John Muir Outdoor School is a K-8 'choice school' which serves about 125 students.

In 2006, there was an interest in the community in offering a K-8 school option.  The school board at the time conducted a district wide survey and needs assessment to see if families were interested in a K-8 option.  As an outcome of this process, the John Muir School was created.  It is a K-8 mixed grade ‘choice school’ that students from anywhere in the District can choose to attend

Willow Wind is a K-8 'choice school' which serves about 170 full time students and 30-35 part-time students.

Almost 20 years ago, Willow Wind opened as a home-schooling outreach program to introduce home-schoolers to the district and respond to community interests for alternative K-8 options.  By increasing the total number of students served in the District, Willow Wind helped the overall scalability and provision of services in all of our schools.

In the beginning, all of the Willow Wind students were part-time homeschoolers.  Overtime, Willow Wind initiated a full time alternative program and increased the number of full-time students to its current size.  As a state recognized alternative program, Willow Wind has a different set of operating requirements than formal ‘schools’ as defined under state law.  Students enrolled in alternative education programs are those whose educational needs and interests are best served by participation in such programs which are designed to “provide innovative and more flexible ways of educating children.”  Because of its unique schedule and structure, Willow Wind is able to offer lower class sizes to students while operating at a lower per-pupil cost than other K-8 schools.  The additional revenue generated by Willow Wind goes to support reduced class size across the district. 

Ashland Connect at JMOS is a 'choice school' which offers flexible on-line instruction that students can master at their own pace, without the requirement of synImagechronous learning. Students will have in time teacher support from an on-line instructor, as well as Ashland School District staff that provides pathway planning, consultation to the family to supporting the learning, and a space to get work done with the help of an educational professional throughout the school day. The Ashland teacher matched with your student will support you in keeping your student on track academically and connecting them to the “in real life” opportunities that exist in the school district and our community. As a student in the Ashland School District, they will have access to high quality education, athletics, activities, clubs and more. All of this with the flexibility of deciding what time of day, and the length of time each day, that your student will spend on school.