Alternative Education Center director Sheldon Tyler said Wednesday will mark the beginning of what could be the best year yet for helping at-risk students earn their high school diplomas.

Tyler said a number of administrative, curriculum and programming changes will make the 2-year-old alternative education program even better. As a result, he said, teachers and administrators will be more effective in teaching and reaching students.

This is the second year Cape Girardeau public schools have offered the alternative school environment to at-risk students who have academic and, or behavioral problems in their mainstream classrooms. The school is funded through consortium grants provided by the Safe Schools Act and Division of Youth Services grants administered by the juvenile office.

The alternative school was first housed in the Salvation Army in August 1996. The school moved to the Cape Civic Center, 232 Broadway, in January.

Tyler said about 30 students have already enrolled for the fall semester. Most of the registered students are from Cape Girardeau, but students from Chaffee, Jackson and Scott City have also enrolled. The school is prepared to serve about 60 students, Tyler said, so there is still room for about 30 more students ready to receive an alternative to mainstream learning.

"If they want to register, we still have slots available," he said. "This year we're going to have much more structure, and as a director I'll be much more involved in the kids' lives."

Tyler said this involvement will include personal home visits to help monitor nonattendance. "I'll be going to their doors and knocking on doors to ask them why they aren't there," he said.

Students meet during one of two sessions on a daily basis and work in core subject areas with one of the teachers. Due to a lack of funding, the school's Learn to Earn job-skill-development program was canceled. However, Tyler said he will work with his administrative assistant to perform job training workshops throughout the year. Their objective will be to provide students with the skills they need to help meet another goal for the year: 100 percent employment for all students in the school eligible to work.

"We're hoping to build up the curriculum and implement more things that will see these kids develop the skills they need and attain employment," Tyler said. "We all know that when we're working we feel responsible because we're making and earning our own money. The objective is to give them the opportunity to work."

Tyler also hopes to raise the overall grade-point average for the school. Students currently average about a "C."

To help accomplish this, part of the school's funding will be used to purchase interactive computer software specifically developed to facilitate individual learning. Tyler said students will have access to state-of-the-art technology and numerous subject-specific programs that will be tailored to fit their needs.

In all, he said, the new school year promises to be an exciting one for students and teachers. Everyone associated with the alternative school has watched it grow and develop into a powerful educational tool, he said. Teachers, students and administrators are learning from their mistakes, he said, and the result will be a stronger educational environment this year.

"It seems that it takes one or two years to really get a program set up," Tyler said. "I think we've learned enough about the things we did correctly and incorrectly that we know what we need to do to succeed. We know where we're going now."