NCJ Number
165637
Date Published
Unknown
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Georgia launched an alternative schools program, known as CrossRoads, in 1994 for disruptive and non-attending students; the Georgia Department of Education channels funds to local school districts who serve as fiscal agents for the program, and each program requires the local collaboration of educators, health and human service personnel, law enforcement and criminal justice personnel, parents, students, and the private sector.
Abstract
Program goals are to provide chronically disruptive, committed, and nonattending students in grades 6-12 with the social services and individualized instruction they need to become successful students and to make public schools safer by removing chronically disruptive students. The CrossRoads program has been relatively successful in changing the lives of students, has the support of virtually all parents, serves 156 school districts at 120 locations, and has 87 percent teacher support. Further, the CrossRoads program exists as part of an overall strategy in Georgia known as the Children's Initiative, a strategy designed to create a synergistic, holistic, and customer-driven service system for individuals up to 20 years of age and their families. Policies and procedures associated with implementation of the CrossRoads program are detailed, and components of a successful alternative school program are identified in an assessment form. Criteria for student participation in CrossRoads are described, as well as a conceptual model of factors influencing students at risk. 2 figures