The benefits of collaboratively tackling a challenging issue all school districts face was brought to the fore at a recent meeting hosted by the Rotary Club of Kelowna. The issue is not all students fit comfortably into the traditional school system; these students often can be individuals who struggle academically, socially, and emotionally.
Central Programs and Services offer a wide variety of alternative educational pathways for students to experience success. The Gateway Program is one such initiative aimed at providing vulnerable youth an opportunity to experience post-secondary trades training. For students in the Gateway program, the learning environment supports 5 core principles: Trust, Hope, Confidence, Love and Attitude. Building on these, Central School in collaboration with Okanagan College, has developed The Gateway Program. Gateway is a unique initiative that provides at risk students, well before completion of grade 12, an opportunity to explore a variety of vocational trades they may wish to pursue upon graduation. The program is made up of 3 stages with Central hosting the 1st stage over 5 weeks. Okanagan College hosts the students for the 2nd and 3rd stages for 10 weeks and up to 40 weeks respectively. During this time the students start to earn credit towards an apprenticeship and high school graduation.
To date, the Gateway program has hosted 105 students with many students successfully completing the 3rd stage and going on to pursue their apprenticeships through Okanagan College.
Rob Law, Central School’s Gateway teacher and facilitator, says: “Gateway is an experience for the student to build self-esteem and discover what underlying passions they may have in applying themselves. It gives them a reason to want to achieve. Without Gateway the student drop-out rate would have been assuredly higher”.
Rick Potter, President of the Rotary Club of Kelowna, stated “Rotary has been involved since Gateway started. As with all trades related education there are expenses, such as tools and books, that students have to incur and are not funded by the government. We wanted to ensure no interested student faces a financial barrier in joining the Gateway program. We work closely with the faculty at Central Schools and Programs in identifying the students’ financial needs.”
Vianne Kintzinger, Assistant Superintendent who oversees Career Life Programs with the Central Okanagan School District said, “Gateway is a strategic initiative that assists vulnerable students to discover their potential and find their path. Happily, this also reduces the downstream burden on our community”.
Teresa Kisilevich, Associate Dean, Trades & Apprenticeship at Okanagan College, said “Gateway is a testament of the power of collaboration amongst educational organizations in tackling problems that otherwise would not get adequately addressed”.
Kevin Kaardal, Superintendent/CEO of Central Okanagan Public Schools, says, "We value the significant impact that all of our partnerships bring to our community of learners in our Central Okanagan Public Schools. The Rotarians commitment to serve our Gateway program has allowed us to further ensure that students, such as those attending this program, have the needed supports to ensure success."