Some interesting learning opportunities are among the developments for the new school year at Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS).
This includes an expansion to the division’s partnership with other educational institutions as well as a stronger push on furthering student’s literacy skills, plus widening participation in a significant study.
Superintendent Jayson Lovell outlined the division is moving ahead with work that would see more students from around WCPS involved with programs being run in conjunction with Red Deer College (RDC), Lakeland College and Northern Lights School Division (NLSD).
“We are working with RDC in order to get more of our students into some specific, specialized programs and find more opportunities where dual credits can be offered,” he said.
Right now, four WCPS students are enrolled in welding and mechanics (two each) through RDC’s School Within A College (SWAC) program. In addition, five students from Bentley took part in NLSD’s service rig worker course, which helped the students obtain six industry standard qualifications.
“That course in Bonnyville was a great success, where the students received certificates that allowed them to find a job right away,” Lovell stated.
“We want to continue to find these opportunities and ensure students can continue to learn and reach for their goals.”
To that end, he added that WCPS is working with one of its school principals and Lakeland College on the logistics in order to provide high school students from around the division the opportunity to become trained firefighters.
“It’s also a chance to give back to the community and provide learning to students in order to help out our volunteer fire departments,” Lovell said.
On the literacy front, WCPS has made adjustments to time tables at various schools in order to get students that need more help in this area the work they need.
“We have moved to what are intervention blocks that go deeper and give students the help where they need it, be it literacy or numeracy. Programs like Read 180 are helping us close the gaps that we have seen,” Lovell stated.
The other initiative being expanded is a study that will provide all WCPS schools with data on just how well they are performing as a Safe, Caring and Welcoming school. WCPS was part of a pilot project that evaluated the division’s performance in regards to the provincial education initiative.
This year, WCPS will be spreading the review across the district and will be the only division in the province involved in this fashion.