<p>I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who lives in the CA Bay Area mid-peninsula. His S2015 is disenchanted with education, became truculent and uncooperative in middle school, and failed a bunch of his 9th grade classes at his default public HS. They are looking for an alternative educational route for him. Can anyone point me toward resources in that area?</p>
<p>There is a great place called Orinda Academy, but it would be a bit of a drive from the peninsula (East Bay). It is accessible by Bart.</p>
<p>One resource is the School for Independent Learners in Los Altos…many public high school students use it to replace one or two failed classes, the school is WASC accredited, and the UCs and CSUs recognize it. There are students who attend only SIL, but I think the majority of students use the school to accelerate or remediate in just a few classes.
It is probably also worth doing an evaluation with an educational pyschologist to see if there are learning differences that are surfacing. Parents Helping Parents (San Jose, I think) or Children’s Health Council (Palo Alto) or the pediatrician should be able to offer local referrals.</p>
<p>Palo Alto Prep. I have heard of this school, but have no personal experience with it. I think it’s small and focused on personal attention.</p>
<p>Thank you for these suggestions. I will relay them to my friend.<br>
Also, I would welcome a PM from anyone in the region who has dealt with these sorts of issues.</p>
<p>I second Orinda Academy, I’ve heard great things. </p>
<p>Millennium High School is a great alternative school (it’s attached to Piedmont High School) but you do not have to live in Piedmont to attend the school (although it does offer all resources PHS has at its disposal). The people I know that attend love that tests aren’t everything and how learning is about the process, not the final result. But again, it’s in Piedmont (a small city next to Oakland) which is a long drive from Palo Alto (a little under an hour in no traffic). Definitely worth considering though.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention Star Academy, although that’s more for kids with special needs over just an alternative high school. A close family friend went there and it did her wonders.</p>