“I Hope I Make It”: Alternative School Students’ Attendance and the Need for an Expanded Accountability

Few empirical studies describe the interior world of alternative school settings. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 11 alternative school students, discussing factors that contribute to absenteeism as well as the circumstances that led them to enroll in an alternative setting. We find that students’ regular attendance is facilitated by (1) stable housing, (2) a means of transportation to school, (3) feelings of belonging, and (4) flexible supports from staff. Given that two of these pertain to matters beyond the school, we argue for an “expanded accountability,” in which the language of “accountability” is broadened to encompass non-educational policymaking.