A program that teaches leadership skills to at-risk high school kids is at risk of being cut, but a campaign to save it is being spearheaded by some of the former students it has helped.
Cadence is an alternative education program in which about 20 at-risk high school students from across the public board are taught in a non-traditional classroom environment at Lakeside HOPE House.
The program is targeted to students who are, for whatever reason, not attending regular high school classes, said teacher Rob Conroy.
New regulations for classroom sizes and budget cuts are putting the program in jeopardy, said Conroy. Unless something changes, he doesn’t expect Cadence will continue in September.
“I don’t know where it’s going to end up, but our kids are at risk and have trouble advocating for themselves,” said Conroy. “The board wants us to go on, but because of the new funding ratio they have said there is nothing they can do.”
The motto of the program is ‘a leader looks at the world and says, 'it doesn’t have to be this way,' and does something about it.’
Former Cadence student Alexis Pedersen heard about the possibility of the program being cut and used the leadership skills she learned to start a petition calling for continued support for the program.
Pedersen had an illness and surgery when she was 17 and when she went back to a traditional school while recovering, found it challenging.
“I was out of school for about six months. Cadence is probably the only reason I graduated,” said Pedersen. “It was a really hard time for me.”
She said students with their own challenges will fall through the cracks if the program is cancelled.
“I think a lot of people will end up dropping out and not finishing. I almost did, until it was offered to me,” said Pedersen. It was either that or a whole other year of regular school and for me, the regular classroom was too many students without enough one-on-one time — I struggled a lot.”
“With programs like this there is an opportunity for us to make something out of ourselves when we might not be able to thrive in another environment,” said Pedersen.
She hopes the petition will show the school board how important the program is.
In an emailed statement, Upper Grand District School Board communications and community engagement officer Heather Loney said it was a difficult decision to cut the Cadence program for the upcoming school year. She called the program has been an integral part of the board for years and served the most vulnerable students.
Loney said the board is still analyzing the full impacts of funding changes by the Ontario government.
"The full impact of the funding changes in our secondary schools will not be known for another few weeks as our principals work through current staffing allocations," she said.
“I want the board to see how much the community appreciates this program, what it does for its students and the importance of being a part of the community,” said Pedersen.
Conroy said it is amazing that the effort to save the Cadence program is coming from the very people it has helped.
“This social media campaign has all been driven by our former students. I looked this morning and there are 750 people who have signed that petition,” said Conroy.
The program is run from space rented at Lakeside HOPE House.
It operates with help from a number of partnerships, both private and public. Conroy noted the furniture in the classroom was donated by Muskoka Woods, a summer camp used as an educational retreat.
But students are also taught to give back. Conroy said they help with HOPE House initiatives like the Christmas hampers and food market.
“We try and help with their outreach and in return the kids get their 40 hours of community service that they need in order to graduate,” said Conroy.
A former gym teacher, Conroy moved over to the Cadence program when it launched seven years ago.
“You see that you are really making a difference in some young peoples’ lives,” said Conroy. “We have given them a community where they know if they need help there are people out there willing to help them.”
