Last modified: Thursday, June 15, 2006 2:22 AM EDT Network provides education alterntive BY RICK FOSTER / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO -- In high school, Chris Morton was always told he needed to earn a diploma, but never saw the connection between what he was learning and a meaningful future. `` I always felt like data was being stuffed into my head that had no meaning,'' he said. `` Just memorize the facts, regurgitate them on Friday, forget them on Monday.'' It wasn't that curriculum was too difficult. Morton said he became so frustrated that he eventually stopped doing his class work. Eventually, the teen with a yen for computers was placed in The Network, a city-sponsored alternative high school where his energies were channeled into a dual enrollment program with the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where he was able to access college courses. Finally Morton dropped out of high school but managed to get a job in information technology with CVS Corp., where he worked for two years. Eventually he earned a GED. Now living in Connecticut, Morton is continuing his studies at Western Connecticut State College and hopes to specialize in computer security technology. Although he never officially graduated, Morton credits The Network, part of a nationwide trend in alternative education, for starting him on the right track. `` Without Kathy's (Network Director Kathleen Vespia) program, I have no idea where I'd be,'' said the 23-year-old. `` In the traditional school environment, there was no ball for me to run with. Finally, I was able to pick up the ball and go do it.'' Vespia, whose alternative school tucked away on the third floor of the former Cyril K. Brennan Middle School building on County Street, said Morton is one of numerous success stories among teenagers who have attended The Network since its opening in 1997 -- including many youngsters who previously had experienced trouble with the law, drugs or fractured homes. `` Our students tend to be bright young people, who for one reason or another have not been successful in a regular school environment,'' said Vespia, who leads a staff of 10. The Network educates 45 to 50 students per year. Not all are successful, Vespia says, but about 70 percent of those referred to the program graduate with their class. Others, like Morton, take longer. The Network will be the focus of a community breakfast to be held 8-11:30 a.m. June 25 at the Attleboro Masonic Hall. Parents, students and community members will be attending the event, which is open to the public. Admission is $5 for adults and $3.50 for seniors. The breakfast will include a number of speakers, videos and information booths encouraging students to `` go the distance'' and complete their high school education. According to the latest statistics, the nation's dropout rate has declined gradually from 14.6 percent in 1972 to about 10 percent in 2004. But educators are concerned about a large number of teens whose high school education is increasingly being interrupted -- making them more likely to become long-term dropouts. Some surveys indicate that as many as 30 percent of high school students do not end up graduating with their class, although most get a diploma or GED later. According to `` The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts,'' a report compiled for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, most of those who drop out don't quit school because the work is too difficult. Instead, dropouts cited boring or irrelevant courses, lack of standards and poor preparation in lower grades. Many dropouts also said lack of parental involvement in their education was a factor. Overall, only 35 percent of the dropouts listed `` failing in school'' as a major factor in their decision to quit. Circumstances leading students to quit school can be varied and complex. Tara Plante, a 21-year-old Network graduate, was troubled by migraines and depression as a young adolescent. Her problems became so severe that she was eventually sent to an out-of-state residential school. Back in Attleboro and enrolled in the Network, Plante became pregnant during her sophomore year. `` It seemed to me that just kept sabotaging her future,'' said Plante's mother, Nancy Dorrance. Despite the pregnancy, Network officials recommended strongly that Plante be encouraged to remain in school. Plante persisted and, encouraged to explore her future, took a psychology course that ignited a desire to help others. Plante graduated and is currently completing training in occupational therapy at New England Tech. Now the mother of a 3-year-old boy, she says she plans to continue her studies toward a bachelor's degree in psychology. Plante said it was the Network's low student-teacher ratio and its more `` relaxed'' approach to education that helped see her through. Jon Lowell said he had trouble fitting in and experienced problems with drugs before being referred to the program. He graduated in 2003 and recently received training and has been offered a good job in information technology by the state of Rhode Island. `` People at the Network are hands-on,'' he said. `` The teachers listen to you.'' Lowell's mother, Val, joined the Network as a teacher in her son's senior year. Experts say programs like The Network may not be for every student. But some of the strategies used in alternative schools are the same as several possible antidotes to quitting school listed in the Gates report. Among the suggestions: E Schools should improve teaching and curricula to make school more relevant and enhance the connection between school and work. E Improve instruction and provide more support for struggling students, especially through smaller classrooms and individualized instruction. E Build a school climate that fosters academics. A majority of dropouts, according to the study, say schools do not do enough to help students feel safe from violence. E Ensure that students have a strong relationship with at least one adult in the school who can serve as a mentor. Even some students who fail in alternative school settings say they're more likely to eventually earn a diploma. David McFadden, who said he `` didn't fit in'' in high school, also left The Network. He said the lack of a father figure growing up left him with little training in responsibility and difficulty getting along in supervised settings. Now, McFadden, a musician, says he's faced numerous roadblocks to jobs because of the lack of a high school education. But the new father with a 16-month-old baby said his time in The Network left him with a grasp of education's value and a determination to eventually succeed. `` There's no `I can't do it,''' he said. `` There's only, `Yes I can.' If you start something positive, you've got to keep going with it. You can't give up.'' RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0428 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.