Alternative schools are a success, but seats limited

The ninth-grade curriculum frustrated Kiera Ireland when she moved to Meade High in 2004.

D's and E's suddenly littered the report card of the freshman who was accustomed to being on the honor roll in Baltimore schools.

Frustration set in, and she got angry at teachers she said wouldn't give her enough help. She was cruising for a suspension, or worse, an expulsion.

A year later, the Severn sophomore is back on the honor roll, having earned a 3.38 grade point average in the first semester this year at the Mary E. Moss Academy, the district's alternative high school. And she has no desire to go back to Meade.

"I...