The board received an overview of the district's contracted alternative programs and heard extended presentations about the COIC Compass (youth employment and training) work crews and Powell Butte Community Charter School.

COIC representatives described a year-round employment-and-training model that places COIC employment counselors on-site at Pioneer. The program combines paid field and work-crew experiences (for example fuels reduction crew and maintenance crews), academic credit recovery and post-exit employment or training supports. COIC staff said students must show academic progress to participate in field components; the program pairs hands-on, paid work with credit-earning classroom time.

Nut graf: Board members and regional ALO (alternative-learning oversight) staff said the local COIC-Pioneer partnership is an example of an integrated reengagement model that combines credit recovery, paid internship/work crew experience and connections to local employers. The board voted to adopt the ALO contract that formalizes the district's oversight relationship with the alternative programs.

COIC staff and district leaders described concrete outcomes: the program reported 80% employment two quarters after exit under federal tracking, a high credential rate for students who lacked a GED/diploma at entry and generation of roughly 7 credits per enrolled student in one reporting cycle. Board and staff said local partnerships (BLM, regional employers) and district support were essential to operating paid crews and internships; COIC and district staff also described pilot career-exploration internships (CEIs) that rotate students through local businesses.

The board voted to adopt the ALO (alternative learning options) charter report/contract for the contracted programs, a motion that passed on roll call. Board members praised the program as a model that other districts contact for replication and thanked COIC and Pioneer staff for the work.

Ending: The board directed staff to continue monitoring program outcomes and to bring the three-year data sets the regional ALO will provide in future annual evaluations.