NCJ Number
138809
Journal
Profile Volume: 4 Issue: 6 Dated: (1992) Pages: 1-5
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes North Carolina's OPTIONS program which offers a new academic choice to students beset by problems both at school and at home.
Abstract
OPTIONS' students, 8-12 fourth or fifth grades, spend their day in an alternative classroom within their regular school environment and thus avoid the labeling which often accompanies a child being moved to a program due to his/her behavior. Discipline is treated as a learning strategy. Staff increase their involvement by assisting students to resolve underlying issues when potentially disruptive situations occur in the classroom. Student grading also takes a different form with staff providing academic feedback which creates opportunities to improve. Another component of the OPTIONS program is family therapy. Staff meet with each family at the time of acceptance into the program, and a staff therapist continues to meet with the family at least an hour a week. An independent evaluation conducted by the Department of Sociology at Duke University shows the model to be effective in meeting its measurable objectives: 60 percent of the students will improve in school attendance, academic performance, classroom behavior, and 60 percent of students will decrease juvenile court involvement.