A petition with at least 40 signatures was delivered to the district vice-principal overseeing New Westminster’s Pearson Adult Education Centre to protest the closure of a lab that allowed students to work at their own pace.
The centre, an adult-ed school that sees about 1,130 course enrolments per year run by the New Westminster School District, is set to close its self-paced learning lab to “better meet the needs of our students,” a statement from the district said.
According to the statement, the school is expecting to offer revamped courses next year but will not offer the self-paced course options, “which showed very low completion and success rates.”
The new courses will run on five six-week terms, along with the school’s regular semester-based classes that meet twice a week.
That’s intended to help students with other commitments in life, such as employment or child care, to take more courses and gain credits toward graduation in a shorter time.
“I have confidence that with our staff devoted to learning in the classrooms, students will be receiving the support they need to be successful,” said Stephen Innis, district vice-principal for adult education, in a statement.
But Lilia McInally, a student at the centre who organized the petition, said the lab has been important to her own education.
“This lab is the heart of our centre, and many students feel it is essential that it remain open. … This petition is extremely important, as it is one of the few or only centres to have this kind of setting for the adult students in which they have self-paced courses with wonderful teachers and staff,” reads a prepared speech McInally delivered along with the petition.
“Our lab serves as an example to show other districts that this system really works and has reaped great results for adult students.”
For McInally, she said it’s important to have the lab, which she can attend at any time during its open hours – from around 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. – to study. That includes resources she considers vital: computers, a small library and teachers on hand to offer assistance or oversee quizzes and tests.
“It is fundamental to complete a high school education and to be able to do it at your own speed,” McInally said.
McInally said she was able to gather at least 40 signatures to deliver to Innis to push for the lab to remain open, who she said expressed the same concerns she has.
After delivering the petition, McInally said she felt positive about the reception from Innis, who she said received a copy of the prepared speech and the signatures to consider the matter.
