Peekskill schools are developing a program of alternative education for students who are unsuccessful in a regular high school setting and expect to have a detailed plan within a month.

The program, to be housed in two classrooms in the Administration Center, is expected to begin in September. It will feature “blended learning,” a mix of face-to-face work with local teachers and online work, Joseph Mosey, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, told the Board of Education during a workshop meeting Tuesday.

The program is initially designed to serve 40 students in what board President Joseph Urbanowicz described as “a special place.” While an extension of Peekskill High School, the program will be based across Elm Street in the Administration Center because there is no available space in the high school.

Mosey and Superintendent of Schools James Willis emphasized that the program will offer a different approach to learning for students who are not doing well in regular classrooms, especially those in danger of not meeting requirements to graduate. “We want to get these kids back on track and help them be as successful as possible,” Mosey said.” Some may be able to reintegrate back into classes on the main campus, he added.

Willis emphasized that alternative education is not “a dumping ground” for students with behavioral problems or any sort of punishment. Board member Marcela Bobe said that the new program “should not be remedial, just different,” and emphasized that it should be part of a broader effort to address reading and math difficulties much earlier than high school.

Logistically, Willis and Mosey explained, each alternative education class will remain in the same room with an assistant while teachers rotate in and out from the high school – a math teacher will come over to teach a period of math, for example, while teaching his or her remaining periods on the main campus. The closeness of such supporting facilities as the high school cafeteria means there will be no extra expense for such services, Willis said. Mosey acknowledged that careful scheduling will be essential to making the program successful and could even open up opportunities for students to take part-time jobs or do volunteer work with pupils in elementary grades.

Mosey said the alternative education program would not affect Hass’s Way, a tutorial program in the Administration Center for students who have received outside-school suspension.

Upcoming steps, Willis said, are to identify students who would especially benefit from the new program, prepare the staff and make sure the space is ready. The district Facilities Committee will inspect the space in the venerable building and make sure there is enough electrical power for the technological aspects of the program.

In response to a question from Urbanowicz, Mosey said the district is extending its investigation of online, or “distance,” learning to include the possibility of offering self-guided computer courses to fill the idle periods of upperclassmen who have completed their graduation requirements and have multiple free periods.