ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL PAIRS UP WITH CIVIC CENTER

The Cape Girardeau School District hasn't taken the dropout problem lightly. The district has worked to provide alternative learning environments for high school dropouts. For example, the Adult Basic Education program, where students can work toward a G.E.D. diploma, has long been successful at the vocational-technical school.

Since November 1995, the district's Alternative School has proved a worthwhile venture. Forty students are enrolled. The program has proved so successful that it has outgrown its quarters at the Salvation Army and will relocate to the Civic Center in January. There is funding to enroll 80 students next year.

The location of the Alternative School at the Civic Center could prove a good match. It could bring new life to a center plagued by financial problems, and it will allow the alternative school program room to grow.