Rachel was having a tough time. Teased at school, lacking self-esteem and dealing with issues of depression, she said, resulted in what officials categorize as "inappropriate behaviors."

She had been sent to Western Psychiatric as well as the Wesley Institute.

That was then. Now, Rachel is a freshman at South Allegheny High School. She has crossed a bridge made possible through the district's Project Phoenix, which is designed as a transition program.

"I didn't want to be a kid who was always getting into trouble and having to attend alternative schools," said the Glassport teenager.

Alternative Education Programs, or AEPs, are not unique. They are designed to help students with educational, behavioral or development problems. But Project Phoenix is remarkable for its effectiveness after only one year.

"The transition back has obviously been successful, because of the 17 students who joined our program [in January 2007], 14 students returned back [to South Allegheny's regular middle and high school programs]," said program director Chad Smith.

Project Phoenix was not designed to punish kids for disruptive behavior. Currently, about a dozen students begin their school day at 3 p.m. and leave at 7. There are math and science classes on Mondays and Thursdays, language arts and social studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

On Wednesdays, Mr. Smith has them for Career Awareness, Affective Education, Personal skills development (CAPE), and electives where, in addition to individual counseling, the students are given a wide range of choices including music and crafts.

He also serves as mentor, career counselor and general go-to guy if someone has a problem. Mr. Smith's office, located in a suite of administration rooms near the front entrance of the combined high school/middle school, is a veritable explosion of knickknacks, bright murals on the walls and a happy clutter of mementos.

Johnstown-based The Learning Lamp is a nonprofit group specializing in alternative education. It approached South Allegheny several years ago with the idea of establishing Project Phoenix, promoted as an attractive, cost-effective option to sending students to nearby Auberle in McKeesport, or Wesley, in Upper St. Clair.

It costs South Allegheny $91 per student, per day, in these programs, which typically cover a 90-day semester. That's roughly $16,380 over a school year, per student.

Fees to The Learning Lamp cost the district around $93,000, but The Learning Lamp helped write grant applications from the state worth $22,000.

"We utilize the district's curriculum. If you're in 11th grade, you're probably using the same book they're using in the day program," said Richard Fine, the district's director of secondary education.

Project Phoenix is staffed by state-certified teachers from outside the district.

Lacey Horvath's high school social studies classes began delving into the Civil War after the new year began. She teaches at both high school and middle school levels, and said that after some initial disruptions in the classroom, her students have settled into a more stable learning environment.

"A lot of these kids just don't know how to be students," said Mr. Smith, adding that some might come from households that don't hold them to strict schedules or even enforce school attendance.

"A lot of it is also that the kids have not experienced success in a learning environment for a long time," he said.

For students in Project Phoenix, attendance is mandatory and tardiness is not an option. Working with the families to support this is another key aspect of helping ease them back into the traditional classroom environment.

Rachel is back in everyday classes at South Allegheny, wants to try out for the basketball team next winter, and is interested in drama.

She said life isn't perfect -- she had a major falling out with a friend and, as she noted, "stuff happens."

Mr. Smith, smiling, gave her the thumbs-up sign.

"Here's my philosophy," he said later. "There are no bad kids. There are good kids who make bad choices."

First Published: January 22, 2009, 12:30 p.m.