Turned off by tradition; it's time for educators to adopt a less elitist attitude about continuation education and work together so all students meet high expectations.

Schools across the nation are facing the challenges of standards-based education, exit exams for high school students, and meeting greater diversity in their student populations than at any time in our history. With each new generation of school-age youngsters, we are faced with a new ingredient to add to an already overflowing menu of options.

California, like the rest of the nation, is struggling with strategies, programs, curriculum, behavior issues, special programs and myriad other options in order to meet the mandates that have been handed to us in the educational community.

Because California law requires that all students attend school until they earn a high school diploma or reach the age of 18, it is necessary to provide options to meet the diverse needs of our young people. While the large majority of these students fall into the traditional pattern of public education, there are an increasing number who fall outside the "norm."

These students are frequently bright and articulate, talented and creative. Because of these characteristics, they are often bored in the traditional classroom, especially at the secondary level. They see no relevance in what is being taught, seek to question their teachers -- often to the point of defiance -- and are turned off by traditional teaching methods. They frequently know the answer to the question before the teacher has finished asking it, so their minds spin off onto other, more relevant, ideas and thoughts.

As a result, they see no reason to attend school on a regular basis, and many develop truancy problems. Others shut down and stop doing their work. Their grades spiral downward until they become severely credit deficient due to repeated failures. They then lose hope of earning a high school diploma and, eventually, many become dropouts.

What can we do to prevent this from happening, recapture their interest in school and help these students earn a diploma so that they will become productive citizens in their communities?

Viability of continuation education

Today, there are more than 600 continuation high schools in the state that serve more than 100,000 students every year. Coupled with students taking advantage of the other educational options available, there are more than a half million who are enrolled in some kind of alternative education program every year.

Those who have little or no knowledge of continuation education often have preconceived opinions about both the mission and place of this program. These opinions are frequently incorrect. They may view the programs as being designed for "losers," "druggies," gang members and those who are just not capable of making the grade academically. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is an incredible disconnect that exists in the educational community regarding the viability of continuation schools.

As with all programs, there are continuation high schools that can be considered outstanding in every sense of the word. They offer AP courses for their students. They have top teachers and administrators who have chosen to work in these schools. They have teachers who are certified to teach AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) classes.

They have been recognized as Model Continuation High Schools by the California Department of Education and have met the 60 quality criteria that have been determined to represent the most outstanding type of educational programs available to young people.

Their curriculum is standards-based and aligned with the state standards. They are WASC accredited schools. They offer a strong vocational/career component for students in order to help prepare them for all post secondary options. Typically, there are no more than 20 students enrolled for each full-time-equivalent staff member.

The strategies used by these model schools are also very different. There is a significant amount of project-based learning. They present lessons in a directed approach with thematic, integrated units that use a cross-curricular approach.

Students respond extremely well in these schools, and large percentages are successful in completing the requirements for their high school diplomas. Following graduation, these students are ready to re-enter the mainstream and function as effectively as their peers who have been educated in the traditional programs. While many of these students are not ready to consider college at this time in their lives, we find that in five to 10 years, a great number return to further their education.

At the other end of the spectrum are the small continuation schools with one or two teachers who have been "banished" to the program. These teachers, who have not chosen to work in continuation education, frequently are satisfied with providing packets of work for their students. There is little opportunity for the students to have any real interaction with their teachers.

The message is that as long as the student is quiet and does the work, he or she will be rewarded with the appropriate number of credits to meet graduation. This, then, becomes one more opportunity to reinforce the message to the student that he or she is not worthy of anything better and that the adult community does not believe he will be successful anyway. These schools are the programs that have given continuation education a bad reputation.

New attitudes about "forgotten" students

Educators have nurtured an elitist attitude toward high school students. Unless a student declares that college is in the long-range plans, he or she all too frequently becomes one of those who is forgotten, and may end up being referred to continuation education. The reasons have nothing to do with the student's ability to perform the work. Rather, they have to do with the student's lack of motivation.

It is time for all educators to adopt a new attitude toward all of our students. And, they are our students, not yours or mine. Many of our students have an inordinate amount of baggage to carry with them at such a young age. One of the very best things we do in continuation education is come to know our students. How on earth can we educate them if we don't first deal with the problems they may be facing? When a student comes to school hungry or tired, dealing with physical or sexual abuse, using drugs, homeless, pregnant or facing some other enormous challenge, he or she is not in an appropriate frame of mind to learn to read or do math.

Educators must help each other be successful

We are all faced with preparing our students to pass the California High School Exit Exam beginning with the class of 2004. There are detractors who say that continuation students won't ever be able to do this. I think they are wrong! We can and we will. We simply need the time, the consideration and the funding from those with whom we work. If we all learn to work together, we can teach each other how to be more successful.

It is time for superintendents, business managers and curriculum directors to better understand the mission of continuation education, place greater value on its role in the educational arena and provide us with the tools we need, instead of cutting our programs. Without our programs, the dropout rate in California would soar.

We no longer live in the Industrial Age. What worked for us doesn't work today. We can look at ZIP codes and measure success in the K-12 system. Where there is strong parental support and value placed on education, the large majority of students will succeed. Where this does not exist, they will struggle, but they can be successful with the right programs and tools. But it is up to all educators to provide these programs and tools.

Designing schools for maximum flexibility

Because continuation high schools have traditionally offered smaller classes with flexible scheduling, the teachers have had the opportunity to be on the cutting edge with curriculum development. They have moved away from the textbook approach to teaching and involve students in their education. Continuation students are very creative and adept at making PowerPoint presentations, leading round-table discussions, teaching their peers a lesson, completing projects that dazzle their teachers, using the computer and writing.

What they are not adept at is test-taking strategies. Because they see little sense or reason to do well on a norm-referenced test, they tend to perform in the lowest deciles on these exams. Here is an area where we can work together.

Continuation teachers can teach traditional teachers something about instructional strategies that allow, or even force, teachers to step outside of their comfort zones and experiment with lessons to which students will respond. Traditional teachers can show continuation teachers some test-taking strategies and help us design lessons to prepare our students for high stakes exams. They can also be more receptive to the idea that one size does not fit all.

Because of their flexibility, continuation school teachers often reach the most difficult students. We have designed programs that allow for maximum flexibility because most of our students do not do well with a lock-step approach. We can collaborate with traditional teachers to show them some alternatives to the rigidity with which many approach teaching, and we can show them that we have set high expectations for our students, just as they have.

We must show them that there is more than one way to approach a task or problem and that one way is not necessarily better than another way.

Making a difference requires change

We must raise the bar and set high expectations for our students. But

rigidity will not help us succeed in this task. Only through a flexible approach to education will all students become proficient and eventually pass the HSEE.

Change is sometimes painful. But if we are truly to make a difference in the lives of those students who seem to be hard to reach, then we must retool all of our educational programs and attitudes, including continuation education. By working together, we can make a difference in the lives of America's future generations.

Janet Knoeppel is a former principal at Argus High School in Ceres, which was designated a Model Continuation High School in 1994 and 2000. She was president of the California Continuation Education Association from 1999 to 2001, and now works as a consultant in the areas of continuation and alternative education.