At-risk students are engaged in dangerous behaviors that lead them to become involved in the juvenile justice system and cause the feeling of low self-worth. This eventually causes at-risk youths to drop out of school and engage in detrimental behaviors that meddle in their academic success. The alternative education program provides these at-risk youth with the opportunity to develop positively their academics and behavior to complete a regular high school program. This mixed method study with quantitative and qualitative research enhanced the understanding of the perceptions of the effectiveness of alternative programs from an educator's viewpoint. Conveniently selected educators who worked at an alternative education site, had referred students to an alternative program, had worked with a student who was at an alternative site, or had a student who had been at a program completed a survey examining their perceptions of the effectiveness of alternative programs. From the selection, 10 educators were asked to partake in the qualitative section of the research to strengthen the validity of the research. The means were estimated to analyze the educators' perceptions of the effectiveness of alternative programs in southern state. The results revealed alternative education programs are needed and are effective in developing the needs of at-risk youths, which was consistent with the research shared in the literature review. Appendices include: (1) Survey Instrument; (2) Interview Guide; and (2) Sample Interview Responses.