Summer school success stories

NEWS RELEASE

ALGOMA DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

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“Experiential learning can assist all students, including exceptional students, who are bound for university, college, apprenticeship, or the workplace, in making career decisions as well as in developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are essential in today’s society. All forms of experiential learning are a valuable complement to students’ academic experience and preparation for the future.” - Cooperative Education and Other Forms of Experiential Learning; 2000 Policies and Procedures for Ontario Secondary Schools Ministry of Education

This summer, 33 Algoma District School Board students were enrolled in Summer School Co-operative (Co-op) Education and collectively earned 53 credits. At Tuesday’s Board meeting, ADSB Co-op teachers Jennifer Cronin and Jennifer Godfrey joined ADSB Administrator Mark Zorzit and student Brittany Cote of White Pines to share some of the highlights from the Summer School Co-op experience. 

Throughout July, students were required to complete assignments and journals in addition to their workplace jobs. Many wrote that Co-op provided a way for them to determine if a particular line of work was something they wanted to pursue. Others felt that the professional settings in which they found themselves helped to improve their social interactions and they felt they were learning skills that would be useful now and transferable in the future. 

One summer student, who worked on the John Faught Fieldhouse building project with Saldan Developments shared, “Summer is almost over, and I think I have learned more than I ever have.  Being able to see how things are done makes things easier to pick up on and has given me a ‘deeper’ understanding of all the work that is done.” This student was enrolled as a Construction Specialist High Skills Major. In fact, of the 33 Co-op students, 14 of them were connected to Specialist High Skills Major programs in their respective high schools.

Many community organizations have committed to overseeing student Cooperative placements in the summer and throughout the school year and ADSB is appreciative of these partnerships to support student learning. Some of the employment partners this summer included:

• Ministry of Natural Resources
• Lake Superior Physiotherapy
• Ontario Parks
• Art’s Council of Algoma
• Old Stone House
• Bellevue Park
• Saldan Developments
• Canadian Bush Plane Heritage Centre
• Quattro
• Indian Friendship Centre
• Sault Ste. Marie Airport

Superintendent of Education Marcy Bell was pleased to share other Summer School highlights. Over the month of July a total of 127 credits were earned at ADSB’s day school summer programs located at Superior Heights and the Urban Aboriginal sites.    

In the East, eighteen credits were earned, nine each at Elliot Lake Secondary School and WC Eaket in Blind River.  

Students enrolled in eLearning through the summer earned 117 credits. There were no less than twenty-four courses accessed by ADSB students ranging from Grade 12 University English to Grade 10 Careers and Civics. 

In total, over 300 credits (315) were earned over the summer by ADSB students.

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