Welcome to Challenger High School,

The staff at Challenger is prepared and committed to providing collaborative support as we continue our journey of helping students to graduate from high school and move on to post-high school education or the world of work. Our mission is to provide students a safe environment, with smaller class sizes and a more flexible setting for students to learn and grow in. 

At Challenger we are committed to providing students with a rigorous and relevant education while building strong relationships with our families. Our students are graduating at a time where they will be competing in a global economy; they must demonstrate critical thinking skills, be able to analyze, problem-solve, and communicate. It is our responsibility to prepare them for this world and to be career and college ready when they graduate. Your student will be challenged, supported, and encouraged to do their best work while at Challenger.

The Challenger High School Staff looks forward to continuing to work with you and your student regarding their academic progress and we are excited about what lies ahead for all of us this coming year. 

Have a great school year! 

Jeff Johnson      Kara Runge

Principal               Assistant Principal  

Vision

Every Challenger student will be college and career ready when they graduate.

Mission

Challenger High School provides a safe and equitable community for educating and inspiring students in preparation for their futures.  We provide academic, social and emotional support for the whole student to foster responsible local and global citizenship. Smaller class sizes allow individualized and innovative teaching methods to meet the needs of each student. 

Belief Statements 

At Challenger High School We Believe…

• In maintaining vibrant and relevant classrooms. 

• Attendance and effort are critical to learning. 

• In celebrating diversity and unity in our classrooms. 

• All students will be provided a safe and secure learning environment. 

• Communication among students, staff, families and administration is vital. 

Position	Staff	Phone	Email
Principal	Jeff Johnson	253.800.6889	jeajohnson@bethelsd.org
Assistant Principal	Kara Runge	253.800.6888	krunge@bethelsd.org
Secretary	Kim Nelson	253.800.6800	kknelson@bethelsd.org
Academic Counselor	Alison Von Stein	253.800.6808	avonstein@bethelsd.org
Social Worker	Lauren Riley	253. 800.6854	lariley@bethelsd.org
Attendance Secretary		253.800.6892
Registrar	Nelson Molina Medina	253.800.6884	nmolinamed@bethelsd.org
Career Specialist	Jessie Blocker	253.800.6810	jblocker@bethelsd.org
Nurse	Jaci Sweet	253.800.6868	jsweet@bethelsd.org
Campus Safety	Lori Weik	253.800.6893	lwiek@bethelsd.org
Family Resource Coordinator	Christney Kpodo	253.800.6825	ckpodo@bethelsd.org

Overview and Schedules 

Here is an Overview of Challenger’s Alternative Program: 

• Smaller school and class sizes: 150 students per session (AM and PM), 16-18 students in each class. Co-taught classes 18 - 22 students in each class with two teachers. 

• Four, 9-week terms, offering four .25  and .5 classes each term

• ELA and Math are year-long classes (.25 credits each term), all others are .5 credits each term 

• Juniors and Seniors who have met the ELA standard with have 1 semester ELA classes (.5 credit each term) 

• Students can earn 1.5 to 2.0 credits each term for a minimum of 6 for the year with the ability to earn more credit through credit-recapture courses (online and independent study)

• School is in session Monday-Friday; 3 hours a day. 

• Students are expected to do homework on their own to keep up in their classes. 
• Challenger Students can also attend the Pierce County Skills Center. Students need to have earned at least 10 credits and be in grades 11 or 12 to access these technical programs.

Term 1: September 6 - November 10, 2022

Term 2: November 14 – February 3, 2023 

Term 3: February 6 – April 20, 2023

Term 4: April 21 – June 23, 2023

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Daily Schedules 

Regular Schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

If there is a reason to start school with a 2-hour delay (power outage, snow/ice) there will be no busing or scheduled classes at Challenger. Instead, students will be provided with asynchronous assignments that they can be working on from home with their iPad and their teachers' Canvas pages. Teachers will post content and assignments to their Canvas pages for students to access no later than 10:00am on these days.  

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When there is a widespread emergency in process, these stations will be continually updated:

Every 30 minutes:
KIRO TV 7	KOMO, 1000 AM	KRPM, 106,1 FM	KCIS, 630 AM
KRPM, 770 AM	KRWM, 106.9	KIXI, 880 AM	SLSY, 92.5 FM
KSER, 90.7 FM	KLAY, 1180 AM	KPLU, 88.5 FM	KMTT, 103.7

Every 15 minutes:
KIRO, 710 AM	KING, 1090 AM and TV 5
KMPS, 1300 AM and 94.1 FM	KOMO TV 4

**You can also find snow/ice/emergency reports on the Internet at: http://schoolreport.org. Please visit the Bethel School District website, www.bethelsd.org, for information about Bethel schools and transportation.

Defining Alternative Learning Experience (ALE)

Washington State has unique laws and regulations that relate to Alternative Schools such as Challenger.

• Education is designed through an Individualized Academic Learning Plan for every student while operating within the guidelines of Washington State statutes and district policies.

• Teacher contact is less than a typical one-hour per day per course.

• A typical traditional student FTE consists of at least 25 direct hours of teacher contact per week, whereas ALE FTE is based upon the amount of work achieved each week.

• ALE FTE students must successfully complete a minimum 25 hours of academic work per week consisting of at least 5 hours of class contact as designed through an Individualized Academic Learning Plan.

• Comparing ALE Student FTE

• Traditional student FTE is not formulated by academic performance, but by school attendance consisting of at least 1 day per month (20 school days).

