Lakeside ALE program receives state honors

The alternative learning environment program at Lakeside Middle School was recently honored at the state Capitol for the students’ performance on the ACT Aspire exam last spring.

Lakeside ranked in the top five of math scores out of the 480 ALE programs in the state. All 14 students in the class were recognized during a special ALE event in Little Rock Feb. 9.

“It was a wonderful thing for them to achieve,” said Patti Bono, Lakeside Middle School ALE instructor. “They worked really hard at it.”

The Arkansas Association of Alternative Educators and the Alternative Education Unit within the Arkansas Department of Education celebrated successful students, programs and school districts. “A Day at The Capitol” included Capitol Quest tours and scavenger hunt, as well as a tour of the Arkansas treasury. Students were able to have their pictures taken while holding large amounts of money.

“Opportunities like this are leading the way in transforming Arkansas to lead the nation in student-focused education,” said Lori Lamb, director of the ADE’s ALE Unit.

The state department developed material for the Capitol Quest to lead and inform students about the Capitol. Lakeside Middle School students in the Environmental and Spatial Technologies program converted the material into a booklet for their classmates.

Awards were presented in the morning with more than 200 attendees. Model districts were recognized for the development of successful programs and students nominated for the Diamond Award overcame challenges in their lives and education.

Lakeside Middle School received an

achievement recognition for top-scoring student outcomes. Districts were separated by those that served five to 10 students and those with 10 or more.

Bono’s class includes 14 students in grades 5-7. It is the maximum number allowed in a classroom with a paraprofessional. Bono is assisted by Ruby Hill.

“They do the very best they can and they are always striving to be at the top,” Bono said. “It doesn’t shock me they received something. It’s just always good to acknowledge they work hard.”

State Rep. Les Warren, R-District 25, met with the students for their tour of the Capitol and recognized them later in the afternoon on the floor of the Arkansas House of Representatives. Attendees observed both the House and the Senate in action.

“This day was full of education in action, through the delivery of strategic personalized learning,” Lamb said.

Schools who received awards were allowed to bring three students each. All 14 Lakeside students traveled to the Capitol, as they do every year, because Bono is the current president of the AAAE.

“This is a great group of kids,” Bono said. “I love my job. It’s not even really a job for me.”

Bono said she is passionate about alternative learning and she is happy to see the way ALE practices have evolved in recent years. The state and its schools are slowly transitioning away from using ALE as a punitive measure.

“It’s not supposed be a place that holds children,” Bono said. “They have a right to learn just like every other child has a right to learn. These kids just thrive in these types of environments.

“That’s what it is supposed to be about. You find out what makes this kid be successful and that’s where they need to be.”

A growing number of schools now place emphasis on non-punitive efforts, such as a therapeutic environment, to fit the various learning styles and to meet the individual needs and strengths of students.

Bono has been in education for more than 20 years and has been at Lakeside for four years. She has been president of the AAAE for three years and said she plans to run in the summer for a new term.

Her class includes lessons and community service at the Caring Place. Bono said she will increase the community service requirement to 15 hours per semester by next school year. She said ALE should be used as a punitive measure.

“Alternative education should be that,” Bono said. “It is an alternative way to learn. It never should have been set up for ‘bad’ kids. What is a ‘bad’ child? Define a ‘bad’ child for me. They are still kids and they have got to be educated.”