Horizon Joins Speak Out for Alternative Education this Saturday, Noon on the Square

Horizon High joins Speak Out Saturday in Madison on behalf of alternative education.

Do you care about alternative schooling? Madison-area supporters of alternative programs, including Horizon High School—Dane County’s only recovery school—are voicing their concerns and sharing thoughts on the need for alternatives to traditional schooling. You can join us Saturday May 15 at noon on the steps of the Capitol building downtown and Speak Out. Anyone who wishes to talk to the public about this issue will have an opportunity to do so. Check-in will take place at the State Street corner and the speaker list will start at 11:30. (Please limit your address to 2-5 minutes.) You will receive a t-shirt and number upon signing up.

If you’re concerned about the direction our schools have taken regarding students at risk—Dane County alone has 700-900 dropouts every year—then come and take a stand for non-traditional education. If you believe in experimental education or think different learning styles may call for different teaching environments, we need your voice, too.

What a difference a transition schools can make for students at-promise. We see this every day at Horizon High School. In the five years we have operated we have helped more than 40 students. These students were disenchanted with school and often weren’t attending school and were using alcohol and other drugs. At Horizon High, we’ve seen them become reengaged and succeed.

Dane County Transition School director Judith Reed recently related the story of two sisters with a shared past of abuse who take different paths in life. One receives the option of attending an alternative school for two and a half years; the other, expelled from her district repeatedly, was not given access to an alternative school and continues to struggle. A quote from that story:

“While Sara has learned to grow from trauma, Teresa is being pushed further into a dark, desolate hole…Teresa deserves to learn, grown and become a productive person.”

Want to read the full story? Click here. http://www.dcsc.org/dcts/index.html

The facts are there. Every 26 seconds a student in our nation drops out of school. Events like Saturday’s Speak Out aim to bring awareness to this problem and point toward possible solutions. To RSVP please e-mail www.dctsalternative@gmail.com