This issue brief is part of a larger study of California continuation high schools begun in 2007. While the first phase of the study examined various alternative education options throughout the state, this second phase focused on 23 higher performing continuation high schools in California selected based on multiple student outcome measures. This issue brief is specifically intended to reach the community of school-based practitioners and district level policymakers, seeking to better understand alternative schooling for over-aged and under-credited youth. During the first phase of the study, teachers discussed their struggle in balancing student engagement with academic rigor of instruction for this unique population of students. These teachers called out for increased research on the unique context and better practices of continuation high school instruction. To that end, this paper highlights creative work-arounds that successful continuation schools, principals, and teachers implement to serve this unique population of students, despite highly restricted state funding. In particular, this paper emphasizes the importance of operationally aligning these practices to balance competing objectives (e.g., vocational vs. college preparatory programs). (Contains 4 figures and 3 footnotes.)