High school can be a tough place to adjust to when you’re not used to the pace or the changes to routine. New teachers every few hours, hundreds of new students around you in a place you’re not familiar with … and that’s on top of everything else going on in a student’s life.
Rebecca Wilson of Stratford District Secondary School - one of this year’s Avon Maitland District School Board Trustee Recognition award winners - understands it can be a challenge and she’s taken on the task of helping those students feel more engaged.
“The program is for students in grades 9 and 10 who’ve historically had a hard time attending school regularly,” she said of the re-engagement program at SDSS. “Compared to other Grade 9 students’ timetables, the students in this class have me as their teacher all morning and then I support them in their other classes. I have a wide range of teachables and have taught a lot of things over time, so I’m able to help give the students some consistency.”
Wilson said that she and others in the program work with a student’s Grade 8 school, their families and other outside agencies to get them comfortable within the program. They spend time in the first semester working out skills for self-regulation and for connection to help build a base each student can start from. They help kids understand employment opportunities within the community and in some cases assist them in finding part-time jobs. Wilson tries to make sure she’s offering a well-rounded base so kids are setting themselves up for success as they go along.
“We help them understand financial literacy, and we went to a couple of banks this year,” she said. “But, we also went to a few plays, we visited Partners In Employment, and we went on some community walks. It’s difficult because so many things cost money, but I’ll be able to use the $750 that came with this award towards the program - we’re already finding ways to use that money to help students. We just want them to have fun and engage in their community and see possibilities and have experiences that they maybe would not have otherwise.”
Wilson didn’t want to issue a blanket statement about what the biggest challenges to student engagement is because she recognizes it’s different for every one of them. Rebounding from COVID is still a consideration, and learning in an in-person setting is still taking some time to adjust to.
“A big thing is being comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Wilson said of one of her principle teachings. “We worked really hard at noticing our nervous system and the physical sensation of when we are dysregulated. For some, that’s a fight response and it’s big and obvious for many others it’s a flight response. The goal of this program is to help students notice when they are uncomfortable and develop strategies to be able to move through it.”
For the future of the program, Wilson is hoping for more community engagement and building the kind of relationships that will benefit students in both the long and short terms.
“I’d love us to do more volunteering and have more opportunities for students to be active contributors to the community,” she said. “But to get them there, it costs money so I’m still figuring that part out. But I think there’s a lot of gratitude and ways we can give back to the community - it’s a very exciting learning journey for the kids in this program. I just want to see them develop the skills they need to maneuver the tough times and give them concrete strategies to successfully manage those times.”
