NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Buhler USD 313 Superintendent Cindy Couchman said the district is going to start an alternative school next year.
"Some students really need to have requirements to come in at least part of the day," Couchman said. "That would be more of what we call the alternative school. In an alternative school opening our state says that you must come in every day. The virtual school is, you can't require it, the alternative school says yes, you have to come in at least part of the day and put eyes on each student."
It's going to be a very limited program to start.
"That will serve, basically, just grades 9 through 12 this first year," Couchman said. "This is for students who the brick and mortar classroom of the high school is not working for them, either because of social issues, home issues, it could be health issues, that they are just not able to withstand the eight-hour day of a school setting."
The goal is to keep alternative school students in USD 313.
"Right now, we have about four students in our high school that we send to an alternative school," Couchman said. "We would like them to stay with us, so that way, when they are ready, they can feel free to come back into our brick and mortar school, if they want to. Right now, it's going to be small numbers and that's kind of what we anticipate it will always be. It's just three to five students a year that are needing an alternative setting and that's sort of what our goal would be. We really don't want it to be large. We want it to stay small and intimate and one on one help."
Alternative school students would not be eligible for activities in USD 313, according to Couchman.