Background
Federation Background
The Metropolitan Federation of Alternative Schools (MFAS) is an alliance of 10 community-based nonprofit organizations that operate 13 small alternative school sites in the Twin Cities area. This type of educational option was developed in the late 1960s to deal with the growing problem of school dropouts and juvenile delinquency. These services are publicly funded through the Minnesota Department of Education and privately supported through grants from the United Way, civic organizations, churches, foundations, corporations and individuals. Although most of these sites serve high school students, a few schools are designed for middle and elementary-aged young people.
Most of the sites are classified as contract alternative programs because they have formal agreements with local school districts to serve at-risk students. However, one MFAS member is a public charter school and one is categorized as a structured day treatment facility for court-ordered youngsters. The contract alternative school initiative was the harbinger of the charter school movement and was created to reach out to students who are not successful in standard educational settings. All MFAS sites are similar in that they have small class sizes, increased individual academic help, enhanced supplemental services and strong parental involvement.
Laws governing alternative schools were passed by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1987 and require that the students enrolled must exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: truancy, expulsion from prior schools, academically behind grade level, low test scores, limited English proficiency, pregnancy, homelessness, victims of abuse, chemical dependency, mental illness and/or school district referral. Other traits commonly seen among MFAS student populations are high rates of poverty, feelings of alienation and disenfranchisement, transient families and a sense of being unwelcome in traditional schools.
Despite these challenges, MFAS students achieve remarkable results. With relevant and rigorous curriculum, small class sizes and wrap-around support services MFAS schools help those students who had previously given up on school, obtain their high school diploma.
MFAS supports member schools by offering coordinated extracurricular activities, staff development, legislative advocacy, post-secondary scholarships, NorthCentral Accreditation and program and student evaluation through our Accountability Project.
What makes a contract alternative school different from a charter school?
Contract alternative schools are often confused with charter schools. While some charter schools may develop similar missions, most are not oriented to serve students who are failing in public schools. Contract alternative schools are nonpublic schools that contract with a public school district to provide instruction to students who meet graduation incentives (GI) criteria. They are defined in M.S. § 124.D.68, Subd. 3(d) (2006) and M.S. § 124.D.69 (1st Special Session 2005). Unlike Charter Schools that are independent public schools who are their own district, contract alternative programs hold a contract and the public school district that contracts with the private school:
- is responsible for reporting the eligible students enrolled in the contracted school on MARSS,
- generates contract alternative school aid, and
- is required to forward at least 95 percent of that revenue to the private school (M.S. § 124.D.69, Subd. 1) (1st Special Session 2005).
