Introducing: CSH Alt
“In a society that often overlooks the ones who struggle the most, CSH Alt will be a reminder that investing in these students isn’t just optional, but essential.”
“Bad ass kids.”
“Drop outs.”
“You know who I haven’t seen in a long time?”
“Why do they keep calling their name, and they don't ever come to school?”
This is what many people think about when they hear about students who barely come to school. You know who I mean – those students who people never seem to see, or who seem to come to school once a month before leaving again. In some cases, these are students who are going through problems that many of us don’t have to face. There is a Chicago-based film, “Last Chance High,” that offers a deep dive into students like these, raising questions like: What are schools supposed to do about these students? Forget about them? Focus on the ones who are here? The problem of absent, disengaged students is a problem that many schools seem to forget about, or choose to ignore them.
“Last Chance High,” centers students' final opportunity to both graduate and turn their lives around, while highlighting their personal struggles like violence and family instability, and academic gaps, and their efforts to stay on track. It focuses on a school equipped to tackle the questions above, questions that many schools sometimes ignore. Comp Sci High is now following in the footsteps of programs like this, by incorporating an alternative school system into our existing design. This program will be called CSH Alt, opening its doors to 35 students, launching August 2026.
The South Bronx has the highest percentage of disengaged youth in the United States with 35.6 percent, which means that approximately 8,423 young people are disengaged at a given time. CSH Alt came into play when David Noah, executive director and founder of Comp Sci High, recognized a group of students both inside and outside of the traditional CSH system who needed something different.
Noah talked about the ways that our society sees students who have failed and have nothing left to lose. Such students are often forgotten or passed along or abandoned. But, for Noah, he wanted to see if there was a better way to address this issue. Many of these students faced challenges that went far beyond the classroom, and Noah’s passion was to provide the resources and guidance they needed. “Here’s the problem. Here’s the response,” he says. The program was designed with a structure tailored to motivate students, combining academics, career experiences, and community support. Every Monday, students will go downtown to engage in experiences that expose them to new opportunities, while the program continually adapts to meet the unique needs of its students. He hopes to be the example and foundation for other schools around the South Bronx, to build programs that will fit the needs of all students.
The vision for CSH Alt is closely connected to that of its founding principal, Ms. McNair, whose path into education was shaped through her own experiences, where she had to navigate spaces where she often didn’t see people who looked like her. She began her career in finance, starting in an internship program called YourUp, which helps young people positions at Fortune 500 companies such as JP Morgan Chase. During her experience, she noticed a gap: young people like herself were not being prepared to navigate corporate spaces while remaining authentic. Having felt the pressure to fit in and being unaccepted for her expressive personality, she realized the importance of teaching young people how to embrace their individuality and succeed on their own terms: “I want to teach young people who look like me to navigate these spaces, but still learning how to be their true authentic selves.”
Her passion to work with students who faced challenges far beyond academics came after applying for a position as an internship coordinator at a transfer school, Jill Chaifetz, and watching the film, Last Chance High. McNair saw young people who she wanted to reach, those labeled as “unreachable,” but whose potential could be unlocked with the right guidance, support, and opportunities.
The mission of CSH Alt is clear: to reengage Black and Brown students between the ages of 16-20 who have given up on both school and themselves, and guide them toward family sustaining careers in fields. Success is measured through a long term goal that by the age of 25, alumni will earn at or above the national median household income. Academics are personalized through a hybrid model, with teachers that are dedicated for STEM and humanities courses, that will work alongside online platforms like Edmentum to provide credit bearing instruction, open discussions, and lab interventions. Students work from 9am to 1pm, then 4pm to 8:45pm in school for advising and enrichment courses including ELA, math, history, science, and PSL classes.
Community and personal growth are encouraged just as much as academics. Every evening ends with a family style dinner, creating a sense of belonging for students who might otherwise go home to isolate themselves. Wednesdays are catered to enrichment activities like driver's education, culinary arts, swimming, or fitness, designed to develop well rounded individuals. Students progress through a “Passport Program,” achieving milestones in both academics and personal growth to earn graduation. It's simple, but powerful, to help students see that they don’t need to be the same in every space, but to be themselves and still succeed.
CSH Alt is built to develop not only scholars, but confident, capable, and empowered young adults. The next step to building our future generations. The development of programs like this challenges the idea that students are “too far gone,” proving that with the proper support, expectations, and opportunities, every student can succeed. In a society that often overlooks the ones who struggle the most, CSH Alt will be a reminder that investing in these students isn’t just optional, but essential.