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Outreach School Proposal
Rocky Mountain House: 1999 - 2000
Of all the students that entered Grade 9 in Wild Rose School Division five years ago, 39 per cent did not complete Grade 12. In Rocky Mountain House (population 6,000) that would mean about 250 students, in addition to the students who have left other school systems. The premise of this proposal is that enough of these students (10 per cent) would be attracted to an alternative program for it to be viable on a cost recovery basis. Similar programs elsewhere have had the following experiences: Barrhead drew a peak of 80 students last year; Lacombe maintained around 120; Rimbey had about 20; Leduc started by expecting 40, opening with 80, and climbing to 150 in the first year, then jumped to 250 in year two, and leapt to over 450 last year. While a great many students might be captured by such a program, it is important to limit the scope of the program to ensure its success. This program would be intended for people who are capable of learning without intensive coaching, monitoring, or assistance. This would typically exclude people affected by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, autism, or active and untreated psychosis, for example. The population comprising the future students of this program would be characterized by the following: young mothers (of whom there are 147 aged nineteen or younger reported in Rocky Mountain House and area), young couples, singles living independently, social outcasts, survivors of abuse, recovering addicts, chronic illness (hepatitis), age/grade incompatibilities (17/Grade Nine), emotionally unbalanced (inappropriate venting of anger), mood disorders (bi-polar), nihilists (“attitude problem”), coming late and hungry from troubled homes, undisciplined, lacking direction, former home- schoolers, English as a Second Language, and the bright and
bored. Most of these people have already dropped out or been expelled, while others do not fit well in the mainstream school environment and are at risk of leaving (or being directed to leave) and not returning.
Attendance and Progress Requirements
What should be immediately obvious is that in order to capture and keep these students things must be done very differently in this program than in the mainstream school from which they are refugees. For instance, attendance need not be an issue. As long as there is steady progress in the coursework the student would be enrolled. This idea may rankle some who have had careers working at a designated time and place and who expect students to work in the same manner for the program to have credibility. In many respects the students coming into this program would be embracing the model for work already adopted by modern and progressive companies such as Microsoft: what is important is that the product is high quality and delivered on time; where and how it is created is unimportant. Clearly, many students would have difficulty maintaining their focus on the end product as they wrestle with personal issues; typically they would not be the motivated, self-directed and self- actualizing individuals sought by Microsoft. A function of the program would be to teach the skills of problem solving and effective communications that would allow the students to shift their focus increasingly to course productivity. In the end, these are the skills that would make them desirable to Microsoft or some other company. Doubtless, though, there would be some who would not commit to participating in good faith with the program, as evidenced by their lack of progress on all fronts. Separations would be effected by the program as necessary – with compassion for the student’s greater needs, recommendations as to what they might explore next, referrals as appropriate, and an invitation to return when they are ready. Minimum progress expected would be one module assignment to be completed each week for each course enrolled in.
would establish with the students that there is no personality clash at the root of a poor mark. It would also dispel any sentiment that may arise in the community that the program is in any way suspect with its grading and stated successes. With respect for the needs and habits of the students, the program would be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. generally, closing at 12:00 a.m. on Friday and open until 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Program Offerings
The core program offering would be the modular courses provided by the Alberta Distance Learning Centre, which are broad ranging and designed for self-directed studies. Other programs have also spoken highly of the Registered Apprenticeship Program as an offering that attracts students, and this would be actively promoted, as would the Green Certificate Program. Guest speakers would be utilized to the greatest extent possible. Field trips would be desirable, and possibly be done by arranging transportation on a limited capacity basis. The program would be focussed on employability with the students, and to this end would be encouraging career explorations, job shadowing and occupational interviews, work experience for credit, and volunteer work to maximize the learning experience while completing courses. Passion projects to explore personal interests would be similarly encouraged. These would become object lessons in problem solving and effective communication in achieving goals set by the students for themselves. To complement the Career and Life Management courses, which would be required, personal development workshops would be run on a regular basis. These would make use of
community and outside resources to focus on personal issues of all manner, as well as team building and self care in the process. Group activities are necessary to the integration of these learnings, and blocks of time for such work are emphatically recommended. Physical education has proven difficult to provide for other programs, as students are not generally working in large groups on a regular basis. The program would pay for registration in organized activities such as swimming or archery, to a limit, as it would also for art and music instruction related to course work. (This is assuming the program would be completely divorced from the mainstream schools, their facilities, and their teachers.) Informal group building activities are also important: program meals, cribbage, valentines, and fundraisers all have a place. The lessons of problem solving and communicating would be exercised in these.
Community Involvement
Many relationships have been established by the students within the community, and some of these the program would become involved in. Without meddling, it is reasonable to expect the program would have contact with outside agencies regarding some students. The function of the program would be to teach the student how to deal with all manner of relationships effectively, and to allow them to do so. The program would not become enmeshed in mediation and advocacy work on behalf of students. In the interest of teaching and demonstrating the importance of good working relationships within the community, the program would invite a wide range of guest presenters to come in. The variety of personalities should prove refreshing for the students, and offset whatever staleness they might experience in having the same teachers continuously. Equally important is the opportunity to have larger group activities and discussions, and to allow students an easy introduction to someone with whom they might like to explore a concern or interest. A
work through problems, make appropriate action plans, and move ahead. Part of the service offered by ADLC is testing in Math and English for grade placement. This information would be seen by the students to be unbiased and based on the reality of their present skills. Use of the Test of Adult Basic Education would also be sensible, as would a Learning Styles Inventory, in providing students with the fullest possible understanding of their academic strengths and weaknesses. Career planning would include use of the Kiersey Temperament Sorter and the related Atlas of Occupational Types. Similar tools of personal inventory and comparison with others would also be introduced to ensure the students are moving in the direction of a good fit between themselves and the workplace environment. To avoid being led astray by the statistical approach, teachers would also ask students repeatedly: “What is it you would like to do?” Transcripts would be required to ensure that students have the credits required to meet their objectives. Student files would be reviewed to better understand students needs in their endeavours.
