(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – In an effort to recognize the work of educators and programs that serve students with a variety of learning needs, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has named 11 Alternative Programs of Distinction. The programs were recognized June 7 at the Kentucky Board of Education’s regular meeting in Frankfort.

An alternative education program exists to meet the needs of students that cannot be addressed in a traditional classroom setting, but can be met through the assignment of students to alternative classrooms, centers or campuses that are designed to remediate academic performance, improve behavior or provide enhanced learning experiences. Alternative education programs do not include career or technical centers or departments.

The 11 programs named as Alternative Programs of Distinction for 2017 are:

  • Ramey Estep High School (Boyd County)
  • Bullitt Alternative Center, (Bullitt County)
  • Covington Alternative Program (Covington Independent)
  • Heritage Park High School (Daviess County)
  • Regional School Programs, Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services (Dayton Independent)
  • The Learning Center, (Fayette County)
  • Western Day Treatment Center (Jefferson County)
  • The Providence School (Jessamine County)
  • McCracken Regional School (McCracken County)
  • McDaniel Learning Center (Laurel County)
  • Perry County Alternative Center

Each program selected as an Alternative Program of Distinction receives $2,000 from the Kentucky Department of Education and $1,000 from the Kentucky Center for School Safety for instructional support. Information on the schools also will be posted on the KDE website, so other schools can use the programs as models.

KDE began highlighting exemplary practices in public school alternative programs in 2009. Alternative programs include school district-operated and district-housed instructional programs that provide services to students with a variety of unique needs. They also can be district-operated instructional programs that are located in nondistrict facilities or schools and serve youth who are considered state agency children through the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children (KECSAC), the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Community Based Services and/or the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities.