Center for Educational Options

The Center for Educational Options (CEO) is the district’s Trauma Sensitive alternative program. It provides an alternative educational setting for students who, for a variety of reasons, are not successful in a traditional school setting or are seeking a non-traditional experience for high school.  CEO is a program of choice with an emphasis on personal growth and developing a positive mindset through self work and reflection.  CEO is a program that is both individualized to the needs of each student, while also focused on developing a community that is accountable to one another. The purpose of CEO is to provide students with opportunities for success by helping each person identify and build upon their own personal strengths.  We work together to create unique ways to motivate and encourage each other to do quality work in the classroom and into the community beyond. 

CEO recognizes the necessity of ministering to the whole person.  Students receive the educational, social, and emotional support necessary to complete their high school requirements while growing as an individual.  We specialize in using varied and creative ways to teach, which results in an experience much more tailored to each student's learning preferences.  Beyond the high school curriculum, students also receive instruction in social, emotional, and life skills through our new “SELF Work/ SEL” focus using CASEL’s 5 competencies as well as the Discovery program (a SKILLS-based curriculum that creates positive change in students).  CEO is also able to offer students a more therapeutic environment as well.  They have access to their very own in-house certified school counselor to help with their emotional needs on an individual or group basis.  

CEO offers students the opportunity to develop many of the social skills necessary to be successful in school and in life, as well as promoting academic success.  With our emphasis on “Self Work,” CEO is student driven, dedicated to teaching the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills necessary to be a contributing and self-sufficient citizen of a community.  This is done through the intentional focus on emotion management, communication skills, problem solving, and conflict resolution. We teach students to be successful in and out of school by teaching them how to communicate effectively, develop time management skills, resolve conflicts, and set life goals, manage their emotions in a non-traditional environment that is structured to help students grow into their best selves while completing traditional high school credits.  Students will also be asked to complete one of the many career pathways HCHS has to offer to gain experience in a potential career field.  

Restorative Practices:

As CEO shifts from being Trauma informed to Trauma Sensitive, we have been revising our policy and procedures, we are shifting from traditional disciplinary practices of punitive discipline to a restorative justice approach.  In a nutshell, the student identifies the wrongdoing and repairs the harm done (and learns a bigger lesson) and participates in a restorative circle after much reflection.   I have included a little more about “Restorative Justice” below.    

At the core, Restorative Practices are about building and sustaining positive relationships and community.  

Who would be a good candidate?

The Referral Process

More on Discovery