Danielle Charbonneau, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) English teacher who runs the Project Vine program and winner of the 61st Massachusetts Teacher of the Year award, advocated for alternative education funding to the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) board in Malden on Tuesday, Jan. 24. Charbonneau is the first MVRHS teacher to receive the award.
Charbonneau began her speech by giving thanks for being chosen as the award recipient. “I’m going to try to express my gratitude by taking every chance that I get at a microphone to talk about alternative ed. Actually, to brag a little bit about alternative ed, and hopefully to create some more fans of alternative education, some cheerleaders, maybe even some proud parents at the sidelines,” she said. “That’s what I think alternative ed really needs.”
Massachusetts has several firsts regarding education, according to Charbonneau. The state was the first to offer public education in “what would become the United States,” and the first to pass a law requiring public education for all children.
“Year after year, Massachusetts has the top-ranked public schools in the country,” Charbonneau said. “Importantly, we were the first state to establish public schools available to all children free of charge, funded by the state. Those common schools happened because Horace Mann, secretary of the state’s board of education, began to advocate for that idea … Massachusetts should take this opportunity to be a leader in the development of quality alternative education, especially in a secondary education setting.”
Charbonneau told the board she believes alternative education will be a “huge part of the future of public education, and it’s vital for the continued success of all students.” Recognizing that the term is not clearly defined at the federal level, Charbonneau read the DESE version, which describes alternative education as an initiative within public education designed to serve “at-risk students whose needs are not being met in the traditional school setting.” Charbonneau has been an alternative education teacher for nearly 20 years, and has experience working with a small group of children described as at-risk.
“But all they really had in common was they ‘hated school,’” Charbonneau said. “Their words.”
Some of Charbonneau’s students did not “buy in” to education or its benefits, while some were not motivated by grades, and others were absent a lot. However, the application rate for Project Vine, the alternative education program at MVRHS, saw higher numbers than Charbonneau’s previous schools. While Charbonneau stressed “how awesome” the program was, she thinks there is another driver of the increase in applicants.
“I believe the group we used to designate as at-risk has significantly grown,” she said. “Last fall, the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Children’s Hospital Association, declared a national emergency in childhood and adolescent mental health.”
Charbonneau said this revelation means more young people are “at risk of not getting the education they need to thrive in a future ahead of them; they are at risk of losing faith in the promise of education, they are at risk of not carrying on the cherished, sacred, and proud traditions of public education.”
As a possible approach, Charbonneau shared how Project Vine operates its program, stressing, “It is not a punishment. In fact, it is entirely voluntary.”
Project Vine, which Charbonneau described in a previous conversation with The Times as an alternative “way to do high school,” is based on the idea that getting to know the students well can help faculty better meet students’ needs. In the program, students are still embedded into the school community, and meet state requirements while doing other project-based assignments such as taking field trips to connect the classroom to the outside world.
“What they get is, honestly, a bit like membership in a fraternal organization. They get to know each other and the staff really well through both class time and out-of-class activities designed to very intentionally build community and to build connections to the larger community,” Charbonneau told the board, listing the Penikese Island field trip and the “Chopped for Charity” event as examples.
However, school districts are not obligated under state law to offer alternative education programs on top of traditional programming. Charbonneau said as the coordinator of alternative education, she needs to keep fundraising to continue these types of programs.
“Being especially drawn to teaching alternative education means that I have needed to find a district that offered alternative ed,” Charbonneau said. “As a professional, I have that luxury. Students, especially students in some of our most disadvantaged communities, often do not have that.”
Despite the benefits, mandating alternative education in schools would not be effective, according to Charbonneau. “Voluntary participation by students and staff, I believe, is essential,” she said.
Instead, Charbonneau asked the state to establish grant funding “to foster the development of successful alternative programs, specifically those who are willing to keep careful data on their participants,” which could be used for a statewide study on the effectiveness of certain educational models.
“We just need to nurture [alternative education] and be bold enough to step out in front, which is so on brand for Massachusetts,” Charbonneau said. “Let’s lead the way in establishing more functional, desirable alternative programs throughout the state, and then lead the way for the rest of the country.”
The board took some time to ask Charbonneau questions, addressing her work and Project Vine. A DESE memo states that Charbonneau will “continue teaching, attend several convenings of teachers of the year from other states, speak at events, and pursue other opportunities offered by this recognition” as Teacher of the Year.