Al Kennedy Alternative High School
| Kennedy School of Sustainability | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
79980 Delight Valley School Road , 97424 United States | |
| Coordinates | 43°47′10″N 123°03′34″W / 43.786244°N 123.059503°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | School of Sustainability[1] |
| School district | South Lane School District |
| Principal | Halie Ketcher[2] |
| Grades | 9-12[2] |
| Enrollment | 78[3] |
| Mascot | Bear |
| Website | https://www.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy |
Al Kennedy Alternative High School is a public alternative high school operated by the South Lane School District located in Cottage Grove, Oregon, United States. The school serves grades 9–12. It is a small school with a 16:1 student teacher ratio and 84 total students in 2023.[4] Its stated goals are to incorporate experiential and service-learning approaches, including activities related to conservation management, agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring.[1]
Sustainability as The Organizing Framework
The school curriculum promotes teaching sustainability, ecological responsibility and social responsibility and that the three are linked. The school's students grow and donate produce, work with energy-efficient architecture, restore wetlands, participate in sustainable forestry initiatives, plant community gardens, teach elementary school students, build trails, raise salmon, plant trees, count fish and keep bees. [1]
The school incorporates organic farming practices into its curriculum, with instructional activities including soil testing, planting and cultivating crops, measuring agricultural outcomes, and marketing agricultural products. In 2008, the school partnered with Healing Harvest,[5] a nonprofit organization based in Cottage Grove, Oregon, to design and build organic gardens at elementary schools across the South Lane School District. The partnership also included the development of a master garden on the Kennedy campus.[6]
Students also participate in activities related to sustainable architecture, including instruction on alternative building practices and their historical development. Coursework has included participation in local building projects, such as the construction of a sustainable housing prototype intended for low-income communities.[7]
The school collaborates with local landowners to manage forested and open lands. Student activities include assessing land use in collaboration with landowners, applying trigonometry to facilitate land parcel boundary calculations, rebuilding wildlife habitats, and conducting forest species inventories. Students also work with conservation agencies to draft land management plans and assist landowners with their implementation.[8]
The Energy Management Program at Al Kennedy Alternative High School partners with Lane Community College. In the winter trimester of 2009, the school began offering a College Now course titled Sustainability 101. The course is taught jointly by high school and college instructors and includes instruction related to conservation and energy systems.[9]
Kennedy Conservation Corps
The Kennedy Conservation Corps engages students in the workings of regional and national conservation organizations. Kennedy has engaged in a number of fee-for-service projects with the U.S. Forest Service, Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council,[10] and private landowners.[11]
Apiary
In March 2010, the school installed three beehives on campus to start a beekeeping program. The Kennedy Apiary promotes vegetable growth in the neighboring community garden, and the beehives allow students to gain hands-on experience studying the ecology of the honeybee.[12]
Academics
In 2008, 44% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma, significantly less than the 74.2% average for the state. Of 48 students, 21 graduated, 21 dropped out, and six were still in high school in 2009.[13][14] In 2024, 42% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 52 students, 22 graduated, and 24 dropped out.[15]
References
- ^ a b "Kennedy High School". South Lane School District. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
- ^ a b "Administration / Home". South Lane School District. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ "Oregon School Directory 2008-09" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 139. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 26, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
- ^ "Search for Public Schools - Al Kennedy High School (411158001390)". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ^ "Healing Harvest". Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
- ^ "Garden Projects". South Lane School District. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Architecture". South Lane School District. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
- ^ "Forestry". South Lane School District. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
- ^ "Energy". South Lane School District. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
- ^ "Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council". Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ "Kennedy Conservation Corps". South Lane School District. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ "What's Right in South Lane School District (Apr. 23, 2010)". South Lane School District. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian. June 30, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- ^ "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- ^ "2024 South Lane School District graduation rates :: Your Schools - The Oregonian". schools.oregonlive.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.