A commitment to reform

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This article was published 10/03/2015 (4044 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Seven Oaks School Division high school administrator was recently recognized for her commitment to educational reform.

Big Picture Learning presented MET School principal Adair Warren with the Seymour Sarason Award at its annual conference, which took place Jan. 21 to Jan. 23 in Oakland, Calif. The award is named after the late Seymour Sarason, a renowned expert in the field of school reform.

Warren wasn’t available to attend the conference, but some of her MET School colleagues accepted the award on her behalf. A video of the award presentation can be viewed at www.7oaks.org

MET School, located at 707 Jefferson Ave. in Garden City Collegiate, opened in 2009 and is the first Big Picture Learning school in Canada. Formed in 2001, Big Picture Learning is a non-profit organization dedicated to a fundamental redesign of education.

“It’s all student-based and interest-based, and the students do internships in the community,” said Nancy Janelle, a MET School advisor and acting administrator. Warren wasn’t available for comment.

“It’s a very innovative school. There are about 100 Big Picture schools now, most of them in the U.S., but there a handful elsewhere, in the Netherlands and Australia. We are the first one to open in Canada, so to have a Canadian win the award was definitely a nice thing for us.”

Janelle said MET School and Big Picture Learning’s educational philosophy focuses on the three Rs: rigour, relevance and relationships.

“The students stay with their advisor and classmates for the four years, so it becomes a home away from home, a pseudo-family,” Janelle said.

“There’s also that connection between the advisor and the parents. I know all my students’ parents closely. And then the students also have mentors in the community.

“Because the internships and the projects at school are all student-driven and interest-based that’s where the relevance comes in. The hope is that if you’ve got these strong relationships and the work is relevant, then you will attack their work with rigour.”

MET School will soon get its own independent facility, as construction on its new building at 630 Jefferson Ave. is wrapping up. Janelle said she anticipates a soft opening in May or June, with the school completely ready for the 2015-16 school year.