The Seine River School Division has been offering an off campus alternative learning program for six years with great success.

The program is running in it's seventh year out of the Ste. Anne Collegiate, with nearly ten graduates per year, that would not have otherwise been able to graduate from highschool. A similar off campus program through the St. Norbert Collegiate is in it's first full year with eleven students. 

Ste. Anne Collegiate's Vice Principal Jeff Enns says, “It's an excellent program for students that have not been able to fit into the regular public education system for extended periods of time. It presents them with an option where they can finish up their schooling as opposed to just dropping out or not being involved in their education at all.”

According to classroom teacher Louis Cote, the program takes a more laid back and hands on approach. “There are twenty students involved in the program and typically we've got seven to eight in the classroom each day. Part of the kids program is work experience. So if they're not in the classroom then ideally they're in a work placement on the other days, if they're ready to be in work placement and if we can find a successful one for them.”

Cote notes they have very flexible scheduling. “If a student is able to find a job where the employer wants them to work on Monday and Tuesday, they come to school Wednesday through Friday. The three main goals for the students to achieve are: To graduate, to be prepared and be able to succeed in the work force, and to leave school with a positive experience and positive memories to latch onto.”

He adds, “Once I lay out the map for them, they realize graduation is attainable. They want to achieve this, so then they are interested in coming to class and interested in graduating. I haven't had a student yet that told me they don't want to graduate.”

Vice Principal Jeff Enns says you can see a change in the students over a period of time. “Often the students coming into the program are apprehensive, they may not have had a lot of success in their schooling for a number of years. But after a period of time here, they see they can be successful. You can see attitudes changing, how they carry themselves, present themselves, and how they talk with others. It's a positive experience for all parties.”

A student working on his grade 10/11 courses says, “I come here on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to work on Wednesdays and Fridays. It's a lot quieter here than at school. I can get my work done a lot faster and I can catch up on my work that I missed.”

Another student says, “I can catch up on work here better than at school. I come here two times a week, I work on the subjects that I need to catch up on for school, and the teachers help me when I need it. You can go at your own pace here, it's more relaxed, you don't get pushed, and you can switch subjects when you want to.”

When asked what his long term goals are, another student said, “I plan to graduate from highschool, then I plan to go into welding.” As for the program, he says, “It's nice coming here, everyone gets along and people get their work done. There were bad influences in public school and I don't find that here.”

A student in grade 12 had this to say, “Me personally, I want to do my math. It's easier to do here because there's not as many distractions. It's a laid back setting so you can do your work whenever you want, but you have to do your work. It's a really good program, and I hope to graduate. I probably wouldn't be in school if it wasn't for this program.”      

One of the Alternative Learning students at his job placement at Total Vehicle Maintenance, learning how to repair tires.

Owner of Total Vehicle Maintenance Richard Pelletier says, "I support the program because a lot of young people aren't too motivated to sit in an office and do paperwork and so on. Often they are good mechanically and working with their hands. So if they come here and spend a year here, they know if they want to work with their hands in the future. We've been fortunate to have several young men turn their lives around and to know that working physically is what they're looking for." 

Cote shares, "At the end of the year, one boy in my program in grade 10 said he didn't want to continue school, he just wanted to work. He was working in a metal shop. I said we can sign it up for apprenticeship credits and if you decide to come back to school, we can look at that at the end of the year. I said stay connected with me so I know you're doing well, so he did. A year goes by, in September he calls me up and asked if there was a chance of him graduating, and I said come in and we'll map out a program to make it work. That's the beauty of this program, he had a connection with the school so he felt comfortable giving me a phone call. Where as is we didn't have the program, the chances of him phoning the regular school office and saying he'd like to come back to school or even being able to come back to school wouldn't have been there. He ended up graduating from highschool, so he's a good success story for us."