Far too often, young people who face significant personal struggles fall through the cracks of traditional school programs. For students enrolled in the Integrated Studies Program (ISP) at Abbotsford Collegiate High School in Abbotsford, British Columbia, the outcome is much different.
ISP was originally created by Judy Chapman, an elementary school teacher, and Glen Roger, a high school principal who wanted to answer the question of why some academically capable students who did well throughout elementary school began struggling or dropping out in high school. They decided to replicate the elementary school model of small classes and integrated subjects with one teacher that stayed with the same class all day.
This idea holds one of the keys to the program’s structure and success; it is about “teaching the child, not the subject,” said Nancy Bertrand, ISP coordinator. A team of dedicated teachers and teacher’s assistants keeps the 85 student program going with extremely high success and graduation rates. Students receive support from caring adults that know them well, and the students can tell that the adults truly care about them.
Because of ISP’s focus on making sure all students understand what they are learning, the program offers a sense of worth and accomplishment for students that have faced considerable challenges in their lives. “ISP really has helped redevelop my interest in school and has given me a new outlook on life,” said one student.
The teachers get to know their students and their students’ histories and situations extremely well, and the daily structure, responses to problems, and curriculum design reflect this knowledge. The flexibility of the learning environment allows for each student’s needs to be met, while ensuring that effective learning takes place. The results show that this model works. Graduation rates are around ninety percent among students who are enrolled in ISP for more than one semester.
Abbotsford Collegiate is a public high school that is unique in that it is made up of three schools within one large public high school; the ISP is one of the three. The benefit of the school within a school model is that the students in ISP are allowed all of the advantages of a large high school, such as a comprehensive library, extra curricular activities, and school dances, but they also get the intimate and focused small learning environment where they do not feel lost, but they are safe and supported.
The teachers are dedicated, and due to the school’s size and structure, they perform many various duties. Some teach physical education, art, and drama in addition to core subjects such as math, science, language arts, and social studies. The elective schedule is flexible and adaptive, with the classroom teachers leading classes that would be taught by other teachers in a larger school. Due to the small number of staff, there are limitations on which classes can be offered, and there are opportunities for the students to “go out,” as they call it, to other schools within Abbotsford Collegiate to take a higher level math or science class, prerequisite for a trade, or extra physical education classes.
Students in ISP are expected to be in school on time everyday, maintain 90% attendance, complete all assignments to the best of their abilities, and maintain positive and respectful attitudes. These expectations are simple, and not unique, but they are strictly enforced. Though the environment is nurturing and understanding, the ISP staff does not accept excuses, and the expectations are stringently adhered to. ISP staff will call students if they are late or not in school. If a student does not meet the attendance requirement, he or she will be kicked out and sent to another school until the following semester, when he or she has an opportunity to come back. For many students, going to a larger school reminds them of how great ISP is, and they are eager to come back and follow the rules.
The Integrated Studies Program focuses on providing an environment that nurtures and develops students’ internal assets through an environment that inherently incorporates the external assets. The focus in the school is on education and as the students accomplish, achieve, and understand the academic content, internal assets begin to develop. Students develop positive values and identity, as well as a commitment to learning every day and every year at ISP. “ISP gave me a chance to prove my worth that all my life I had been told I never had,” said one student.
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