From left, Los Alamos High School (LAHS) students Mairen Hoch, Lauran Norman, Dylan Pacheco and Mariana Medina present to the School Board the merits of the School of Choice (SOC) program during Tuesday night’s meeting. SOC, according to agenda documents, is an alternate program within LAHS intended to reach students who have a strong desire to learn and to graduate but who are failing their core classes. Typically, these are students who work hard, participate well and are creative but struggle with homework and tests. Most SOC students have high academic ability but have outside factors that affect their ability to complete work after school. SOC classes focus more on concepts rather than details, and the curriculum is based on in-class debate, discussion and projects. Learning is done in the classroom using interactive, student-centered methods. Courtesy photo