In the Omaha Public Schools system, there are two places for student to go when no other school will accept them.

The first Parrish Alternative School, located off of 44th and Farnam Street. Parrish is the host of the Expelled Student Program (ESP) for students in OPS grades K-12.

If attending, students work on several skills until they are able to return to a regular elementary, middle or high school. Students go through a regular curriculum, as well as counseling, individual goal setting and a family outreach program. Parrish has been around for a long time, over 50 years. The location, though, has not always stayed the same. The ESP has taken place in several buildings, and in 1993 the current location began to be used.

The other alternative school is Blackburn. Blackburn only serves students grades 9-12. The school is located at 2606 Hamilton Street. Blackburn does not host expelled students. Instead, students with truancy, or regular behavior problems or that need extra help often attend Blackburn. According to their website, Blackburn provides “smaller classes, flexible scheduling and self-pacing to complete courses.”

Like at Parrish, when students are able and ready to attend a regular school again, they do. Blackburn also has several programs similar to those at the OPS Career Center, which is located at the TAC building. There are four programs: Horticulture Academy, Auto Detailing Academy, Community Service Learning and Culinary Academy.

These programs aim to help students gain organization, leadership and skills needed for future employment.

Blackburn Alternative High School and Parrish Alternative School both have one goal in mind; to help students perform better in school and to aide them in interacting with other people more comfortably, so that they can return to a regular school successfully.