Open High School is an American alternative

Alternative school

Alternative school is the name used in some parts of the world to describe an institution which provides part of alternative education. It is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional...

 public high school in urban

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

 Oregon Hill

Oregon Hill

Oregon Hill is a historically white working class neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. Oregon Hill overlooks the James River and Belle Isle, and provides access to Hollywood Cemetery.-History:...

 in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. It was established in 1972 with the intention of helping students become independent, self-determined thinkers and learners. Students volunteer at a variety of locations, take college courses

Course (education)

The very broad dictionary meaning of the word course is the act or action of moving in a path from point to point . There are multiple meanings for this word, some of which include: general line of orientation, a mode of action, part of a meal, a mode of action, and many more. This article focuses...

 for both high school and college credit

Credit (education)

A course credit is a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an academic course taken at a school or other educational institution.- United States :...

, and independently develop and maintain a class schedule.

Structure

Open High School has a community-based structure where advisory groups known as 'families' direct students in the development of school activities

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

 and functions, and other school related activities

Extracurricular activity

Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education...

. Each 'family' selects two students, "reps", to represent

Representative democracy

Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

 them in a Student Representative Council

Students' union

A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...

. At meetings of this council, student reps bring forth questions, disagreements, or ideas that a 'family' may have and would like to discuss with the whole student body. If a concern gets enough attention, the concern is brought to the 'town meeting

Town meeting

A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....

' where the entire administrative staff and student body together discuss and vote on anything that a single student or group of students may deem important. Open High School doesn't contain as many students as other High Schools throughout Richmond.