The new signage isnB次元官网网址檛 even on the building yet, and once itB次元官网网址檚 fastened into place it may not be accurate for very long.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 the nature of change, however, and change is exactly what has been going on within the Sooke School DistrictB次元官网网址檚 (SD62) alternative education programs B次元官网网址� with more on the way.
Paul Block, district principal of adult and alternative education for SD62, is one of the people driving that change. It makes sense, since he has always had a soft spot for those on the margins of society B次元官网网址� as many of the students in SD62B次元官网网址檚 alternative education programs are.
He says growing up in East Vancouver as a middle-class kid playing in punk bands gave him a different view of the world and formed the basis for his future early in life.
B次元官网网址淚 got to meet a whole different demographic of people, and really started to understand early on that the story of peopleB次元官网网址檚 lives are a heck of a lot different than perhaps many of us in middle-class life understand and appreciate,B次元官网网址� Block says. B次元官网网址淲hat you see on the outside is maybe not whatB次元官网网址檚 going on on the inside.B次元官网网址�
That understanding and appreciation for the struggles of others is what eventually led him to working within the education system in a position where he can work with those who are struggling within that system, and attempt to find a better way to help them learn.
B次元官网网址淭he students that we work with,B次元官网网址� he says, B次元官网网址渃anB次元官网网址檛 be successful with the curriculum until we stabilize their lives. When there are things going on in their lives, domestic challenges at home, or theyB次元官网网址檙e homeless B次元官网网址� which is the case with a lot of our kids B次元官网网址� or theyB次元官网网址檙e couch-surfing, or they have substance abuse issues B次元官网网址� sitting in a classroom doing math goes way down the list of priorities. Education is a huge primary piece of what we do, but before we can educate, we have to stabilize.
B次元官网网址淭hese kids are highly intelligent, incredibly resourceful and very resilient,B次元官网网址� Block says. B次元官网网址淭hey just need some guidance and compassion for what theyB次元官网网址檝e endured and continue to endure.B次元官网网址�
The main way to build a foundation for learning, he says, is to build a level of trust and sense of community that is welcoming and secure; a comfortable place for students to thrive.
Helping achieve that is the programsB次元官网网址� newly incorporated B次元官网网址渃ohort model,B次元官网网址� where students move through non pre-determined curriculum in groups B次元官网网址� much like what happens in elementary and middle school.
B次元官网网址淲hat I saw when I was working in primary school, was the strength and power of the cohort model, where the same group of kids move through together and build a community,B次元官网网址� Block says. He believes it will translate well for those older kids who donB次元官网网址檛 necessarily learn best in a traditional educational structure.
When you build that community within the education system, he says, you can begin to build a foundation of what is arguably the most important aspect of education itself, something he calls B次元官网网址渃haracter education.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲hat are our values? What are our morals? What is right and what is wrong? What are ethics? How should we treat each other? What is a community and what is the power of community?B次元官网网址� Block asks rhetorically.
They are the foundations of education in these alternative programs, which have recently been reorganized, right down to the physical locations where they are offered.
Pacific secondary, for example, moved into the revitalized, SD62-owned location on Sooke Road in Colwood from its prior home at 1830 Island Hwy.
The district was leasing the previous space, an expense that ran somewhere in the neighbourhood of $200,000 per year, according to Block. A proposal was developed to instead reinvest those funds into something the district owns, and would be more conducive to what Block wants to build educationally.
Without physical education facilities like sports fields or gymnasia, without the ability to offer interesting electives, Block asks, B次元官网网址淗ow can we build a culture and a sense of belonging in kids who have felt marginalized by the system? How can we make them feel respected as if they are welcome in our schools and being given the opportunities and privileges of the students at Belmont and the other schools?B次元官网网址�
How they do that is to create a better, more diverse facility and strike up various partnerships. Those include a deal with Royal Roads University to use its gym for physical education, a conversion of the gym at the old Metchosin elementary into a shop for trades-style electives like carpentry, and joining up with the YM-YWCA to create a teaching garden to learn sustainable resource practices B次元官网网址� which also then improves their cooking and foods programs.
B次元官网网址淪o suddenly weB次元官网网址檝e gone from no electives to a bunch of very cool ones,B次元官网网址� Block says.
Dave Betts, assistant superintendent for SD62, echoes BlockB次元官网网址檚 sentiments.
B次元官网网址淗ow do we work with the kids that are not being successful (in the current system) to ensure that they are going to be successful?B次元官网网址� was the question being asked, he says. B次元官网网址淲hat we wanted to do is bring all of the non-adult students together in one campus on the West Shore community. We owned the building already, so we put some additional portables in there and repurposed some of what we had there already, and did a big renovation on the building to accommodate the learning styles and programs we want to have in there. One of our goals is to get out of rental buildings and into our own facilities, but the primary objective is to move into our cohort programs and down the pathway of helping kids be more successful.B次元官网网址�
The new alternative schooling format at the West Shore CentreB次元官网网址檚 family of schools offers options for adult, alternate and distributed learning education. For more information, contact Block at block@sd62.bc.ca.
