LAKELAND – Some school divisions in the Lakeland have partnered to apply for a collegiate school status, aiming to give students in the region a head-start on post-secondary education, or other desired career paths.
Collegiate schools are formed in partnership between secondary and post-secondary educational institutions that offer programs in specific subjects outside of the regular secondary school curriculum.
“In partnership with post-secondary institutions, collegiate schools offer specialized programming in a particular subject or field and provide all students with a clear pathway into post-secondary education and careers in their chosen field,” reads information from the Government of Alberta.
Keith Gamblin, assistant superintendent at St. Paul Education, said the school board has partnered with Northern Lights School Division, Lakeland Catholic Division, and Conseil scolaire Centre-Est to apply for a collegiate school status.
“Basically, it's a way to spur on and encourage kids and get them to transition . . . [and] explore careers in post-secondary,” said Gamblin, during the Feb. 12 St. Paul Education board of trustees meeting. Students basically learn post-secondary subjects while still in high school, he explained.
“We are doing a little bit of this already [through] dual-credit, but this would allow us to offer more programming to kids,” he said. Dual-credit supports provide opportunities for secondary-level students to take elective courses where they can get both high school and post-secondary credits.
“[A collegiate school is] just a good way for kids to get a taste of a post-secondary program,” Gamblin added.
If the application is approved, Gamblin suggests the school boards will play different roles.
St. Paul Education would provide the health-related courses to students, he said, where students could take up to five classes toward becoming a paramedic, licensed practical nurse, or registered nurse - while still in high school.
Northern Lights would offer education-related courses to all students within the partnership. These classes would mostly be held online, taught by instructors from Portage College or qualified teachers within the school division.
While the application is being done in partnership with Portage College, Gamblin told the board of trustees the courses will be recognized by most post-secondaries in Alberta.
“Part of our application also included providing training in the trades,” he said, which includes welding, electrician training, and potentially heavy equipment technician training.
That way, “kids potentially interested in careers in those fields could do their first-year training while still in high school with us,” said Gamblin.
The division is expecting to receive the outcome of the application by March.
More and more collegiate schools are opening in Alberta. In September 2024, the Government of Alberta announced seven new collegiate schools had opened.
The province will spend $64.3 million over three years to support the collegiate schools.
Since 2021, 12 collegiate schools have opened, which includes the seven newest schools.
