Education plays a key role in young people's healthy development. Research conducted by the McCreary Centre Society (a British Columbia non-profit organization concerned with youth health) has shown that even the most vulnerable youth who feel connected to school are more likely to report better health and above average marks, and to engage in fewer risky activities, than youth who feel less connected to school. However, recognizing that not all youth thrive in a mainstream academic setting, many school districts offer a range of alternative education programs aimed at serving not only the academic but also the vocational, social, and emotional needs of their students. What are the experiences of young people attending alternative education programs? The authors set out to address this question by canvassing youth in B.C. communities with a high prevalence of youth street-involvement and sexual exploitation. The focus was on youth in alternative education programs designed for students considered at "high-risk" for educational disengagement. This study complemented McCreary's marginalized and street-involved youth study ("Against the Odds", 2007) and aimed to explore the experiences of youth who attend alternative education programs and to look at the role alternative education programs play in the lives of youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This study highlights the fact that students in alternative education programs face many challenges, yet most feel connected to school and have positive academic aspirations. Alternative education programs are assisting youth academically as well as vocationally and socially. However, as McCreary's study of street-involved youth demonstrated, many of the most vulnerable youth are still not connected with any of the education programs available to them. If alternative education programs and communities build on their successes, they could reach out to even more high-risk youth. (Contains 5 figures.)