Alternative School #1 is part of the Seattle Public School system. The school specializes in hands-on and visual learning styles and is one of the few schools in the district that serves grades kindergarten through eight.

All classes at AS 1 are multi-age and multi-grade. Recent experiential learning projects have included the construction of a 40-foot Haida canoe from a 700-year-old western red cedar, building scale model airplanes and boats from blueprints, and hiking 30 miles of Olympic Coast wilderness on a six-day Rite of Passage for eighth graders.

Parental and student involvement in decision making is an important value at the school and social activism is encouraged.

The school's scores on standardized tests are among the lowest in the state, but after some investigation we learned that this is the result of the large number of families who decline to take the tests (more than 60%). Students who do not take the tests are given a zero score and these scores are included in the school's average.

Our daughter began attending AS 1 as a first grader after an unhappy year at a more conventional school and she enjoys it immensely. She is excited about what she learns and she is more self-confident, assertive, and socially aware.

We have found the social climate at the school to be warmer and more close-knit than the school our daughter attended last year. The other kids, including the middle-schoolers, are quick to lend our daughter a hand when she needs it or to comfort her when she's upset. She's also thrilled with the number of field trips she's been able to take and with the elective courses that are offered to students.

An orientation at the school is required of all applicants and a ticket confirming the orientation must be attached to the application. New students are accepted in grades one through seven only. The school offers free full-day kindergarten, but can accommodate half-day students. Free transportation is provided to AS 1 for students from throughout the city who live more than one mile from the school.

The Clearwater School is part of the international network of Sudbury Schools, based on the 35-year-old Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts. The school uses a self-directed approach to learning; children are guided by their own interests and move at their own pace. There are no grades, groupings by age, or mandatory tests.

Tuition assistance and bus service are available.

TOPS is one of the alternative schools in the Seattle Public Schools and serves kids in grades K through eight.