Alternative schools in the Metropolitan Nashville Public School District: Are they meeting or exceeding their expectations

This study investigated the perceptions of teachers and administrators of alternative learning centers; directors of learning support services; and executive principals of regular education schools to determine if the alternative schools of the Metropolitan Nashville Public School District were meeting or exceeding the expectations required by the School Board. Participants included 41 alternative school teachers and administrators, 5 directors/executive directors of learning support, and 120 regular education executive principals. After receiving approval from the Tennessee State University Institutional Review Board and the Metropolitan Nashville Public School District, a 5-point Likert scale survey and informed consent form were sent to the participants' home address. Thirteen research questions were investigated and thirteen null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance. Independent samples t-tests were utilized to compare the perceptions of the teachers and administrators of alternative learning centers and directors of learning support services with those of executive principals of regular education schools. There was statistically significant disagreement between the two groups on the following hypotheses: (1) whether alternative schools are over-represented by minorities, (2) whether the lower pupil-teacher ratio in alternative schools and programs are beneficial to students in the alternative setting, (3) whether alternative schools and programs are mere holding facilities for disruptive students, and (4) whether more alternative school facilities (separate facilities) are needed in addition to those in existence. Results indicated that the two groups perceived that the district needed to address the over representation of minorities in alternative schools, implement a lower pupil-teacher ratio, utilize the alternative schools not as mere holding facilities but for their original intent, and create more alternative learning schools for the district.