IALA » Associations, state

STARS Youth Organization

Wayne Jennings — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 18:47:48 +0000

STARS which stands for Success, Teamwork, Achievement, Recognition, Self-esteem is a student
organization formed by the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs. It’s activities include two leadership conferences (about 1000 students) per year and Legislative Day where students attend meetings at the state Capital and meet personally with their representative and senators. This assures statewide coverage of issues concerning alternative education and makes passage of legislation much easier. STARS, an extraordinarily successful activity, has been replicated in other states, specifically Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota.

STARS is such an important and powerful means for empowering youth that IALA provides special support to other states wanting to start a similar student organization. A board member, Wally Campbell who initiated STARS and helped other states, will help organizations form their own youth organization. Wally can be reached at 952-220-4145 or wallace247@aol.com. Contact him and his expertise will be made available.

California Organizations for Alternatives

Wayne Jennings — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:07:29 +0000

California has several associations for educational alternatives.
Their websites tell of conferences and resources. The main ones include:
*California Consortium for Independent Study:CCIS
*Court and Community Schools: JCCASAC
*Community Day School Network: CDS
*California Continuation Education Association: CCEA
*Educational Options Coordinating Council: EOCC
This last one encompasses all alternative education groups (about 13). It doesn’t have a website but the contact can be reached at janetwk@aol.com.

IALA Annual Conference

Wayne Jennings — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 02:40:34 +0000

The International Association for Learning Alternatives will hold its annual conference in conjunction with the Michigan Alternative Education Association conference April 28-May1, 2004 at Crystal Mountain resort, Thompsonville, MI near Traverse City, MI. Ask for the Michigan Alternative Education Association rate of $90 per night. The Traverse City airport, Cherry Capital, is served by American, Northwest, United and Skyway airlines. The conference will begin Wednesday, April 28 with a 7:00 p.m. reception and end on Saturday, May 1 at 1:00 p.m.

This is a departure from the summertime for the annual conference. Mark your calendars. A brochure on the conference, and forms for registration and lodging are now available on our conference page.

Position Paper on NCLB by WALA

Wayne Jennings — Mon, 15 Mar 2004 16:58:06 +0000

The Washington Association for Learning Alternatives has published a position paper on No Child Left Behind calling attention to its potentially harmful effects on education, particularly alternative programs. The carefully written and thorough paper describes WALA’s efforts over the past 30 years to provide appropriate educational programs that enable ALL students to succeed.

Great Links to Alternative Education

Wayne Jennings — Mon, 25 Aug 2003 21:45:57 +0000

The Iowa Association of Alternative Education has a fine web site and loads of links to other sources of info on alternatives, articles, and books.

Texas Association

Wayne Jennings — Mon, 25 Aug 2003 21:20:20 +0000

The newest state organization, The Texas Association for Alternative Education will hold their conference Feb. 19-21, 2004 in Austin.

Pennsylvania Association for Learning Alternatives

Wayne Jennings — Sat, 12 Apr 2003 02:48:46 +0000

Visit the new website for Pennsylvania Alternatives which gives their mission, newsletter, conferences, history and other interesting items.

Connecticut Conference

Wayne Jennings — Fri, 21 Mar 2003 20:00:43 +0000

The Connecticut Association for Alternative Schools and Programs will hold its 25th annual conference in New Britain, CT on March 28, 2003.

New York State Conference

Wayne Jennings — Fri, 21 Mar 2003 19:05:25 +0000

The New York State Alternative Education Conference, Destination Graduation: Practical Strategies for School Improvement will be May 12-14 in Albany, NY. There will be best practices, a state meeting, and numerous sessions.

Minnesota Conference

Wayne Jennings — Fri, 21 Mar 2003 15:37:11 +0000

The Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) held its annual conference Feb. 19-21, 2003 in Rochester, MN. 825 people attended. The keynote speaker was Deborah Meier, former principal of Central Park East schools in New York City and now co-principal of Mission Hill School in Boston and author of several books. 75 breakout sessions featured such topics as new forms of education, teaching methods, brain based learning, service learning, experiential learning, the MAAP student organization (STARS).

California Conference

Wayne Jennings — Wed, 19 Mar 2003 22:22:25 +0000

The California Continuation Education Association website provides a wealth of information about schools, exemplary programs, handbooks and annual conferences among other information.