Shattered hopes and shattered lives. Whatever the cause, there are youngsters who for some reason simply cannot cope with the regular school setting.
In some cases, these same kids can't cope with authority and society's rules of behavior. They've either not been given the skills or they've reacted to their own personal circumstances which may have involved substance abuse, physical and possibly sexual abuse at the hands of those whom they wanted to trust and turned to for support. You may have seen them. They're the children of the street, wandering around aimlessly late at night, angry, rude, and anything but lovable. They've been branded incorrigable. Many of those who tried to help, teachers, counselors, and society in general tends to give up on them. They're outcasts except in their own small world of others like themselves.
Fortunately for these young people, there are still those who haven't given up on them. Those who still believe these kids have hopes and dreams of success. Those who want to help turn those dreams into reality.
One such local resource is the Dream Builders Learning Centre, currently located in the SIGN Building on Broadway. Dream Builders started in Yorkton in 2002 in partnership with the Yorkton Friendship Centre. The first school was located at the Friendship Centre and moved to a classroom in the current YTC Indian and Family Services facility before relocating to the SIGN Building. The stated purpose of Dream Builders is to serve the youth at risk in Yorkton and the surrounding areas, says Work Program Coordinator Charles Bellegarde. The majority of students at Dream Builders are First Nations youth. Some are bussed in from First Nations. Others have been kicked out of every school in Yorkton. Some have been recently released from custody. Others recently moved to the city, aren't able to enroll in the local high schools and have nowhere to go to school for awhile.
The Learning Centre works to set up an individualized educational plan for each student and in the case of the work program helps to develop an employment action plan.
Another aspect of the Dream Builders Learning Centre program is to prepare students to find employment. The Learning Centre's work program is currently funded by CanSask Employment. "It's basically CanSask Employment within a school," Bellgarde points out.
The centre's work program has been applauded by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall who says, "It's good to see a work program within a school because education and employment go hand-in-hand." Yorkton's MLA Greg Ottenbreit regularly meets with the Learning Centre's staff as part of the provincial government's support.
Bellegarde, who handles acceptances into the work program, sees the initiative as an alternative as well as a complement to the academic program. In some instances he recognizes some youth simply aren't ready to handle the academic program. He steers them into a work program. "Anything is better than kicking them out to go home to twiddle their thumbs and possibly join gangs or get into crime," he declares.
Students in the work program vary. Some have their Grade 12, are currently working on their Grade 12 or don't want to get their Grade 12 because they don't need Grade 12 to get into all trades, Bellgarde says.
There is a bank of employers in Yorkton and the surrounding area who have entered into a workplace agreement with the centre to give his clients work experience. Bellegarde is able to offer these employers a wage subsidy for eligible students. He enters into a work placement agreement in which he will pay the students' wages with the intentions that the employer will hire them after the work placement. It's like a free training period for the employers. They can look at the individuals to see if they're reliable, if they're punctual and see if they will be able to perform their job duties, Bellegarde outlines.
There is an in-class portion to the work placement program. It consists of learning about labor laws, EI requirements, employer expectations, interview techniques, resume writing and other issues which prepare candidates for the world of work.
In some cases Bellegarde requires students acquire the services of a financial trustee. "Because this is their first employment experience, I want to make sure they are responsible with their money," he says.
Many of the work placement positions are entry level positions into trades and service industries. York Lake Golf Course is one placement sought by those who enjoy working outdoors with machinery. Another is Second Chance Community Skills. "All the houses on Broadway that you see are being redone, those are done by my work program students who are going to be indentured and have verified hours under a journey person," Bellegarde points out.
Dream Builders Learning Centre principal Kelly Maddin says the school offers regular classroom programming for youth in grades seven through 12. All courses follow the Saskatchewan curriculum. "The same credits students receive at the high school are attainable here with us," he adds.
Students come to the Dream Builders Learning Centre for various reasons, Maddin notes. Maybe they haven't experienced success in one of the regular elementary schools or they've been asked to leave the Yorkton Regional High School (YRHS) or Sacred Heart High School (SHHS) for either behavior or attendance issues. "Students can still come here and they can progress through courses at their own pace at our school which is different from many of the other schools," Maddin says.
"Instead of a kid having a whole list of assignments missed or not handed in, we do have some students that are taking a year and a half to complete a single grade," Maddin says. While the teachers try to push the kids through as quickly as they can, sometimes it takes them a little longer to complete some classes, he reports.
The student-teacher ratio is kept lower than that of other schools in the area. There are two teachers in every classroom for at least 50 per cent of the day, Maddin notes. "You may have 12 to 20 kids in a class but there are two teachers in there with them," he continues.
While the school continues to offer traditional classroom instruction, in some cases students are allowed to work by themselves at their own pace. "Whenever you do that then you wind up with kids kind of spread out all over the place. The you try to regroup and gather them all together for a new unit," Maddin explains.
Managing individualized instruction isn't easy, Maddin admits. He gives the teachers a lot of credit for the work they do and the difficulty of managing the teaching load without even touching on the behaviors the nature of the youngsters at the school. "They do an amazing job," he declares.
The school employs 3.7 full time teacher equivalents, including Maddin, Bruce Monette, Sharla Schrader and Lynda Dawson a 40 per cent student counsellor, a full time work transition director and a full time work placement assistant, Glorianne Kada. A cook, Carol Lindgren, who prepares breakfast and lunch everyday rounds out the school staff. "There are eight of us in total," Maddin closes.
