The teen years aren’t easy. Periods of transition usually come with issues, and being in that age group is challenging, particularly in an educational setting.

Marquette Alternative High School is for students who would be better served in a less-traditional secondary school setting.

That means having to set up curricula in a different way and offer unique activities.

The Marquette Area Public Schools Board of Education on Monday went on a walking tour of MAHS to see how ninth- through 12th-graders are learning beyond textbooks.

They are learning cutting-edge gardening through aquaponic and hydroponic gardens.

They learn photography in a laboratory, put out their own yearbook and even sell advertising space for it.

They are working on a large Cornish pilot gig in the same vein as the current pilot gig created by knowledgeable adults in the local boating community.

They tinker with and ride bicycles that are kept at MAHS.

Even the outside of MAHS is special, with the school involved in outdoor education and cooperating with Marquette Township to create a spot for recreation. Principal Andrew Crunkleton said in the summer, the site is packed with community kids bicycling and playing ball.

In the summer of 2018, the new V-Boom Pump Track opened to the public as part of a collaboration between MAPS, MAHS and the Noquemanon Trail Network.

MAHS also participates every year in its “Rock the Socks!” campaign, in which socks are donated from throughout the community and distributed to people who need them. They even create the flyers for the event.

So, it’s not just the students who benefit from the myriad of activities. The public benefits as well.

It should be noted that MAHS is not a large school, at least not population-wise, with only 114 students. That can be a good thing since more individual attention can be paid to students.

Having a dedicated staff helps. In fact, one bulletin board in a hallway at the school displays staff photos as well as their educational backgrounds, giving students the inspiration to further their educations as well.

Different kids require different ways of learning, and we’re glad to see MAHS is thinking out of the box.