Sowers Alternative High School

Sowers Alternative High School serves qualifying regular and special education students, grades 9-12, in a variety of specialized programs. Students attending the school either have significant social/emotional needs or are placed through the district's suspension/expulsion hearing process. All students are provided with accredited academic courses tailored to their individual needs and abilities. Courses are also fully aligned with the district's curriculum allowing for easier reintegration to their base school.

• All high school students attending Sowers Alternative High School earn credit toward graduation following the district's standards.
• Students, who attend Sowers the full school year, improve their reading skills an average of two grade levels.
• Students, who attend Sowers the full school year, improve their math skills an average of two grade levels.
• Sowers uses a computerized program to monitor student behavioral growth. Weekly reports are sent to parents/guardians reflecting the percentage of growth each week.

The mission statement of Sowers Alternative High School is to ensure that students placed in the various programs learn the skills and acquire the knowledge necessary for success at continuing stages of their lives.

1. Students will improve their writing skills across the curriculum.
2. Students will improve their reading and comprehension skills through a variety of text.
3. Students will improve their mathematical computation skills.

Sowers serves students from all high schools in Wichita and, therefore, does not have a site council.

Our Emotional Disturbance Program serves students with severe social and emotional needs. It is governed by local, state and federal mandates and laws for Special Education. Educational services are individualized to meet each student's needs as determined by a Child Study Team and documented on an Individualized Education Plan. Educational services are provided in a unique environment where students achieve essential social, emotional, vocational and academic skills necessary to transition into the adult world. Our qualified staff encourages each student to be creative and to explore a vast career and post-secondary option, as well as to value themselves and others.

The Sowers Alternative Educational Setting is designed for special education students who have violated Board policies at their base school. The alternative program serves students grades 9-12 who are entitled to special education services but cannot attend their base school due to the severity of the disciplinary action. Placements into this program are done through the district hearing office in conjunction with the Special Education Division of USD 259.

Sowers Computer Education Center, formally housed at Arkansas Avenue Gateway, was created by the Board of Education to offer limited academic services to students expelled for "Transferred Intent Battery" of a staff member. This program offers two separate sessions for high school students during the 186 day expulsion that this offense mandates. Students are provided with the core curriculum through a computerized program.

Our Salvation Army Learning Center is a service offered to the students at Koch Salvation Army Center in Wichita, KS. Students attending this program reside at the Salvation Army on the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility and are transported to Sowers for their educational services. Students are provided with the core curriculum through a variety of modalities which include: computer assisted instruction, audio visual materials, written materials and research. Not all courses will use all approaches but are rather tailored to the individual student's needs.

The Developmental Disabilities Program offers students with severe emotional disturbances the opportunity to learn vocational and life skills. The program is centered on a functional curriculum which may include, as determined by the IEP, basic work skills, community survival skills, functional academic skills, and appropriate social behaviors.

Sowers Learning Center is designed specifically for students with severe social and emotional needs. It serves as a credit recovery program for students who are either at risk for, or those who have already dropped out of school and decided to return to complete their high school diploma. The program is aligned with USD 259 curriculum standards. The curriculum is then adapted and modified for each student according to their academic needs based upon service needs from their IEP.

Course work is offered through a variety of modalities which include: computer assisted instruction, audio visual materials, written materials and research. Not all courses will use all approaches. Both a certified teacher and a paraprofessional are available to assist the students. This program allows students to move through course work at their own pace using a flexible schedule.

Services

Students are supported through our schools Re-Integration Process. When the student demonstrates the ability/skills to move back into their base high school, Sowers provides the following services to support their success:

• Supervised tours and visits prior to re-integration
• Regular visitation from trained staff at Sowers
• Progress monitoring on regular intervals
• Ongoing support to base schools to ensure success

Sowers also offers Vocational Training for students whom the Child Study Team recommends for a less restrictive environment. This course work may include:

• Career Interest Surveys
• Resume Development
• How to Fill out an Application
• How to Dress for an Interview
• How to Interview Successfully
• Job Search Skills
• Educational Credit for on the job experience

Transition Services are also offered through the school. The staff at Sowers works with a variety of outside community agencies with the assistance of the Communities in Schools office located at Sowers to offer full wrap-around services. It is our goal to work as a team with any service agency that you may already use, or to assist you in finding an agency that might fit your needs.

Onsite Support Staff are available to assist students with their mental health needs as well as medication management.

• Newspaper
• Yearbook
• Various Clubs
• Group Activities
• Field Day
• Camp Day

Sowers Alternative High School is housed in the former Sowers Elementary School, named for Fred A. Sowers. Wichita's first newspaper, The Vidette, was started in April 1870 by Mr. Sowers. In 1873, Mr. Sowers started the Beacon, the first daily newspaper in the Arkansas Valley. He served on the City Council for two terms and on the Board of Education for three terms.

Sowers Elementary School opened September 8, 1953, with 307 pupils and 10 teachers. Forsblom and Parks were the architects for the 12 room structure. The school was not connected to the city gas or water lines. The children waded the creeks in wet weather unless the parents brought them and braved the ruts left by the construction company along the east bank of the canal. There were times of high water when the Joyland train was used to transport the children across Dry Creek.

Two footbridges were constructed in the spring of 1954 to span the creeks. For two years no street, as such, came to Sowers. In 1954, a footbridge was constructed across the canal, and in 1956, Wassall was paved and a bridge constructed across Dry Creek. There was much discussion and some dissension between the Board of Education and the City Commission about the placement of the school and the consequent need for the construction of the street and bridge. The newspapers took up the story and dubbed Sowers the "Helicopter School."

The land for the Sowers site was acquired during the time when the Board of Education could buy no land outside the actual boundaries of the city. By necessity, available undeveloped land was often acquired that did not represent the ideal site. For beauty, the Sowers site is ideal; a city park of eight to ten acres is adjacent to the school site.

In the fall of 1966, highway construction, the paving of the canal, and a $60,000 footbridge across the canal and highway were started. For two years school and construction went on side by side.

A peak enrollment of 452 was reached in 1958-59. Declining enrollment closed Sowers as an elementary school at the end of the 1989-90 school year.

The building was reopened as an alternative high school in the fall of 1990 with Fred Leichtenfeldt as principal. The school maintained a special day school program for special education students and a program for regular education students who had significant behavioral problems at their base school. Regular education was discontinued in the spring of 1994 leaving the school to serve only special education students.

From A History of Wichita Public Schools, c 1997