BONNYVILLE – More students in Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) are taking advantage of programming that allows them to get hands-on with their education.
Associate superintendent of system improvements Bill Driedger told the board of trustees during their May 6 meeting the division has seen an increase in the number of students accessing their enhanced programming.
The 2019/20 school year saw 31 students enrolled in the registered apprenticeship program, 199 youth participated in work experience programs, 562 were in locally developed courses, and 635 students took career and technology modules through their dual credit programming.
“It’s really exciting for me to inform you that despite the recent pandemic and the cancellation of classes, there was a lot of fantastic opportunities that we provided to our students to-date before March 13,” Driedger noted.
These programs are meant to enhance learning opportunities for students and provide a hands-on experience.
NLPS has dual credit agreements with five post-secondary institutions: Portage College, Lakeland College, Athabasca University, Olds College, and Northern Lakes College.
After receiving a $50,000 dual credit grant, the dollars have been used to create a First Nations language course in partnership with Portage College. The new program will be available to students in the 2020/21 school year.
According to Driedger, the Mobile Trades Lab continues to be a hit, with over 400 students utilizing it at H.E. Bourgoin School, Cold Lake Middle School and the outreach schools in Bonnyville and Cold Lake. Due to the pandemic, it wasn’t able to make a stop at Nelson Heights School. Participants this year learned about welding and plasma cutting through creative exploration.
Although how the 2020/21 school year will play out is still being determined, the lab is scheduled to go to Iron River School, Ardmore School, Glendon School, and Art Smith Aviation Academy.
NLPS was also forced to cancel their third annual Trades and Industry Carnival, which was scheduled to happen in June.
Offering diverse programming to give students more choices and a greater ability to direct their learning continues to be a focus for NLPS.
“We believe, and we’ve seen evidence, that this has a positive impact on their success and certainly broadens some of their future opportunities as well, whether they’re planning on post-secondary opportunities or entering the work force,” Driedger stated, adding the division hopes they're able to continue to work with industry partners.
“With the current state of affairs, both with the economy and the implications with the pandemic, we’ll just have to work our way through that so that next year whatever shape, whether it's on or off site, remote or not, we want to continue to provide great learning opportunities for our students.”