Are you considering alternative education for your child? These are the questions you need to ask.

As a parent who is deeply invested in your child’s development with an interest in exploring what’s outside of the educational mainstream, it’s important to be aware of your options. Understanding the alternative education category is an important first step. The basic questions might include:

• What kind of student would benefit from an alternative education?
• An “alternative” to what, exactly?
• What are the aims, methodologies, and potential benefits of an alternative education?

Since you’re here, we’ll take a stab at answering some of these broad questions while also describing some of the specific ways in which Oliverian provides a valuable alternative for many students.

What is “Alternative Education?”

At its core, alternative education denotes a learning environment in which educators are more willing to pursue creative learning solutions for students who have not thrived–socially, emotionally, and/or academically–in a traditional academic setting. Programs under this banner often emphasize individualized instruction, a culture of acceptance, a high level of autonomy, a blend of traditional and experiential approaches, and social-emotional support. All of this is in contrast to more traditionally structured one-size-fits-all settings.

And while every institution is different, the underlying conceit of alternative education is the understanding that traditional public and private education systems simply do not, and cannot, meet the needs of every child. Similarly, a special needs or therapeutic school is not the answer for every student who struggles in a traditional setting. Those who don’t thrive within one of those prescribed molds–the “in-between students” as we call them at Oliverian–are often highly capable adolescents who may simply see the world a little differently. Alternative education environments provide a way to not only accommodate those differences, but to actually leverage them toward positive academic and social outcomes.

Which Kids Are Best Served?

Anyone might be well-served by alternative education, but it presents an especially important opportunity for students who may simply feel out of place in traditional school settings but for whom treatment or special needs schools are not the answer either. These students often have, for a variety of reasons, become disengaged or isolated despite great academic and social potential. For these students, standardized curricula are unlikely to tap their true abilities.

Students who thrive in alternative environments often have high, if veiled, expectations for themselves. Challenges they may have encountered in traditional settings speak not to a disinterest in education, but to the failure of that situation to match their needs and learning style. The result of this kind of mismatch can cause great internal distress and may manifest outwardly in a variety of ways such as withdrawal, school avoidance, self-medication, and technology overuse. To that end, alternative learning environments provide a variety of supports–academic, social, and emotional–along with the flexibility necessary to fully tap your child’s natural aptitudes. All of this is designed to develop your child’s interests and competencies with an eye toward future success.

Oliverian’s Take

At Oliverian, what our students have most in common is their uncommonness! They tend to be quirky, sensitive, out-of-the-box thinkers and learners. Because adolescent culture (despite what adolescents say) tends to accept conformity and reject differences, the very things that could make our students powerful adult contributors often cause social, emotional, and/or academic struggles. So Oliverian celebrates our students’ differences while teaching them the coping, social, and academic skills necessary to leverage those differences to their advantage.

Instead of creating an environment that is dependent upon student conformity–as in a traditional setting, or upon compliance–as in a treatment program, Oliverian provides a high level of student autonomy along with the support necessary to navigate that autonomy. Students are allowed to make decisions and, therefore, mistakes. Those mistakes, in our context of warm but firm adult support, become critical opportunities for social and academic learning and for identity formation. This approach requires a very high staff to student ratio (approximately 1.3 to 1) and a highly engaged counseling, dorm, and academic faculty.

Year after year, we’ve seen the positive impact of this approach. Students feel safe, accepted, challenged, and free to forge an authentic and sustainable young-adult identity. At Oliverian, students learn that they can make mistakes, recover quickly, and grow. We value the individual and celebrate those things that make us unique contributors, with an understanding that success looks different for everyone.

Ultimately, just like any school — traditional, alternative, or therapeutic — we are preparing young adults to confidently navigate the next chapter of their lives.