• Alternative student FTE is formulated by successful academic performance of Individual Learning Plans audited every 20 school days.

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ALE Student Stages of Accountability 

Audited Monthly

If students do not sign their monthly progress report during the last 5 school days of the month they will lose their seat at Challenger. 

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BSD BOARD POLICY FOR ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

Bethel School District Policy 2255 ALTERNATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS

The Bethel School District establishes the On-Site and Off-Site Programs as alternative learning experience programs, providing on-site instruction or instruction over the internet or by other electronic means, such as on-line courses or distance learning, as defined in RCW 28A.250.010. The alternative learning experience is provided by the school district and may be conducted, in part, outside or within the regular classroom. A portion of the alternative learning experience may be provided by the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) under the supervision of the school district in accordance with the student’s alternative learning plan.

1. The board authorizes the creation of an alternative learning experience (ALE) program. The district will make available to students enrolled in alternative learning experience program educational opportunities designed to meet their individual needs. The district will comply with all program requirements necessary to count ALE as a course of study and ensure state funding for ALE students. ALE programs include, but are not limited to:
2. On-line programs as defined in law.
3. Parent partnership programs that include significant participation and partnership by parents and families in the design and implementation of a student’s learning experience; and
4. Contract-based learning programs.
5. Each student participating in an alternative learning experience shall have a written student learning plan designed to meet that student’s individual education needs. The written student learning plan will be developed in partnership with the student, the student’s parents, and/or other interested parties, with recognition that school staff has the primary responsibility and accountability for the plan, including supervision and monitoring, and evaluation and assessment of the student’s progress. The plan must:

• Include a schedule of the duration of the program, including the beginning and ending dates
• Describe the specific learning goals and performance objectives of the alternative learning experience; (This requirement may be met through course syllabi or other detailed descriptions of learning requirements.)
• Describe the average number of hours per week that the student will engage in learning activities to accomplish the objectives of the plan;
• Describe how weekly contact requirements will be fulfilled;
• Identify instructional materials essential to successful completion of the learning plan;
• Include a timeline and method for evaluating student progress toward the learning goals and performance objectives specified in the learning plan;
• Identify whether the alternative learning experience meets one or more of the state essential academic learning requirements defined by the district;
• High school alternative learning plans must identify whether the experience meets state and district graduation requirements.

3. Alternative learning experience curriculum and course requirements will be based on state and district academic standards and must be approved by the district pursuant to policy.
4. Direct student contact will be made weekly by certificated staff and must, at a minimum, include a two-way exchange of information between a certificated teacher and the student. All required direct personal contact must be documented. Review and documentation of student progress shall take place monthly. The results of each evaluation shall be communicated to the student and, if the student is in grades K-8, the student’s parent(s). If adequate progress is not being made, revisions to the student learning plan shall take place.
5. The student learning plan and records of enrollment, including the statement of understanding, weekly contact, progress documentation, any interventions and signed parent disclosure documents shall be maintained and made available for audit.

The board will adopt and annually review written policies authorizing alternative learning experiences, including each alternative learning experience course and program provider. The school district official responsible for this program is the superintendent or designee. The school district official responsible for overseeing each ALE program will report at least annually to the board. This annual report will include at least the following:

1. Documentation of ALE student headcount and full-time equivalent enrollment claimed for basic education funding;
2. Identification of the overall ratio of certificated instructional staff to full time equivalent students enrolled in each ALE course and program;
3. A description of how the course supports the district’s overall goals and objectives for student academic achievement; and Results for any self evaluations.
4. The district will submit an annual report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction detailing the costs and purposes of any expenditures made to purchase or contract for instructional or co-curricular experiences and services that are included in an ALE written student learning plan, along with the substantially similar experiences or services made available to students enrolled in the district’s regular instructional courses and programs.

General Guidelines

Alternative learning experience (ALE) means a course, or for grades kindergarten through eight, grade-level course work, that is a delivery method of basic education and is provided in whole or in part independently from a regular classroom setting or schedule, but may include components of direct instruction;

• ALE courses are supervised, monitored, assessed, evaluated and documented by a certificated teacher employed or contracted by the school district.
• ALE courses are provided in accordance with a written student learning plan.
• ALE courses and programs are implemented pursuant to the district’s policy and WAC 392-121-182.

Student Eligibility

• ALE courses will be available to all students, including students with disabilities.

All students in grades k-12 are eligible to participate in ALE programs.

• Students who wish to enroll in an ALE program must satisfy any additional eligibility criteria listed on the application.

Student Performance

• Students participating in ALE will be evaluated monthly by a certificated instructional staff, or, for students whose written student learning plans include only online classes, school based support staff, to track student progress toward completion and to establish whether an intervention plan should be developed, in accordance with WAC 392-121-182.
• The methods for determining satisfactory progress shall be outlined in the written student learning plan and may include:
• Progress grade; Assignment completion rates; non-academic factors such as attendance, attitude, and behavior; and local school expectations.

Student Responsibilities

• Students enrolled in an ALE program must meet the contact requirements defined in WAC 392-121-182.

Parent Responsibilities

• Upon receipt of the district’s description of the difference between home-based instruction and ALE, the parent must sign documentation attesting that he/she understands the difference.

District Verification of Student Work

• The district will use reliable methods to verify a student is doing his or her own work.

BookBethel School District Board Policy Manual Section 2000. Instruction Title:

ALTERNATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE COURSES AND PROGRAMS

Number 2255 StatusActive Last Revised October 28, 2014