Open Meadow Alternative School

Established in 1971, Open Meadow is one of Oregon's oldest alternative schools providing education and support services to youth who have not achieved success in traditional academic settings. The school provides a full range of services, including job readiness and occupational skills training, paid and unpaid internships, alternative educational offerings, leadership development opportunities, comprehensive guidance and counseling, supportive services, and transition and follow-up services. Over the years, Open Meadow supplemented its curriculum with a program called the Corps for Restoring the Urban Environment (CRUE) to enhance school-to-career services for high school students through a project-based and community involvement curriculum. Open Meadow also opened a drop-out prevention middle school program. Open Meadow strives to educate youth in small relationship-based programs that emphasize personal responsibility, academics, and service to the community.

The goals of the Open Meadow program are 1) to re-engage high risk youth so they will complete their education; and 2) to connect high risk youth to their community in a positive way.

The following are some of the key outcome data for program year 2002-2003:

-341 youth served at Open Meadow
-20 of 24 eligible students achieved a high school diploma
-203 students participated in pre-employment activities
-58 students completed occupational skills training
-66 students were placed in long-term employment