PRSD to introduce home education program


BY JUSTIN SEWARD insight magazine


Prairie Rose School “Once we’ve got an outline plan in place,


we know how we’re going to it, and then we’ll start phasing it,”said Monks.“Then the hope would be that one phase, you start sell- ing those lots, you start working through it, and then you can use those funds to fund additional phases,and you keep moving it along as you go.The $2 million likely is not enough to service those properties, and then ‘boom’on the ground and running.” Various green spaces have been incorpo-


rated as well as a central storm pond and public park adjacent to a utility right-of-way that bisects the area. “We require a storm pond,so that would be a natural area to look at adding some kind of a park or amenity,”said Monks.“We want to make sure that we’ve got some pathways going through there,and we’ve got that con- nectivity for people. It would be lovely to have some kind of connectivity down to the M.D. park, and to keep that connection going. We’ve got Ken Mac out there already, it would be logical to consider an expansion of those playing fields and just some more fea- tures for our citizens.” To the east of 50th Street, the preliminary design calls for developed areas north and south of the sports complex, setting aside 2.2 acres to the north for potential convenience- commercial development, and 10 acres to the south for a potential school site. “A future school site, if that’s located in that


area and we’ve got some adjacent fields going on there, I think that will really help the school board.We can look to partner with them on their programming as well,” said Monks,who noted her department still has to determine Horizon School Division’s future plans.“Our Municipal Development Plan and our area structure plan has always identified that we need a new school site out in that area.As we start the outline plan process, they’ll be on the list of people that we con- sult,making sure that the site is large enough and adequate for their needs.” Monks is open to many options for the planned development, including potential cluster neighbourhoods that could be associ- ated with industry investment or ownership. “Maybe they buy into a cluster neighbour-


hood, and it’s their neighbourhood, and they rent those homes to their employees.Maybe they’ve got community gardens.There’s ways to make that work so they can take some ownership of that as well.We’re open to look- ing and exploring all types of ownership models, all types of development.”


Division (PRSD) has not had a home-education program in place, but are taking steps to change with their newly-formed Rural Futures Outreach School. The school district has


The potential relocation of the town’s fire


hall could have a major influence on costs and other development factors in the area, according to Monks. “It definitely has an impact.Where the fire hall is currently located, it does not meet the 10 minute response time for these lands. So like every other developer and builder in town, if we move forward with development out there we’ll be impacted by the location of the current fire hall. If council moves for- ward and determines a new location for an emergency services building, then that would certainly help with development costs, and build-out costs.” The problem of affordable housing is a


growing issue in Canadian municipalities that many are struggling to address. “From what we’re hearing from industry that is in Taber, industry that hasn’t come to Taber, and just from people on the street — there’s an affordable housing crunch in Canada, and Taber really isn’t that different,” said Monks.“I think with the new challenges to qualify for morgages, it’s making it very difficult for people. So I think it’s critical, and I think also for us as a town to use that as eco- nomic viability — if we’re hearing from industry that they’re not coming here because there’s no housing for their people, or there’s no employees for their jobs, that’s an issue.” Upcoming public consultation on the proj-


ect will be vital, asserts Monks, and the municipality wants to hear from its citizens and industry on what they would like to see. “We just want to hear what people want to see out there.What kinds of products are going to work for our community? And then other stakeholders are really going to be our industry and businesses.We keep hearing that there is a need, and that they can’t meet their need for employees, and they can’t house their employees here in town,so we’re going to be looking to them.What do you need? What do you see? How can we help answer your need? So work with us and let’s figure out something.”


found that between 200 to 300 students are taking the home schooling option elsewhere in the province where the program is provided. “Each year by the act of the regulations, as a home-school division,we’re supposed to receive information that our kids are signed up with them,”said PRSD superintendent Roger Clarke. “Many do send me some information. I’m sure I don’t get them all.However, from what I can tell, there are at least 200 to 300 kids in our area that should be Prairie Rose kids that we should be servicing and helping that are signed with other outlets.That doesn’t mean that they’re doing a poor job or anything.We just have no connection to these stu- dents to help them.” Clarke said there is no home education in the southeast


region between PRSD or either of Medicine Hat’s public or Catholic divisions. However,PRSD has began the process of implementing a home-school learning environment by beginning the search for a teacher for the Rural Futures school beside the head office. “It’ll be solely focused on developing and supporting in the home education environment,”he said. “We’re going to meet with them (the student) and make


sure they get the materials that are appropriate for them. If they’re a Grade 7-aged student, start moving in that direc- tion, especially in the numeracy and language arts areas so they’re progressing through their learning.That would be our job in connecting with them.” There will be a regulation as to the requirements the


provider will establish with the student,he added. Although the parents are the accessor, planner or instruc-


tor,PRSD wants to establish goals to take the program fur- ther.


“In my experience with home education programs, is that as the students get older at home and as they get into junior and senior high ages, the complexity of what they’re learning starts to get much deeper and harder,” said Clarke. “It’s hard for parents to master all of that. Especially when


you start getting into the maths and sciences. Students need a conduit to get some help with those things.Our hope and desire is to build those relationships with those families.” A hope of Clarke’s is if those home-school students get older and take an interest in tools or want to work in finan- cial management, that they see down the road of coming to a PRSD school and taking their option course. “We call those blended programs,”he said.“Part of the pro-


grams are at home, part of the program is in school.We can help support them in that.”


insight magazine march 2019 - 31


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32