Tahoma alternative education program undergoes change

The Tahoma School District’s alternative education program will be restructured next school year so that students receive help sooner.

Changes to the alternative education program would put more emphasis on identifying and assisting struggling students in middle school and junior high, as well as providing broader academic and vocational choices to high school students. The new program would result in major changes at Maple Valley High School, which has served as the district's alternative high school since 1987-88.

Maple Valley High School’s original mission was to provide an alternative route for high school students in grades 11 and 12 to retrieve credits and graduate. The program has expanded to include students in grades 9 and 10, though the education model remains mostly the same. Changes in state and federal education requirements, including revisions to state high school graduation requirements, led the district to evaluate programs throughout the district, including Maple Valley High School.

A study commissioned by the school district in the 2006-07 school year recommended that the program be restructured. The report concluded that Maple Valley High School could not offer the breadth of academic and vocational programs students need to meet district and state graduation requirements.

Current Maple Valley High School students will be offered a choice of academic and vocational classes under the new program proposal. Students would be placed at Tahoma High School or as part of an approved vocational training program. Every student identified as needing alternative education resources will be evaluated and provided with options that can lead to successful completion of state and school district graduation requirements.
The district will host a parent-student information meeting the evening of April 3 to explain the new program and answer questions.