The Alternative High School Initiative launched a Place-Based Partnership with the city of Indianapolis, Indiana in 2007, and with Nashville, Tennessee and Newark, New Jersey in 2008. Through the Place-Based Partnership initiative, each of the three cities are developing new, student-centered high schools that ensure that all young people, particularly those for whom traditional school settings have not been successful, have the opportunity to graduate and achieve success in college, work, and life.

AHSI Place-based Partnerships are a means to create a continuum of high quality alternative high schools so as to move significantly toward reaching the scale needed to make these options available to all young people in a locality, including struggling students, those at-risk of dropping out, and those who may already be out-of-school.

Partnerships must include cities, school districts, community organizations, postsecondary institution(s), and high quality alternative high school programs, including models belonging to the Alternative High School Initiative.

Desired Results:

• Engage a local and statewide network of partners in collaborating with one another and with AHSI to expand existing education, workforce, and youth development opportunities for at-risk students and out-of-school youth;
• Successfully launch high-quality secondary school alternatives in a locality targeting at-risk and out-of-school youth by initiating AHSI model programs that complement and build upon the existing school, local government, and community infrastructure;
• Increase the number of young people who continue in high school, reenroll, or enroll in a high quality community-based alternative high school program, and successfully earn a high school diploma along with competencies for achieving college and career success; and
• Influence broader high school reform and policy efforts by improving the ability of local school systems, local government agencies, and community organizations to meet the needs of all young people for achieving academic and personal success.

Local Partnerships

AHSI Place-based Partnerships will aim to demonstrate that jointly crafted citywide commitments by municipal leaders, school district leaders, community leaders, and program innovators, with support from broader nonprofit and private sector networks, can significantly expand high quality alternatives for high school, enabling higher numbers of young people to achieve academic and career success. All partners are expected to contribute equally high levels of leadership and dedication toward achieving results in partnership with one another. A Letter of Agreement undergirds each local partnership – click here to view the Indianapolis sample.

High Quality Programs

At the heart of AHSI Place-based Partnerships are high quality alternatives for high school. These are new alternative secondary school initiatives that prepare young people to graduate from high school and achieve college and career success through programs characterized by rigor, relevance, and relationships. Alternatives for high school belonging to the AHSI network exemplify five distinguishing characteristics which create ideal opportunities for collaboration among city, school, and community partners.

These principles are evident in the design of all AHSI schools:

• Authentic learning, teaching, and performance assessment;
• Personalized school culture;
• Shared leadership and responsibility;
• Supportive partnerships; and
• Future focus for students.

These partnerships will complement, expand, and enhance the reach of existing high quality alternative high schools by creating a diverse array of models that aim to reach all young people. Every model in the AHSI Network is unique, and when aligned with one another and other local models of high quality, the result will be to create a continuum of high quality options and alternatives for young people. The “multiple pathways” concept is inherent in this approach – young people will be able to select among a number of different types of learning experiences to find the one most able to support them in fulfilling their potential.