When a young man entered Penhold Crossing Secondary School and nervously told Daryl Brown he didn't know how to earn his high school diploma he soon learned his problem was easily solvable.
After taking the 22-year-old man's name and birthdate, Brown, who was his principal many years before when he was a Grade 2 student at Bowden Grandview School, discovered his former student had accumulated 97 credits during his school years, three short of earning his diploma. Brown also found out the young man was working and that he had a first aid certificate, which collectively was worth the three credits he needed.
“I said to him, ‘your high school diploma is coming in the mail my friend',” said Brown, the current principal of Chinook's Edge's Career High Schools and Off Campus Learning Centre. The relieved man then asked how much it would cost.
“It is free of charge today,” said Brown, a former Sundre teacher, vice-principal and principal for 18 years.
Brown sees or hears about similar situations every day. And always there are quick solutions at hand -- ones that fit the career high schools' mandate of “flexible education – any time, anywhere – tailored to the individual” – no matter what the circumstance.
Brown is responsible for the more than 600 students in Chinook's Edge's career high school system, which has learning centres in Innisfail, Sylvan Lake, Olds, Didsbury and the Red Deer area.
The new Penhold Crossing Secondary School is the temporary home for the Red Deer Career High School, which came under the jurisdiction of Chinook's Edge in an agreement last year with the Red Deer Public School District that resulted in River Glen School leaving the rural school system.
Brown said he's hoping Red Deer Career High will find a permanent home within two years in a mini mall near the Costco store in Red Deer County's Gasoline Alley.
“If we can get it into Gasoline Alley we will be in a good position,” said Brown, adding the school's name will stay the same.
In the meantime, Chinook's Edge's career high school system will continue to provide the educational needs and flexibility for hundreds of rural citizens that are not available in traditional schools.
“I had done home-schooling before coming here to learn,” said 17-year-old Rachel Johnson, a career high student at Penhold Crossing who is benefiting from the one-on-one instruction she can only find in the career high system. “This is my third time taking math. I tried it by correspondence, then online and this is helping so much more. I'm starting to understand it.”
The extra cost for students under the age of 20 is zero. For adults over the age of 20, there is a $550 fee for each course but financial assistance, as well as career counselling, is available through the provincial Alberta Works program.
Brown said the system has proved to be the best answer for students who can't manage normal school timetables because of excessive travel requirements for essential extracurricular activities, such as those faced by gifted athletes forced to stay on long and frequent road trips. For students in these situations, much of their schooling and tutoring is done online, with extra support coming from the career high school when the student returns home.
The system has proven successful for kids who are living on their own, holding a full-time job, paying rent and squeezing time in for school, said Brown. He noted many of these students are single parents who can't bring their children to traditional schools but are able to do so in the career high system. “Sometimes we have teachers rocking babies on their laps,” said Brown.
The career high school system is also designed to benefit at-risk students, those with physical or mental health issues and unable to fit into regular classroom settings.
“Depending on what their needs are we can pretty much tailor anything to them,” said Brown, noting the unique settings for each career high school is an added benefit to the flexible nature of the system.
“Another term I use for my schools is a ‘storefront school',” said Brown. “We are in a shopping mall and in some cases sitting right beside a pizza place. What I love about that is that I see our buildings as very service orientated.
“When you walk into a store and if you have good service you are likely to come back, and that is exactly how our philosophy is in the career highs,” he added. “We want to serve our students, communities and our traditional schools.”
And the traditional schools also play an important part in the mandate of flexibility for the career high schools.
Brown said his system is involved in a “ton of blended situations” where regular students work with kids at all five career high schools to earn a course they need. The career high system will even send teachers to traditional schools for additional support. “This is very unique. I don't think anybody does anything like that,” said Brown, adding it's further proof his system is beneficial to anyone.
“We will figure out what you have and we can counsel you on what your best options are to get your high school education,” said Brown. “We are experts at that.”
For more information on Chinook's Edge career high schools visit www.chinooksedge.ab.ca