Student counselor Evan Wasylyniuk says the issues he deals with are similar to those he sees in other schools. "However sometimes they're much more concentrated here and much more severe," he suggests.
Students at Dream Builders come with a variety of complex backgrounds. Youngsters may come from homes where they are abused or neglected. Some struggle with addictions issues. Others struggle with behavioral and/or cognitive dysfunctions. "Every kid is here for a reason," Wasylyniuk states.
Most youth are more successful at Dream Builders Learning Centre that in a traditional school setting because there is more time for individualized planning and programming, Wasylyniuk proposes.
The Dream Builders program revolves around four main human centres, physical emotional, mental and spiritual, Wasylyniuk reports. "We try to hit all those areas to make sure all our students are well rounded," he says.
The physical portion involves the lunch program, as well as phys.ed programming and activities.
Circles and visits of elders form part of the spiritual part of the programming. Morning prayers and some after school activities reflect the Catholic teaching.
Emotionally Wasyleniuk tries to help youth cope with the negative influences and impacts on their lives. He works to try to empower the students to take control of their lives again.
The mental component uses testing and incorporates Mental Health Services in the school through Child and Youth Mental Health every week. There is consultation with addictions services as well. "We're starting to build more relationships with helping services in our community," Wasylyniuk says.
Dream Builders is the only alternative school in this area, Wasylyniuk points out. The closest similar centres are in Regina and Saskatoon. While programs are similar each school is having some success, each school must remain in tune with its own student population and student needs, he states.
"We have a high aboriginal student population. Spirituality and circles are key. Understanding traditional teaching is key. Understanding ways of life is key," Wasylyniuk says.
Transportation at Dream Builders becomes an important component of the program in breaking down barriers to student success. Enabling students to keep addictions, public health, medical, young offender and mental health appointments.
The school philosophy is about engaging kids, offers Maddin. "Engaging kids in life, in sports, and spirituality," he elaborates. "So many of these youngsters feel forgotten about. We're constantly reminding kids that they are important and they matter," he continues.
What they make of themselves impacts everyone. A lot of what Dream Builders does is engage student while trying to cater to the needs of the kids. Constantly seeking better ideas, Maddin has studied five different alternative schools to learn from others who've been at the job for somewhat longer what works and what's not working. He then tries to implement some positive change at Dream Builders by bringing in addictions services, mental health, by finding different avenues to engage the students.
Wasylyniuk admits every program has ups and downs. He has, however seem many positives at Dream Builders. Students are showing up and attending on a more regular basis than they were at other schools. Students who were considered violent or uncontrollable at other schools are currently at Dream Builders engaging with other students in a regular classroom without the support of a full time educational assistant. "We see a year of growth with students who were failing others classes and are now getting low 80s and 90 in," he points out. Some barriers and stressors to success are removed at Dream Builders, resulting in more success for some students.
A recent program innovation which has students excited are the guitar lesson. Thanks to the generosity of the Kinsmen and Access Cable the school bought eight acoustic guitars with which it offers lessons two to three times each week.
While there are standards and expectations for students, Dream Builders staff are flexible in their approach to youngsters. "We don't try to fit them into a box. We try to figure out what they need and clear a path for them," Wasylyniuk says. "In the end the journey matters but getting there is what really counts," he adds. The ultimate goals, he proposes are passing their grade, becoming a contributing member of society, overcoming personal barriers that they shouldn't have and as they become adults raising their own children.
Success isn't always apparent on a daily basis, Wasylyniuk admits, but over the course of a school year it becomes evident that Dream Builders and their students it serves achieve success.
Bellegarde echoes Wasylyniuks success stories, recalling students who are currently enrolled in university, and others from the work placement program who have set up their own businesses. Dream Builders is making a significant impact on targeted youth with some positive results, he declares. "We're not having success with every youth but nonetheless there are success stories out there," he insists.
Maddin admits there are some challenges at Dream Builders. Managing student behavior occasionally becomes one of those challenges. However the higher than normal student-teacher ratio helps deal with many of those challenges.
While the learning centre is generously funded through the Christ the Teacher Catholic School Division, Dream Builders doesn't have a community-school council which raises money for the other schools. As a result the centre is constantly writing grant proposals or seeking funds and services from the community, says Maddin. Currently six local businesses and organizations have made significant financial contributions to the school and its program. They include Access Communications, Yorkton Kinsmen Club, Knights of Columbus, Yorkton Co-op, Painted Hand Casino CDC, and St. Mary's Parish.
If anyone has funds or a service they're able to provide, and want to help youth at risk, this is where they are, he states. "These are the kids who are youth at risk that want to change. They want to make a change for themselves or they wouldn't be here at school," he states. Many of them don't have the parental support and encouragement to attend school. Maddin gives them a lot of credit for wanting to attend and to make a difference in their own lives.
Anyone who'd like to help can contact the school directly at 782-0901 or they could email Maddin at [email protected] or phone Christ the Teacher School Division and talk to someone at the office. "We have received generous funds from many members of our community, but it takes a whole community to raise a child we could sure use some more help," Maddin says.
Wasylyniuk sums up the Dream Builders determination, "Many other institutions, organizations and schools have given up on these kids because they're too difficult. At Dream Builders we don't give up. We find ways to succeed."
