The Northcentral Technical College Alternative High School was created in 1987 as a joint effort of the Wausau School District and Northcentral Technical College to provide an alternative to the traditional school setting for hands-on learners. Since then it has become a program designed to serve many area
high school students at risk of not completing high school, providing an alternative method for students to continue learning in an atmosphere which is sensitive and suited to the needs of the students. This is accomplished in a technical college environment that is healthy, safe, trusting, and caring. With the cooperation and support of various public school districts in NTC district, classes are offered in
several locations throughout north central Wisconsin.

Who does the Alternative High School serve?
Students age 16 -19 who meet one or more of the criteria of the 118.15 Wisconsin state statutes can be considered for placement in the program with the approval of their home high school. These students are most commonly referred to as “at-risk” of not completing high school, due to one or more of the following:  academically unmotivated; truant; adjudicated; pregnant/teen parent; homeless; chemically dependent; or a variety of other health or behavioral concerns such as depression, or serious physical illness.   

Why are we needed?
For many teenagers, the obstacles of adolescence are large and navigating them seems impossible.  Because “at-risk” youth are not connected easily to family, school, and community, and they do not believe that their future is promising, their sense of obstacles is very different. Their lack of developmental assets, including connections to adults, feeling valued by their community, and being committed to learning have been linked to a number of factors that contribute to dropping out of school.

NTC’s Alternative High School provides opportunities to draw upon the strengths of supportive staff, adult students and mentors, and community organizations while nurturing the most lasting factor a young person can develop—his or her own motivation to succeed. The school utilizes approaches that attempt to motivate young people to think about their own future, their careers, their self worth, and their potential in an adult setting.  Housing the Alternative High School at Northcentral Technical College makes sense because we can provide role models, resources, and positive social networks. Young people, like adults, respond to the examples and supports around them.

What is the NTC Alternative High School all about?  What is our mission?
Striving to make school a safe, friendly, stimulating and interesting place for students, the environment is separate and distinct from the traditional high school setting. Holding the program at the technical college campus encourages students to become life-long learners. The program aims to meet each student’s social, emotional, academic and post-secondary needs through learning experiences that include Northcentral Technical College and the community at large.

Schools in the 21st century face many challenges. They must ensure that students are provided the opportunity to reach high levels of academic achievement, increase graduation rates, prepare students for the future world of work, and provide stimulating and practical coursework, while serving a diverse student population with varying needs. The alternative high school is designed with all these needs in mind.

Both Northcentral Technical College and area high schools realize the importance of strengthening the quality of learning for at-risk students and are continually striving to develop innovative and cooperative ways to enhance their learning experience.

What are the objectives of the Alternative High School?

• Assist students, ages 16-19, in achieving a high school diploma or HSED
• Assist in the development of marketable job skills and “soft skills”
• Incorporate a holistic program that helps students develop more wholesome, healthy, and
  rewarding attitudes toward themselves and others
• Encourage the development of character, including the skills of appropriate decision-making, honesty, integrity, and persistence in adversity
• Provide a flexible school day for students who must work because of personal and/or
  financial need
• Improve access to and recognition of the need for post-secondary education for careers in
  the 21st century
• Provide access to and involvement in the broader community in which students live 

Students’ academic and career exploration education is accomplished through:

• Connecting learning to the world of work
• Hands-on experiences in academic areas
• Career focused mini-courses
• Group and individual project or competency-based learning
• Self-paced learning in the HSED track 
• Apprenticeships or other career-related pathways

What is our school profile?
Approximately 400 students in the NTC district are served annually by the alternative high school.  With a maximum 15 to 1 student-teacher ratio, students get academic and emotional attention. Every student is well known by the staff. Faculty consists of instructors who are licensed by both the Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Technical College System.

For more information, contact:

Wendy Peterson
Associate Dean, K-16 Relations
Phone: 715.675.3331, Ext. 4752

Sherri Resch
Administrative Assistant
Phone: 715.675.3331, Ext. 4784