Webster Groves. We have an eclectic mix of students who attend the school for a variety of reasons. The common reason for attending The Collaborative School is to catch up on credits. We mostly use a computer based curriculum purchased through a company called Plato. We offer two sessions of three hours each for students to attend. Since the Plato program is web based students may access their classes at any time day or night.

We can accommodate 80 students. We have a total of 9 to 10 staff members which includes an on site social worker who works with students to help guide them in their sometimes difficult life situations. For further information check out our website at: http://www.thecollaborativeschool.org/

I will use this blog to write about issues affecting alternative schools and to comment on issues that I think are important for all of us. This blog is soley my own and is in no way affiliated with any of the school districts mentioned above.