Alternative Education programs help more students graduate
A record number of students participating in Alternative Education programs across Thames Valley will receive recognition for high school credits this year at a special graduation ceremony Thursday.
Some 77 students who might never have completed school in a traditional classroom setting, have earned their Ontario Secondary School Certificate ñ up from 20 in 2007. In addition, another 55 students have earned their Ontario Secondary School Diplomas.
ìWe are so happy that our Alternative Education programs are reaching out to more students than ever before,î said Rebecca Howse, Principal of Adult, Alternative and Continuing Education, based at G.A. Wheable Centre.
One alternative education program is Specialized Co-op, providing students with the opportunity to earn credits towards their high school diplomas through workplace training and a flexible curriculum. It involves Web-based learning in which weekly course work is submitted online.
Reconnect to Your Future is another Thames Valley program that targets disengaged youth who have left school without graduating by helping them get back on track.
Students from Waterloo Centre, Richmond Centre, Anishnaabe Skiniiw, Wiingashk- NíAmerind Centre, Springbank Employment and Learning Centre, Woodstock Transition School, and St. Thomas Alternative School will be honoured at the graduation ceremony.
All of these students have overcome many obstacles in their lives: some are single parents, some are working and paying rent, and some just did not fit into the regular stream of high school.
