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Advantages to small schools

Did you ever wonder how Rossland Secondary School has maintained its academic, artistic and athletic success in the face of the declining enrollment that most of the province has been experiencing?

Did you ever wonder how Rossland Secondary School has maintained its academic, artistic and athletic success in the face of the declining enrollment that most of the province has been experiencing?

Rosslanders and the administration and teachers at RSS, using the same creativity that initiated the Red Mountain Academies and the International Student programs, have implemented many methods to deliver quality education while maintaining the same average class sizes as the other secondary schools in the district.

Research suggests many advantages for small schools, such as improved interpersonal relationships, student morale, behaviour, leadership and learner-centered curriculum and instruction. A disadvantage for small secondary schools can be a reduced spectrum of available courses within the Grade 10-12 program.

RSS continues to deliver a wide range of courses through a variety of means: multi-grading and mixing classes (split classes), off-timetable courses, online delivery of courses combined with face-to-face instruction, and offering courses every other year. Provincial exam results have shown that these courses provide students with similar academic results as the traditional classroom. RSS continues to address the need for meaningful dialogue and experiences with online courses.

Over the past four years, RSS has been working with online courses through a variety of sources. Recently the BC Learning Network (BCLN) created a consortium of school districts that use the courses and has developed a process of updating and continuous improvement for the courseware. The senior sciences and math courses in particular are excellent. Many students at RSS now take one or more courses online, and the Academy students use this method for four to five of their courses. Following the provincial trend, there has been an increase in the number of RSS students and parents who request these courses (sometimes to augment traditional classroom courses).

RSS is at the forefront of exploring new educational approaches, consistent with the province’s 21st Century Education initiative.

With a specialty teacher in the classroom/lab with the students while they are working on a course, students are able to get immediate help, and teachers are able to help students to manage their time. Currently RSS has multi-graded academic courses running online so that students are able to get all of the courses they want, regardless of how many other students want the course.

The school board mandates that all three high schools run with an average of 23.5 students to one teacher — RSS achieves this by being creative. It costs no more to staff and educate RSS students than it does students at J.L. Crowe or Stanley Humphries.

The three high schools in our district are all excellent schools, and there is no doubt that students attending any of them will receive an excellent education. Besides offering the full slate of core programs, RSS has an inspiring commitment to the arts, with excellent band, drama, dance, visual arts and computer-enhanced design programs. The Red Seal Chef’s Program, as part of the Ministry’s Transition to Trades program where students obtain high school graduation credits and college credit, is also offered at RSS, since there is an industrial kitchen and an exceptional foods room. RSS also offers the exciting Academy programs: ski racing, free-ride skiing, snowboard, dance and the new cross-country ski program.

Some parents have chosen and will continue to choose to send their children to Crowe, because they prefer a larger school, or to attend the hockey academy. However, 57 children from outside Rossland have chosen to attend RSS this year because it suits their particular needs. It is important that none of our students slip between the cracks because their needs are not being met — all of the students in the district must be able to choose the education environment that works best for them.