Northland School Division

A new pathway for Northland School Division No.61 (NSD61) students to complete high school officially begins today (February 1, 2017). NSD61 is pleased to launch the Flexible Learning Pilot Program in partnership with Career Pathways School. Over the next few months, six high school students from across NSD61 will continue their journey towards graduation through a blended learning environment.

“This is new territory for NSD61,” said Gord Atkinson, Superintendent of Schools. “This pilot program allows students to work towards high school completion in their community. We are launching the program with a small group to ensure it runs smoothly before determining whether to progress to full implementation in 2017-2018.”

The Flexible Learning Pilot Program will see students accessing resources and instruction online using Google Classroom while continuing to participate in land-based learning and hands-on Career and Technology Studies (CTS). The online learning environment includes core courses such as Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Math as well as CTS.

“A flexible learning environment encourages students to take ownership of their learning and their graduation plans in a different way, said Atkinson.

Career Pathways School, one of 24 NSD61 schools, currently offers a blended learning environment to its students. Christoph Ruge, Career Pathways School Principal, says they are excited to support a similar concept division-wide.

“Fortunately, Career Pathways School already had a “well-stocked pantry” of available, online courses that had been made available to our students in house, said Ruge. “With the assistance from other school divisions, we were able to complete the list of necessary courses and be ready for launch in February.”

 The Flexible Learning Pilot Program will benefit students in the following ways:

1. Allow for planned, coordinated, learning to take place anywhere, anytime.
2. Using Google Classroom allows teachers to monitor student progress with assignments and provides the ability to collaborate within the assignment itself. This supports Moving Forward with High School Redesign.
3. Integrate and share local resources, mentors, and supports to complement asynchronous learning.
4. Build and connect a learning community of students and teachers who would otherwise be disconnected.
5. Catapult Northland School Division into 21st century learning to accommodate student centered learning.

The Flexible Learning Pilot Program is supported by expertise from within NSD61 and from other school divisions. Atkinson adds NSD61 is going to explore additional strategic partnerships to grow the program.

The Flexible Learning Pilot Program content is available on the Career Pathways School website.

http://careerpathwaysschool.ca/flex-learning-portal/career-technology-studies

http://careerpathwaysschool.ca/flex-learning-portal/academic-core-courses