‘Street Schools’ Face Hard Road to Success

A growing network of Christian alternative schools—some nearly as vulnerable as the children they serve— is bent on getting troubled students back on track.

Lakewood, Colo.

Sit down with a teacher at the Denver Street School’s west campus and you’re apt to get a glimpse of missionary zeal. The private Christian school expects a lot of its teachers, but doesn’t pay them much, as it tries to turn around the lives of troubled students seeking a second, or even third, chance at success.

“This is by far the most grueling teaching experience I’ve ever had, but by far the most rewarding,” said Laura G. Eggers, a former public-school educator who joined the Street School staff this academic year. “When I lay my head on my deathbed, I will know I lived, and I have taught my heart out.”

The school of some 60 students in grades 7-12, housed in a red-brick church facility here in the Denver suburbs, places a premium on giving students personalized attention, a strong moral compass, and the tools for self-sufficiency. The students have faced all kinds of problems—drug and alcohol abuse, pregnancy, dysfunctional families—and typically have either dropped out or gotten kicked out...