This article talks about two alternative schools that have adapted to be a better fit for at-risk students than a comprehensive middle or high school might be. It is easy to suggest that an increase in the dropout rate is merely a natural result of the recent preoccupation with test scores. Whatever truth there may be to this, educators must still struggle to engage all students in serious learning and provide the mechanisms and supports that keep struggling students in school. Although mainstream schools can employ numerous strategies to help the most marginalized youth, the experience of two schools in New England suggests that small, nontraditional learning communities might be best suited to meet all the needs of these students. This article discusses the Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP) in Providence, RI, and the Academy of Learning and Technology (ALT) in Nashua, NH, which are examples of effective alternative schools. Both schools have the same mission--to intervene in the lives of at-risk students in an attempt to foster their future success--and both schools have adopted many similar features in an attempt to engage challenging students.