INNISFAIL - Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) division has been able to provide an educational home for dozens of students from around the world, says superintendent Kathleen Finnigan.
In her monthly report to the board of trustees, Finnigan says the division has been working closely with Red Deer Catholic International (RDCI) to bring students to division schools.
“Despite the continuing complications that COVID has brought us, the International Department has seen considerable growth,” said Finnigan. “This year we welcomed and educated over 80 students from 12 counties around the world. We have worked very hard to connect and maintain regular communication with our agent network, partner schools and international families from around the world.”
The strong safety protocols put in place by the division regarding COVID “were responsible for the positive response to studying with RDCI during the global pandemic,” she said.
The division has welcomed students mainly from Japan, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan this school year, although others have also come from Bangladesh, Chile, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Nigeria and the Philippines, she said.
“International students enrolled at RDCRS benefited from both short- and long-term programs and online and in-person learning,” she said. “RDCI is grateful for the care and support our international students receive from the staff members and their student colleagues.”
Patricia MacRae-Pasula is the managing director at RDRCS. She is involved with the Red Deer Catholic International program.
“Our population of international students has quadrupled over the last few years and once students have experienced our quality schools and safe and caring community, many of these young people and their families express their interest in staying with us, to complete their high school and further their education at post secondary institutions in Alberta and Canada,” she told the Albertan.
Students taking part in program, as well as the overall school community, see many benefits, she said.
“The world is becoming a much smaller place thanks to communication and transportation technology and having a program that brings many unique and beautiful cultures and young people to our schools here in Central Alberta has been a tremendous benefit to the education and lives of our local students here at home,” she said.
“The friendships and relationships that our students are making with their international friends are strong and will last a lifetime. These relationships will likely not only benefit their personal lives but their contributions to the broader community and global economy as well.”
This school year, 18 intentional students will be graduating from RDCRS schools with Alberta Education credentials. As well, international graduates have been accepted into various post-secondary schools, including the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.
During the 2021-22 school year, the division partnered with Hui-Wen High School in Taiwan, with that school’s coordinator of international studies, Daniel Wu, joining the division to study the Alberta education system.
“We expect our relationship with our friends from Taiwan will strengthen and contribute to further opportunities for our division and Alberta,” Finnigan said.
International students from Italy, Germany, Vietnam, Chile and Philippines are expected to be enrolled in RDCRS in the 2022-23 school year, she said.
Online learning for middle school program
Meanwhile, the school division has decided to discontinue the At-Home Learning program put in placed to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead offering an online middle school program for 2022-23 school year, she said.
Similar to the current high school online program, the new program will be housed at St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School and students wanting to participate will need to enrol at that school for the 2022-23 school year.
“We look forward to expansion of our successful online model to the middle school level to continue to offer students significant ways to personalize their learning path,” she said.
RDCRS includes schools in Innisfail and Olds.
Finnigan’s report was accepted as information by RDCRS trustees at the recent regular schedule board meeting.
