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Bridging the gap
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation's online high school diploma program helps students succeedNathalie Heiberg-Harrison Northern News Services Published Thursday, August 18, 2011
"I wanted to be more than who I was. I know I have so much more potential," she said. In 2010 she signed up for Sunchild E-learning, an online high school diploma program run by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and said it was the best decision she has ever made. "It opened so many doors," she said. She began by retaking Grade 10 math, social studies and science, to boost her marks and understanding in those courses, and then continued on with Grade 11 and 12 courses. This fall she will be completing Math 30, which would allow her to graduate in January. Nasogaluak's story isn't unique though. Since the Sunchild program began in February 2010, its students' course completion rate has risen from zero per cent to 80 per cent. Last semester, 11 of its 12 available spots were filled, according to Candace Morgan, who helps manage the program. So far this summer they have received 30 applications for the September 2011 semester, but have just three open spots, as nine students from last semester will be returning to the classroom to continue their studies. "These are the students that have fallen through the cracks, essentially," Morgan said of those who signed up. "They're high school dropouts and we're bringing them in, we're building them up and we are going to have fabulous outcomes." The students are both male and female, she said, and last semester ranged in age from 18 to 28. Each semester they can take three courses, ranging from math and English to biology and literature, in order to fill the gaps in their high school transcript. They attend class Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and are each a part of their own online classroom. An on-site mentor, Terry Koenig, is on hand if they need further explanations of their course work. In the past, classes were held at a training centre on Bonnetplume Road, but this summer the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation moved them in-house, to the second floor of their building. Koenig said the classroom is unique to Inuvik because every student has made the decision to return to school and graduate. "They don't have to be in school. They want to be," he said. "It's a good atmosphere. I don't throw chalk at them to keep them quiet." Students often help each other with their work and have to sign an agreement at the start of the term. Among the rules: no Facebook, no swearing and a promise to apply themselves to their studies. The program, and its tuition, is funded through the federal government's Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy, and doesn't come cheap. Each online course costs $600 per student, which means in September tuition costs for their 12 students will total $21,600. In addition, they have to cover the costs for the on-site mentor, maintain 12 computers and supply each student with a training allowance. NorthwesTel supplies the use of the Internet, as well as phone and fax lines, free of charge. Morgan said the program, at its root, aims to bridge the gap between where students are and where they want to be. "We felt that if we could improve literacy then we would have more success in moving people into training programs, apprenticeship programs or post-secondary education programs," she said. "Our number one priority at the (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation) is to have our students stay in the school system. This is a Band-Aid, that's really what it is. We're trying to catch the ones that have fallen through the cracks. We don't want them left behind." Nasogaluak, who dropped out of school when she was 15, said the Sunchild E-learning program helped her get back on track. She plans to move to Lethbridge, Alta., when she graduates, to study business administration there, and hopes to eventually work in the accounting field. "It's only the beginning of my education journey," she said.
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