Alternative education highlighted

Story:

Alternative school principal Carolyn Spence brought two students to the Nov. 8 school board meeting to talk about some of the highlights of alternative programming on the Coast.

Students said the programming allows them to work at their own pace, and if it weren't for the flexible program they would have quit school entirely.

They said personalized attention from teachers is a key to success as well as interesting courses such as sailing and culinary arts.

Trustees were pleased with the way the program is meeting student needs.

REACH

Chad Hershler of Deer Crossing the Art Farm asked the board for support of the REACH project his group is spearheading.

REACH stands for Rein-tegrating Existing Assets into Community Hubs.

Hershler explained the idea is to connect sectors involved in local food, arts and culture, tourism, social enterprise, intelligence services and green building design and create a shared space for everyone so they can work together for the betterment of the community.

"We're just trying to get as much support at the outset because its success is going to very much be dependent on the amount of support that comes in at the beginning," Hershler said.

The board was intrigued by the idea and voted to provide a letter of support for the REACH effort.

Superintendent's report

Superintendent of schools Patrick Bocking congratulated everyone on the work that is being done throughout the district to support early learning through programs like Spark and StrongStart.

"The work that's been done in this district for early learning is absolutely phenomenal," he said.

Bocking noted that some areas of discussion are stalled right now due to teacher job action.

He said he wants to talk with teachers about ways to create district assessments of students, rather than relying on provincial data, and he wants to talk to teachers about different ways to meet the new provincial mandate for individualized instruction.

"One of the really troubling things about it for me right now is that we're not on this already in terms of the discussion," he said.

BCED plan

The board had a look at a promotional video released by the government explaining the new B.C. Education Plan.

The plan consists of five key elements, which are personalized learning, quality teaching and learning, flexibility and choice, high standards, and learning empowered by technology.

The province is looking for feedback on the plan and the public can learn more about it and get involved on-line at www.bcedplan.ca.