Alternative placements can and should take on many different forms. Alternative placements should have lower pupil-teacher ratios than regular classrooms so that troubled youth can get intensive help. The staff at alternative programs should be competent in academic fields and have special training in helping chronically disruptive and violent students. Alternative programs should provide supplementary counseling and supervision in addition to rigorous academic instruction. It would also be important to have psychologists, family workers, and outside service providers aid alternative school teachers with helping the students in these settings.
Alternative programs are costly, but they can also be cost effective.
Alternative programs may also keep students with behavioral problems from becoming incarcerated as adults. Alternative programs may save tax payers money by helping these students avoid the criminal justice system and become productive members of society. This article provides support for alternative educational placements. The American Federation of Teachers appear interested in adding their voice to the need for alternative programs so that regular schools can provide education in a safe and orderly classrooms.