Ericka Dangos
Victoria Downey
Traditional high schools can be seen as a “one size fits all” approach. For most Charles City teenagers, they follow the same schedule. School starts at 8:15, they attend 40 minute classes with five minutes in between class periods, school dismisses at 3:05, and repeat the process the next day; five days a week, 180 days a year. For some students, this scheduling only creates stress and discomfort. Enter Carrie Lane Alternative High School, a school unique to our community where the students work at their own pace and enjoy a small class setting.
Carrie Lane was opened in 1992 after a state mandate that all districts needed to provide “alternative schooling options”. For some districts, that was as simple as adding a C-CAP program or combining with other districts to start a small class. For Charles City, that meant the development of another school where students who had dropped out of school could finish their diploma. Then, overtime it evolved to accepting students who were not just drop outs, but also students who were on the verge of quitting high school or simply didn’t think the traditional high school was right for them. This little school was located in what is now the Technology building at the college grounds, and served fifteen students with 1 teacher.
Today, Carrie Lane is located in the upstairs portion of 1st Congregational Church in Charles City. They occupy about six rooms with twenty eight students enrolled, and over 200 graduates. Administrator, Don Betts, has been working at Carrie Lane for nineteen years, and he emphasized the importance of having an alternative school. “Carrie Lane is meant to be different. We use our smaller class size to create relationships to improve academic success among our students. These are students that were often classified at the high school as ‘at risk’ or ‘falling through the cracks’. Here, there are no cracks to fall through. We expect 100% out of every student,” says Betts. Student Tanner Schmitt also said, “If you’re a slacker, you shouldn’t come here. We are hard workers who care about our future.”
The expansions of the school in the last few years brought more class options, and the hiring of a new teacher, Josh Dean, who had previously taught English at the high school. Dean says, “The difference with Carrie Lane is that our kids want to be her; we have a mainly positive attitude and work environment. There’s a lot of really good kids here. It’s been fun to develop personal relationships and help them finish high school.” The school is now able to host a parenting class every Thursday morning. Maddy Lawrence, a senior at Carrie Lane, noted the benefits of the class, “It was very helpful to me, especially when I was pregnant. [The counselor] offered advice I had never heard, and gave me an outlook on where my life could go from here.”
The Spirit also interviewed some of the students currently attending Carrie Lane. Senior, Katlyn Fox, transferred to Carrie Lane in 2012. After she receives her diploma, she plans on taking NIACC classes to become a pediatric surgeon. Her advice to students considering Carrie Lane is, “It’s a very good school, and if you feel like you’re not going to graduate, you can come here.” Another student who is also a senior, Kyla Osterkamp, says, “Transferring to Carrie Lane was the best decision I made.”
Victoria Downey
Traditional high schools can be seen as a “one size fits all” approach. For most Charles City teenagers, they follow the same schedule. School starts at 8:15, they attend 40 minute classes with five minutes in between class periods, school dismisses at 3:05, and repeat the process the next day; five days a week, 180 days a year. For some students, this scheduling only creates stress and discomfort. Enter Carrie Lane Alternative High School, a school unique to our community where the students work at their own pace and enjoy a small class setting.
Carrie Lane was opened in 1992 after a state mandate that all districts needed to provide “alternative schooling options”. For some districts, that was as simple as adding a C-CAP program or combining with other districts to start a small class. For Charles City, that meant the development of another school where students who had dropped out of school could finish their diploma. Then, overtime it evolved to accepting students who were not just drop outs, but also students who were on the verge of quitting high school or simply didn’t think the traditional high school was right for them. This little school was located in what is now the Technology building at the college grounds, and served fifteen students with 1 teacher.
Today, Carrie Lane is located in the upstairs portion of 1st Congregational Church in Charles City. They occupy about six rooms with twenty eight students enrolled, and over 200 graduates. Administrator, Don Betts, has been working at Carrie Lane for nineteen years, and he emphasized the importance of having an alternative school. “Carrie Lane is meant to be different. We use our smaller class size to create relationships to improve academic success among our students. These are students that were often classified at the high school as ‘at risk’ or ‘falling through the cracks’. Here, there are no cracks to fall through. We expect 100% out of every student,” says Betts. Student Tanner Schmitt also said, “If you’re a slacker, you shouldn’t come here. We are hard workers who care about our future.”
The expansions of the school in the last few years brought more class options, and the hiring of a new teacher, Josh Dean, who had previously taught English at the high school. Dean says, “The difference with Carrie Lane is that our kids want to be her; we have a mainly positive attitude and work environment. There’s a lot of really good kids here. It’s been fun to develop personal relationships and help them finish high school.” The school is now able to host a parenting class every Thursday morning. Maddy Lawrence, a senior at Carrie Lane, noted the benefits of the class, “It was very helpful to me, especially when I was pregnant. [The counselor] offered advice I had never heard, and gave me an outlook on where my life could go from here.”
The Spirit also interviewed some of the students currently attending Carrie Lane. Senior, Katlyn Fox, transferred to Carrie Lane in 2012. After she receives her diploma, she plans on taking NIACC classes to become a pediatric surgeon. Her advice to students considering Carrie Lane is, “It’s a very good school, and if you feel like you’re not going to graduate, you can come here.” Another student who is also a senior, Kyla Osterkamp, says, “Transferring to Carrie Lane was the best decision I made.”