Alternative High School

Last updated
Alternative High School
Clinton Ford Centre 5.jpg
Location
Alternative High School
5003 - 20 Street S.W.
(Clinton Ford Centre)

,
Canada
Coordinates 51°00′33″N114°06′35″W / 51.00917°N 114.10972°W / 51.00917; -114.10972
Information
School type Public
Founded1974 (1975, CBE acquired control)
School board Calgary Board of Education
PrincipalTracy Dalton
Grades 10-12
Enrollment130 (2023)
   Grade 10 50
   Grade 11 45
   Grade 12 35
AreaArea IV, Ward 11
Website schools.cbe.ab.ca/b863/

Alternative High School (AHS) is a public senior high (secondary) school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; which teaches grades 10 through 12. AHS is currently located at the Clinton Ford Centre, which was home to the former Clinton Ford Elementary School.

Contents

AHS was launched, independent of the board, in September 1974 by a parents group. It reflected many of the "alternative education" ideas that were popular at the time. The early philosophy the school borrowed from the ideas of A. S. Neill, who founded Summerhill School. This involved supporting the freedom of children, and opposing the traditional structure and control of most schools. Although, AHS was never meant to be a copy of Summerhill.

In 1975 AHS came under the control of the Calgary Board of Education (CBE).

Special programs

The school helps operate an off-campus class at the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre. Two teachers from the school help students progressively get back into the regular school system if they are of school age after they reach Level Three of treatment.

Notable alumna