GRANT WILL ALLOW MORE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT

Thanks to a $150,000 grant through the Missouri Division of Youth Services, 20 more students will be accepted into Cape Girardeau's Alternative Education Center.

Part of the public school system, the center has 26 students from Cape Girardeau and Jackson with openings for 30. Two teachers and a program director work in the mornings, primarily teaching core subjects.

With the extra money, the two teachers may start working an afternoon shift in October, said juvenile officer Randy Rhodes. More teachers likely will be hired.

AEC serves students who have been suspended or expelled. Students who don't perform well in the average classroom setting also may attend. They go to the Salvation Army building for classes.

Called a diversion grant, the money AEC received was directed to organizations that keep children from being committed to Division of Youth Services programs. The grant will be available for another three years.

That is important for teen-agers in the 32nd Judicial Circuit, Rhodes said. The circuit takes in Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties, and all three have students who may be helped at AEC.

"Kids who are not in school are the ones out there doing the offenses," Rhodes said. "Having them busy with a half day of school and a half day of work is better than having them on the streets."

He pointed to two teens in the Juvenile Detention Center. They managed to burglarize 300 homes in the area before being caught. Neither is enrolled in school.

On the other hand, none of the students who attended AEC last year was committed to Division of Youth Services programs.

AEC Director Sheldon Tyler said other school districts in the 32nd Judicial Circuit are being contacted to see if they have anyone to send. If students can provide their own transportation, they can come to Cape Girardeau and attend AEC.

Though it may seem discouraging that there are 50 or more troubled teens who qualify for alternative schooling, Tyler said he is glad he can accept the additional students this year.

"I realize there are some kids who just don't fit in the traditional mold," he said. "In society, we have to understand there are people who don't fit the norm. We have an obligation to do something with them."

One of those people is Dawn Hogan, a 17-year-old sophomore at the alternative center. A disability makes her walk with a limp and occasionally fall. Hogan said a disagreement between her parents and the school district over her care led to her dropping out of school.

At AEC she tries harder to be a serious student.

"This is better than being in a traditional school," she said. "There aren't as many time limits on getting your work done. There isn't so much pressure."

She said smaller class sizes -- about 10 students per teacher -- mean more individual attention.