Program Overview

The goal is very simple and traditional – we want each and every student to be engaged in the learning process and graduate from high school. Some students struggle to achieve the goal because the pace and delivery model of their school does not parallel their own. Other students are stymied by content rigidity and inflexibility in terms of paths of study.  And for some students having a greater personal voice in how, when, and where their educational experience will develop is a critical part of their motivation.

At Chinook West we provide an educational experience with ingredients addressing the choices and needs of capable and independent minded students.

• It starts with an educational plan describing where the entering student is, where the student wants to go, and a strategy of ‘how’ to get there. The student is the most important character in determining the ‘how’ to get there … graduation.
• A program allowing and promoting choices of instructional interaction – be it working in groups, individually, or somewhere in-between.
• Our program recognizes and allows for differences in pace, without sacrificing adequate progress.
• Our staff genuinely respects the social, personal, emotional, and cognitive diversity of our students … we respect each individual student for who they are.
• Our program believes meeting Colorado’s academic standards can be achieved through content aligning with students’ interests.
• Because learning occurs in all places, students are not relegated to a specific chair and table – students move around in the building and in the community.
• Above all, Chinook West is continually working with students to determine what works best toward achieving the goal of graduating and moving toward a healthy and satisfactory life. We strive to be a place continually adapting to the maturing needs of our students.

It looks different. It sounds alternative. It’s neither. There’s nothing different or alternative in a student learning in a manner with which they are comfortable, in a student learning with material more in tune with what they consider relevant to their own vision, in a student learning at a pace encouraging genuine learning versus inflexible exposure, and in a student wishing to be listened to and heard.

Chinook West Allows Each Student Their Way