In Chicago, nearly 40,000 youth between the ages of 15 and 20 and approximately 97,000 youth ages 16 to 24 are high school dropouts. Without a high school diploma the implications for these youth, and for the community as a whole, are severe:
The Alternative Schools Network (ASN) believes that every youth is entitled to not only education, but the support services they need to help them succeed in obtaining their high school diploma and transitioning to the workforce.
In 1973, a group of alternative high school representatives established Alternative Schools Network as a vehicle for resource development, joint programming, and advocacy on behalf of inner-city youth who had dropped out of high school and low-skilled adults.
Today, ASN is a membership-based organization composed of 43 not-for-profit, independent, and self-governing alternative schools, as well as youth and adult education organizations. Through our partnership with these community-based and community-run programs and organizations, we create effective and innovative programs to re-engage more than 3,500 Chicago underserved and marginalized groups each year in successful education, employment and support services.
ASN serves as a conduit for the work of its member schools and community-based programs, connecting the mission, goals, strategies and outcomes to create a unified community of active participants in programming. Through this role, ASN is able to link the voices of its partner communities to marshal resources and expertise that will improve the outcomes for its target populations.
The ASN’s staff’s work centers around three strategic areas of focus:
Our goal is to ensure that youth and young adults receive engaging and positive academic and wraparound programs and experiences, both during and after school, in order to: