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"The
Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program,
located
in Providence, RI, is an independent public middle school working to
intervene in the lives of at-risk
adolescents in order to help them find success in school and
beyond." (See Web site
http://www.ri.net/RInet/UCAP/)
The Director
of UCAP, Rob Deblois, and his team have had a significant impact on the
philosophy of the ALT program, as well as, providing motivation and
inspiration to our teachers and administration. On several
occasions, UCAP has welcomed ALT personnel to visit their program and
have openly shared their knowledge and insights about what works and
does not work with at-risk students.
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Working
at an alternative school certainly has it rewards and its challenges.
Working at the ALT is no different. We have had our good days and our
bad. Our first two years were the most difficult. At the end of
some days, our staff were exhausted, frustrated and losing hope. It
was in our darkest hours that Rob Deblois and his team provided glimmers of hope. It was the
success of the UCAP school that inspired us to keep going by proving that it
can be done and it was UCAP that confirmed that you can make a difference in
the lives of young people.

Rob Deblois is a
hero to all of us here at the ALT and he demonstrates that anything is
possible. |