Alternative High School

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.

Alternative High School
Address
5003 - 20 Street S.W. (Clinton Ford Centre) Calgary , Alberta Canada
Coordinates	51°00′33″N 114°06′35″W
Information
School type	Public
Founded	1974 (1975, CBE acquired control)
School board	Calgary Board of Education
Principal	Tracy Dalton
Grades	10-12
Enrollment	130 (2023)
• Grade 10	50
• Grade 11	45
• Grade 12	35
Area	Area IV, Ward 11
Website	schools.cbe.ab.ca/b863/

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

• Feist, musician (1994)

External links

• Official web site of Alternative High School
• Calgary Board of Education - School profile
• Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre - Partners with CBE and AHS to provide classroom instruction to those transitioning back into school.
• Kid Power (August 23, 2004) - Article in Maclean's, Canada's leading weekly news magazine), discusses AHS.
• Alternative High School should be a model for others (May 27, 2004) - Editorial in FFWD Weekly about AHS.