A descriptive study of public alternative schools in South Carolina

The purpose of this study was to identify the types of public alternative school/programs in South Carolina, to describe the characteristics of the alternative schools, and their students, and to determine the primary purpose of the alternative schools. The descriptive information was collected from 34 public alternative school/programs. The data was collected by a 13 item multiple response survey that included information from District Coordinators of public alternative school/programs in South Carolina and a 36 item multiple response survey which included the perceptions of South Carolina's alternative school administrators/directors. Usable responses from 50 respondents were analyzed. The responses were categorized to calculate the range, mean, percentages, and numerical frequencies for selected variables. The data was summarized by categories and arranged in frequency tables to facilitate interpretation of the findings. The data indicated that the primary type of alternative school/programs in South Carolina is last chance opportunity schooling for students who are chronically disruptive in the traditional school setting; the schools range from separate locations to school within a school and 71 percent of South Carolina's public alternative school/programs are described as rural. Alternative public school/programs in South Carolina primarily serve students in the middle and high school grades. A little over 3 percent of the students are enrolled in grades one through three. Males dominate the enrollment figure; however, the majority of students attending alternative school/programs are African-Americans (67.9%). All of the schools receive funding to serve chronically disruptive youth. The instructional methods most often used is self-paced, computer assisted and whole group instructions. A teacher-pupil ratio of 1:15 exists in 50% of the schools and reducing disruptive behavior is the primary goal of the alternative school/programs. Eighty-eight percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Student-teacher ratio was perceived as the most important factor that distinguished alternative school/programs from traditional schools. An important revelation of the study was that stable funding was an issue in the past and from the administrator/directors perspective it remains an issue today.