Here, they always make time to help you. Each student in the night school is expected to work, volunteer in the community, or handle parenting duties at least 16 hours each week, in addition to the 14 weekly hours of evening class. To smooth the transition between school and work, teachers visit the students' worksites. Back in class, teachers can help students make connections between what they're doing on the job and what they're learning at school. In addition, teachers have a chance to talk with employers about ways to make the curriculum mesh more effectively with real-world career opportunities.
Students also create a portfolio, which becomes a tangible record of their accomplishments.
Mesirow considers the portfolio one of the program's most valuable components. Your tax records, your immigration status, your work history these documents tell who you are. Students learn to use the portfolios as tools during job interviews to show exactly what they are capable of accomplishing. The school serves as a field test site for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. The Oregon Department of Education selected the school as one of 15 prototypes for what the Alternative Learning Centers called for in recent educational reform legislation.