The Scarsdale Alternative School: It's Not Where You Think It Is

The former home of SAS on Wayside LaneThough many in the community think the beloved schoolhouse on Wayside Lane is home to the Scarsdale Alternative School, you may be surprised to learn that the A-School has moved.

Since 1972 the A-School held their regular meetings in their own building, the former Boy Scout house that was leased to the A-school by the Village of Scarsdale. For many years, A-school students stayed in the building for the entire day, with no classes in the regular high school building. Although the building lacked air conditioning and was quite small for the 88 A-schoolers, the community loved to have their own, personalized space. That was the status quo until the pressure of college admissions increased, and students wanted more opportunities than could be offered in the A-school. Many changes began to take place.

What changed? We spoke to A-School Director, Fallon Plunkett who provided background on the A-School and the move from Wayside Lane to the high school.

Founded in 1972, the A-School “seeks to promote character development through academic challenges and civic engagement.” And that mission has not changed. Students have the same group of teachers and peers for three years, enabling them to form meaningful and trusting relationships with one another. Students are encouraged to be risk takers and demonstrate ownership over their learning. Every January, A-school classes come to a halt as students trade class hours for internships. This gives students the opportunity to take a deep dive into a topic or profession of interest.

Along the way, the A-school switched to a new policy of allowing students to take classes in both the A-school and the high school buildings. Students had to cross the field during the short passing time to get between buildings. This proved difficult, especially in the winter, so the A-school classes eventually shifted their academic classes into the “new wing” of the high school. They still used the A-school building for the weekly community meeting, core group, and A-school events (such as graduation). Although the building was used less frequently, the community still felt attached towards the beloved space that kept them close. That 30-year stretch of using both Scarsdale High School and the A-School building, lasted until Covid-19 hit. A senior class photo at the former building.

The pandemic caused a big shift for everyone including the A-school. When students returned back to school during Covid, the A-school building could no longer be used because there was not enough room for 88 people to maintain enough social distance. During this time they shifted their community meetings to the Little Theater at SHS. No longer in use, the original A-School building began to deteriorate and fall out of compliance with student safety regulations.

When the Covid crisis eased, the A-school faced the decision of whether or not to return to their former building. Since the building is owned by the Village, not the schools, it would have been a long process to do the necessary upgrades.

In June of 2023, the A-school had a meeting where they decided to make the full switch to SHS, which was implemented in the fall of 2023. The A-school had already been using the new wing of the high school for academic classes but now had to accommodate and expand the space to fit all members for the community meeting period. The facilities department assisted in making the new wing accessible for the needs of the A-school. They took down a wall between two classrooms to expand the room for community meetings and allowed them to select nice new flooring.

What about the former building on Wayside Lane? In 2023, a group of elementary school teachers were looking for a place to meet and work. The old building presented a good solution as the building code for adult usage is less strict than for student use. For now, a group of elementary curriculum coordinators utilizes the former A-School home. There are plans to relocate them to Greenacres Elementary School, and the old A-school building will eventually serve another new purpose. The Village wants to do something with the space, potentially allowing seniors to use the space, or place other facilities there. The interior will likely be changed to accommodate a different use, and the estimated cost for improving the space would be $2M. Many students rely on the A-school parking lot to park their cars among the large student parking dilemma. The Board of Education does not want to lose the parking at this lot. They are still interested in utilizing the space, and want to potentially work with the Village Board on deciding the future of the A-school building.

The A-school community still feels a connection to their old building, but they also love the new space. The transition was difficult for some who felt sad to leave their A-school community home. But two years later, most current students who never experienced the unique setting have come to like the cozy meeting room in the high school’s new wing. Decorated with student artwork it has become the community’s new home.

“The A-school gives me more freedom with education,” says A-school student, Finn.

“If the buildings were still separate, I don’t think I would’ve even joined the A-school” says another A-school student, Jack.

No matter where it meets, everyone loves the A-school!

Learn more about the history of the Scarsdale Alternative School in this film by the Scarsdale Historical Society.

This article was written by Rebecca Ludwig, who is currently in her sophomore year at Scarsdale High School. Rebecca is a part of the Alternative School program at SHS where she has the opportunity to explore one of her interests through doing an internship in January.

Student artwork decorates the new meeting room.