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On the Pathway to Success
On the Pathway to Success
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
A great deal of work has been going on behind the scenes over the past couple of months to ensure the path towards the successful opening of the proposed K-12 public charter school this September in the Village of Andrew all goes according to plan.
Stan Zabrick, Human Resources and Business Management Consultant, can be found most days at the school pouring over all the details and all that needs to be accomplished before the doors officially open this fall.
Back on Nov. 27, Zabrick said the final version of the charter school application was submitted to Alberta Education. He said there is a 90-day window from that date for a formal response from the Ministry of Education. Based on the timeline, “we expect to have the approval before the end of February,” noted Zabrick. To that end, Zabrick said the Andrew Rural Academy School Foundation board members are planning a celebration of the approval, recognition of efforts, and showcase of set up concepts of the classroom.
Zabrick pointed out that, “Our application is built on a K-12 enrollment of 85 students. As of this morning, we are at 53 with a large contingent of local families having not yet declared. This week, we have launched an aggressive marketing and communications campaign to bolster enrollment. This is an important matter as the application process required us to present an acceptance/rejection criteria so there is a risk to local parents waiting in the weeds that at some point, first to the wire will be decision and local kids may have to be waitlisted.”
Additionally, Zabrick said with the 20 or so remaining seats, they are looking for high school grade students as the learning labs they will be building should be of high interest to them.
Recruitment of a Superintendent will officially begin this week with Zabrick overseeing that. “This is a unique talent and skillset we are seeking. We will be looking at potential principal candidates at the same time, and will have early awareness postings up for teaching staff as they need to know what is different about this type of instruction.”
The overall plan also includes a daycare within the facility. While a couple of daycare operators expressed interest, Zabrick said because of grant funding hurdles had to withdraw their interest. However, “The Village of Andrew is aggressively pursuing this as we see this being a critical selling feature.”
According to the school’s mission, it is, “To provide our parent and student customers with an educational environment which:
· Uses the basis of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to develop skills relating to a rural environment while applying knowledge to current and evolving workplace competencies;
· Focuses on both school and community to extend learning opportunities beyond the classroom and focuses on a foundation of relationship building and teamwork where applicable;
· Develops a sense of pride and belonging, that creates a foundation for success in any career path;
· Creates mutually beneficial partnerships with industry sectors which promote learning while at the same time contributing to advancing interests.
STEM programming is defined under “vocation-based education” in Alberta’s Charter School Regulation. Learning is focused within the categories of: automation/autonomous machinery, trades and process operations, agricultural sciences, health sciences, civil engineering and construction, and humanities and general business.
Programming will be hands on/experiential, both in the classroom and other learning spaces, be tied to life in rural Alberta, and linked to careers in rural Alberta addressing current and future needs.
The Charter School is publicly funded and open to all families in the greater Andrew area, including: Lamont, Two Hills, Smoky Lake, Minburn and Beaver Counties.
As far as sponsorships and partnerships, Zabrick said, “We are approaching sponsorships/partnerships very strategically. There is a high degree of interest from various industry players to engage with us. This Thursday, we are working with a Fundraising/Sponsorship Consultant to conduct a full day workshop to help us with our approach and messaging. Very big work here.”
