Alternative schools have become highly popular around the country in recent years, and Loudoun County, which launched the Academy of Science in 2006, is no exception. But this is actually the second go-round for alternative schools in the country.

C.S. Monroe Technology Center was founded in Leesburg in 1977, during the United States’ first alternative schools building boom.

In June, at Monroe’s 30th commencement, 200 graduating seniors collected diplomas in programs ranging from advanced networking to welding. With 23 programs to choose from, Monroe graduates enter post-high school life with solid, marketable skills, said Wagner Grier, who has been at Monroe for nine years, the last four as principal.

“All of our students leave here successful,” Grier said. “Either through a particular skill or knowledge of a particular area, they can go out and be competitive in the workplace.”

Like students at the Academy of Science, Monroe students alternate days between Monroe and a home school where they take general education classes. On Monroe days, students focus intensely on specific, hands-on training in classes within their chosen field.

The alternate schedule also allows kids to participate in extracurricular activities at their home school. Monroe does provide a full slate of program-oriented groups and clubs. For instance, kids in the Nursery Landscape and Design program participate in local and national competitions through Monroe’s Future Farmers of America group.

Grier describes a Monroe education as both “vocational and career education.” While the school features hands-on training in trades like masonry, building and construction, students in tech-oriented fields frequently graduate with professional-level certifications. Even with that practical training, Grier said roughly 80 percent of Monroe graduates continue their education at four- or two-year colleges.

Grier does not view the newly founded Academy of Science as competition, even though many of Monroe’s programs also focus heavily on math and science.

“Certainly, that’s what a lot of our students are interested in, too, but our [programs] are more on practical applications,” he said.