Achievement Centre helping high school students discover their pathways to post-secondary education
Posted on Thursday, June 1st, 2017
Tucked away in a quiet hallway of the A-Building at Algonquin College’s Woodroffe Campus is the Ottawa Catholic School Board Achievement Centre.
The purpose of this space is to provide students a positive environment where they can complete their high school requirements.
Students who may be behind in credit accumulation, are at risk of leaving high school before obtaining an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, and demonstrate the ability to be self-motivated, self-directed and self-disciplined, can be recommended for the program by their home schools. To be eligible, students must demonstrate completion of the mandatory 40 hours of community service and successful completion of the Literacy test or course.
The Achievement Centre is fully equipped with study materials, resource books, and spaces for individual and collaborative school work. There is a corner with comfier reading chairs and a white board for working larger problems out. The Centre also offers a breakfast program that provides the students with healthy snacks to fuel their day.
Operating Monday through Friday from 8:00-3:00 p.m., the Centre provides the opportunity for students to work at their own pace in an environment that still offers support.
Jane McNorgan, a resource teacher, works full-time in the Centre to help assist the students on their pathway to succeed.
“Students come from all over the city to finish their high school diplomas,” says McNorgan. “They all have a different story and different reasons for why they are here. The high school environment, for whatever reason, hasn’t been successful for them, so they come here to finish their Grade 12 and take Dual Credits”
Since 2005, over 370 students have successfully completed their high school diplomas thanks to the Centre. Currently, there are 27 students signed up to work in the Centre and an additional 8 who have already graduated this year. Students can apply to join the Centre at any time as there is continual intake.
“The Achievement Centre is very valuable for students who are underachieving or disengaged,” says McNorgan. “Even if they don’t participate in a Dual Credit, being in a college environment is very beneficial because they see what their peers are doing.”
As Achievement Centre students, students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the college environment. McNorgan says that sometimes just seeing some of the amazing things their peers are doing is enough to encourage a student to succeed.
Additionally, if the students choose to enroll in a Dual Credit program, they are given complete access to the services on campus. Dual Credit students can play intramural sports, join clubs and societies, and even run for student government.
McNorgan says that this is a crucial stepping stone to giving the students the academic confidence to succeed in post-secondary education. She recalls a student that was studying in the Centre in the fall, “this particular student didn’t want to do a Dual Credit when he first came,” she says. “But being here and seeing what was happening from a distance was enough to have him take a Dual Credit in the second term.”
Now, this particular student has applied and been accepted to begin full-time studies at Algonquin in the fall 2017.
“If it wasn’t for the Achievement Centre, the Dual Credit course, and spending time in the college environment, this student never would have gone on to post-secondary,” says McNorgan.
About Academic Partnerships:
Pathway Building since 2006. Academic Partnerships works with a comprehensive network of Pathway Builders (community, educational and government stakeholders) to create and deliver on a variety of experiential opportunities to be a college student through hands-on, curriculum-driven experiences for Pathway Explorers (students in grade 7 – 12). With a commitment to the dream development and pathway finding for students prior to starting full-time studies the team has programming at Algonquin College’s three Ontario Campuses: Ottawa, Pembroke, and Perth. For more information visit: algonquincollege.com/ap
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