Aliso High Offers an Alternative to Failure

Maybe it’s the tiny farm where students tend to more than a dozen goats, chickens, geese and potbellied pigs. Or maybe it’s the gardening sessions, the student-built pond and greenhouse, the attentive teachers, or the laid-back atmosphere.

Whatever the reason, Aliso High School of Reseda has captured the attention of state education officials. It was among 13 schools in the state--and the only one in the Los Angeles Unified School District--selected as a model continuation high school for 1996.

“Aliso is an incredibly stabilizing place,” said Eric Spears, a member of the California Continuing Education Assn., the private nonprofit group that coordinated the selection process with the state Department of Education.

“Part of what makes it a model school is that it really has linked the community, the parents, the staff and the kids together in a way that supports students in their education,” said Spears.

The annual award involves a tough selection process with 61 criteria--including attendance and graduation rates, parent involvement and curriculum--and exemplary recommendations from faculty, parents and students. Of the 540 continuation schools in the state--which offer an alternative education for those failing in traditional high schools--only 61 have been selected as model schools since the award was started six years ago.

A six-person review committee selected Aliso from 34 competitors.

The students at Aliso High couldn’t care less about whatever criteria the school meets. What matters to them is what they get out of it. For most students, it is the freedom to work at their own pace and receive one-on-one help from teachers.

For 16-year-old Phong Nguyen of Reseda it is a chance to attend school without getting into fights and, for the first time in his life, to entertain the idea of going to college.

“This school makes things more fun for you,” said Phong, who transferred from Canoga Park High School in November after falling behind in classes because of numerous gang-related fights and missed classes.

“Here, my English teacher helps me a lot, like with vocabulary and things I just never knew. I’d never have gotten that at regular school,” he said.

Adam Baum, 18, of Canoga Park, finds peace among the animals at the school’s small farm. After being truant for most of middle school and transferring to four different continuation schools, Baum has been at Aliso since September and plans to graduate from there.

“I like this school because they offer a lot of electives like computer class and typing class and P.E.,” Baum said. “And the animals. I really like them. I even come on the weekends to feed them.”

Working with animals inspired Baum to think about a career as a zoologist--a big accomplishment for someone who admitted he never before entertained thoughts of attending college.

Not far from where Baum sits in a small open courtyard, ducks waddle across a patch of lush grass, slowly making their way back to the student-built pond. Several other student-built structures dot the small campus: a greenhouse, a concrete holder for compost, the beginnings of a reconstructed pond.

All the buildings and projects have been done with money or materials raised by students, faculty and parents, said Aliso Principal Jay Kessler.

“I think what differentiates us is that we’re the only continuation school with full horticultural and agricultural programs,” said Kessler. “But we also try to instill a sense of responsibility and ownership among the students. That’s key.”

Jeannette French, 18, of Reseda, found a place where people would listen. She left Cleveland High School in January to attend Aliso after months of cutting class.

“At [traditional] school I was unmotivated and couldn’t express myself,” she said. “I was just a number and felt like I was just taking up space in a seat. But here, I get encouragement from teachers and other students. When I found this school it was a blessing.”

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Distinguished Schools

Here is a list of Los Angeles County schools that were named 1996 Distinguished Schools by the state superintendent of public instruction.

ABC Unified

* Cerritos High

* Whitney High

Arcadia Unified

* First Avenue Middle

* Foothills Middle

* Richard Henry Dana Middle

Bonita Unified

* Bonita High

* Ramona Middle

Burbank Unified

* John Burroughs High

Charter Oak Unified

* Charter Oak High

* Royal Oak Intermediate

Culver City Unified

* Culver City High

El Segundo Unified

* El Segundo Middle

Glendale Unified

* Eleanor J. Toll Middle

* Roosevelt Middle

Las Virgenes Unified

* Arthur E. Wright Middle

Los Angeles Unified

* Chester W. Nimitz Middle

* James A. Foshay Learning Center

* Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies

* Manual Arts High

* Rudecinda Sepulveda Dodson Middle

Norwalk-La Mirada Unified

* Arlie F. Hutchinson Middle

* Reginald M. Benton Middle

Redondo Beach Unified

* Redondo Union High

Rowland Unified

* John A. Rowland High

Temple City Unified

* Oak Avenue Intermediate

* Temple City High

Torrance Unified

* Madrona Middle

Walnut Valley Unified

* Diamond Bar High

* Suzanne Middle

Whittier Union High

* La Serna High