Twenty-Six Students Graduate From Fairview Alternative High School

Twenty-six students achieved a milestone this week when they graduated from Fairview Alternative High School (FAHS) in the Roseville School District. 

Their families and FAHS staff joined the students, dressed in caps and gowns, for the event Thursday afternoon in the Solarium at the Fairview Community Center. 

Superintendent John Thein welcomed the Class of 2010 and 2011 and their families by thanking the FAHS staff. “The guidance and support of the staff made a huge difference to the lives of all the FAHS graduates,” Thein said.

The two-hour ceremony also included a presentation of scholarships by Dan Beck, president of Education Minnesota Roseville. Heather O’Connell and Corey Livingston were the lucky recipients of $500 scholarships.  Afterward, there was a presentation of each graduating student by the teacher of his or her choice.  

Prior to the ceremony, graduating students created a poster that represented themselves  and then hung the posters to decorate the Solarium. The students mingled, discussed their future plans and recapped on their time at FAHS as they cut and pasted pictures from birth to graduation.

“I really liked being able to excel better because of the smaller class sizes,” Cliff Allen said.  Allen is considering a career in the National Guard or attending college to become a a vet technician. 

“The teachers get to know you a lot better and it’s much easier to get assistance because of the smaller class sizes.  I really flourished here,” Zachary Johnson added.  After graduation, Johnson plans to find a job and enroll in college.  He hopes to pursue a career in science.

“FAHS is an alternative learning experience that meets student needs by individualized and small group instruction through smaller class sizes, personalized learning experiences, flexible scheduling, and a work-based learning curriculum,” said Laura Freer, dean of students.  “The purpose of FAHS is to create a less traditional, more flexible environment.  Students have the opportunity to earn the same high school degree as they would at Roseville Area High School, we just teach in a different way.”

According to Freer, the students participate in a variety of unique programs, activities and field trips. Those activities included a trip to the Brunswick Zone entertainment center and volunteering at Feed My Starving Children. For students interested in summer school, there is a class called Decades where they can learn about work from a past decade.

As part of that class, the students maintain and grow a garden on school grounds. All produce that the students harvest will be donated to local food shelves and families in need, Freer said.