Medicine Hat's Public School Division celebrated the opening of the HUB Virtual School and Pathways Program physical location on S. Railway Street.--NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Nearly two years since its inception, Medicine Hat Public School Division’s Hub Virtual School and Pathways Program finally have a physical campus, for which a grand opening ceremony was held Thursday.
“The new campus for the Hub, our online school, and Pathways, one of our alternative personal settings, is a reflection of the love of our school division and the community for the children we serve,” Pat Grisonich, MHPSD board of trustees vice chair, said during the ceremony. “This facility, and its sister sites in the city, allow us to meet the academic needs of children from kindergarten through to Grade 12 (and) provides us a stable, long-term base from which to provide a range of programming.”
Hub Virtual School is an online school serving 240 full-time students. At the moment, Hub is open to students in Grades K-9, however the program will expand to students in Grades 10, 11 and 12 beginning in September.
“The kids are logging in to see their teacher, just like they would a regular class, but at their kitchen tables or a desk,” Hub principal Warren Buckler told the News.
Buckler was glad to take part in Thursday’s opening ceremony and enjoyed reflecting on the program’s growth since its inception in August 2020.
“The journey for the Hub has been fascinating the past two years. We were started as a response to the pandemic – our mandate was 10 months – but we got such good feedback from the community (Hub was made) permanent last year,” Buckler said.
Buckler believes the physical campus will provide students and educators with a more effective virtual learning environment, with half the campus building dedicated to Hub virtual learning classrooms and the other half housing the Pathways Program.
“The Pathways Program is a supportive learning program for kids who are not able to be in a regular building right now,” Buckler said. “We’re helping kids who are struggling with behaviours. We support them … and get them ready to come back into a regular building.”
There are 10 students enrolled in the Pathways Program, which is open to students Grades 7 to 12.
While the campus will primarily serve Hub and Pathways students, it will also house the base operations for MHPSD’s Young Moms and PAS alternative learning programs. Students from all programs will be able to access mental health supports and a child and youth care worker at the campus.
Various local officials present at the ceremony voiced support for the new campus.
“I’m very pleased to see our good educators and people in the education system have the opportunity to be closer to the front lines,” said Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes. “Certainly with the way of technology and the past two years, virtual learning and virtual life is going to have more and more opportunities to help make Alberta free and prosperous, so I’m glad (MHPSD) is on the edge of helping young people get there.”
Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark also voiced her support.
“I think it’s incredible,” Clark told the News. “(The campus) provides everyone in our community with opportunities to be successful in their education. It’s an additional way people can succeed in their learning and I think that’s always an amazing opportunity and so innovative. I really congratulate the public school district for pulling this off.”
