Reforming Alternative Education in Colorado

Aron, Laudan Y. “An Overview of Alternative Education.” Urban Institute, 6Mar. 2007, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/overview-alternative-education/view/full_report. Accessed 16 Nov. 2018. This source is a report from the Urban Institute. In this report there are is information on the types of alternative education programs that already exist, the types of students that need these programs, and resources available to support alternative educationt. I plan on using this information to answer questions like, “What would happen to the current education programs?” and “Which students would benefit from more alternative education programs?”

Get Help With Your Essay
If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Essay Writing Service

Baker, Fredrick W. “An Alternative Approach: Openness in Education over the Last 100 Years.” TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, vol. 61, no. 2, Mar. 2017, pp. 130–140. EBSCOhost, libdb.ppcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1131152&site=ehost-live&scope=site. This source is an academic article from EBSCO host. Within the article, Fredrick Baker expands on the history of education and how it has progressed over time, leading to the implementation of alternative education and its effectiveness. I plan on using this source to introduce alternative education, by stating how the old model of education was great for its time, but now as we progress as a society, education also needs to progress.

Center for Student Achievement. “Alternative Schools: Just the Facts.” Center for Student Achievement, 1 Mar. 2017, http://centerforstudentachievement.org/alternative-schools-just-the-facts/. Accessed 16 Nov. 2018. This source comes from the website of the Center for Student Achievement. It includes information on the effectiveness of alternative education programs in Arizona and give statistics on the number of alternative schools, graduation rate, and dropout rates in the state. I plan on using Arizona as an example model to compare to Colorado.

Colorado Department of Education. “Alternative Education Campuses.” Colorado Department of Education, 20 Jul. 2018, http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/related. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018. This source comes from the website of the Colorado Department of Education. On this page, there are multiple sources including data on alternative schools in Colorado and lists of alternative schools within Colorado. I plan on using this information to give some background knowledge on alternative education and also to show the disbursement of alternative schools within Colorado.

Colorado Department of Education. “Colorado Education Statistics.” Colorado Department of Education, 20 Jul. 2018, http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018. This source comes from the website of the Colorado Department of Education. On this page, there are sources of data on graduation statistics and dropout statistics. I plan on using this information by comparing it to the information on alternative schools and correlating the dropout rate per district and number of alternative schools per district.

McGee, John J., and Fan-Yu Lin. “Providing a Supportive Alternative Education Environment for At-Risk Students.” Preventing School Failure, vol. 61, no. 2, Jan. 2017, pp. 181–187. EBSCOhost, libdb.ppcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1132804&site=ehost-live&scope=site. This source is an academic article that comes from EBSCO host by John McGee. Within this article, there are a lot of comparisons between traditional and alternative education and how that the implementation of alternative styles has proven to decrease the number of drop-out students. I plan on using this information to further my argument on why the implementation of effective alternative education programs can be beneficial in Colorado. 

Mintz, Jerry. Pioneers in Alternative Education.  Alternative Education Resource Organization, 18 Oct. 2018, http://www.educationrevolution.org/store/jerrymintztedx/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2018. This source is a ted talk that comes from the Alternative Education Resource Organization, which is completely devoted to the movement of alternative education. In the video, Jerry Mintz explains how he has revolutionized alternative education and what more can be done to improve alternative education. I plan on using this by further explain what can be implemented into alternative education systems, so they can improve.

Mintz, Jerry. “The Whys and Hows of Alternative Education: An Idea Whose Time Has Come” Alternative Education Resource Organization, 2018, http://www.educationrevolution.org/store/resources/alternatives/whyshows/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2018. This source is an article from the Alternative Education Resource Organization. In this article, Jerry Mintz explains why alternative education is so important and the article contains personal stories on why alternative education is so important to students and their families. I plan on using this for my naysayer’s argument in explaining why a movement for alternative education should be implemented in the first place. I also intend to use the personal stories as an appeal to pathos.

Scipio, Timothy L. Alternative Education: A Comparative Case Study of the Behavior Modification Programs of two Upstate South Carolina Alternative Schools for Youth who Exhibit Behavior that is Disruptive. 2013.University of South Carolina, Doctoral dissertation. Scholar Commons, http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.823.2089&rep=rep1&type=pdf. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018. This source is a dissertation by Timothy Scipio from the University of South Carolina. This dissertation includes a case study comparing alternative education programs and which ones are the most effective students. This dissertation also includes information on younger students, which I found interesting because alternative education can be implemented earlier for behavioral students in Colorado.