Syndicate
Alternative High School
School Location
Alternative High School is located in what was originally the Clinton Ford School in the southwest community of Altadore. Its central location is important as it draws students from all areas of Calgary.
About the School
The Alternative High School was started in September 1974 by a group of parents who were looking for "another way" for their sons and daughters to acquire a high school diploma. It was part of a movement towards alternative education which swept North America in the late sixties and early seventies. Coming under the jurisdiction of the Calgary Board of Education in 1975, the school is now open to all students who meet the entrance requirements.
The school philosophy has evolved from the original A.S. Neill Summerhill approach to a more structured one of providing a highly personalized, informal and democratic learning situation for academically capable students who have not met with success in a regular high school learning environment.
The Alternative High School is presently housed in the Clinton Ford Center, previously the Clinton Ford Elementary School. The school has 8 classrooms, an art room, a small gymnasium, and an all purpose breakfast/meeting/classroom. Classrooms, hallways, and lockers are decorated artistically by students as part of the Art program.
There is an off-campus classroom at the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre that is associated with AHS. Two teachers and approximately thirty students are in the classroom. The purpose is to transition graduates back into their schools.