SUDBURY -- Sudbury's French Catholic alternative school is set to share space with its English counterpart as part of a new partnership.
Students of Carrefour Options+, an alternative education and training centre offered by the Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario, have been officially welcomed to their new home.
A grand opening was held Thursday afternoon.
"Every student here has their own story," says Jocelyne Leclair, the school’s principal. "What I’m trying to do here is make sure that they develop and they become a productive member of society. So, we want them to succeed and to obviously get their diploma."
Carrefour Options+ caters to students with a variety of different backgrounds, offering an alternative learning environment to a traditional school. For example, instead of individual desks, classrooms have group tables. The school also features a few unique classrooms, including a "serenity room," that can be used when a student is feeling overwhelmed.
"Essentially, we have students that have had long-term sickness, for example, and they need to slow down their school programming. So, it’s adapted to their forte," says Paul Henry, director of education for Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon. "Secondly, we have students that the traditional school setting does not work for them, so this is an environment that allows them to continue their education and to have success at their own rate, essentially."
Tristan Larouche is a grade 11 student at the school. Previously homeschooled, Larouche says when he decided he wanted a "proper" high school diploma, the school seemed like the right fit for his individual needs.
"I didn’t really want to lose all of my flexibility that homeschooling gave me and this was the perfect middle ground, where I still, at the end of the process, would have a proper, high school diploma like everyone else. But I could still keep doing my outside in the community stuff that I would normally do," said Larouche.
Without the typical confines of traditional school hours, Larouche says his schedule changes day-to-day. Most often, he spends a few hours at the school during the mornings before heading out to other engagements during the afternoon hours.
"With the lower student count, like we would have, you really feel like you are an individual person instead of someone else on the list," says Larouche. "I really appreciate that when you come in for the day and everyone is like 'hello.' They know your name, they know who you are and that really makes me feel like I’m someone important."
The alternative education school will now be based out of St. Albert Adult Learning Centre, on St. Raphael Street, through an extended partnership between the two local Catholic school boards.
"This was a no-brainer for us at Sudbury Catholic," says Michael Bellmore, chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. "CSC-Nouvel-ON is our coterminous French board and the programs that they are offering here in the St. Albert’s building are akin to what we’re offering at St. Albert’s in this adult learning environment. So, when the opportunity presented itself, we thought 'this was a great opportunity for us to work with a natural partner.'"
Students have been at the new location since the start of this current school year.
As a grade 11 student who has been with the school since before the transition, Larouche says the new space feels much more comfortable.
"In the other one, we were kind of the upstairs floors of the gym. So, it kind of felt like we were just there, because it’s all we had, whereas here, we are in with another school. We really feel like it’s our own building and we’re not just some school in the middle of nowhere," said Larouche.
While she now holds the title of principal, Leclair feels her history as a guidance counsellor is a benefit.
"It is individual learning," says Leclair. "We go around, we make sure that the student is advancing in their course and if we can answer any question, we’ll do that."
