1. Brief description:
While rural schoolsare oftenisolatedandstrugglingtosurvive acrossthe nation,asmall private school
calledCarletonProjecthasdiscoveredwaystoconnect,openingopportunitiesforschool districtand
studentsalike.
WorkshopDescription
Althoughrural schoolsaroundthe nationare strugglingwiththeirowngeographical andeconomic
challenges,thereare some battlesthatwe are unitedinfighting:generational povertyanddruguse,
geographical isolationandshrinkingrural populations(alongwithyouthflight). AlthoughCarleton
Projectisa private highschool,ourtarget populationisthe youththatare at the highestriskfor
droppingout,manyof whomhave alreadydroppedout.Yetsomehow,inthe midstof shrinking
budgets,school consolidationsanddiminishingjobmarkets,we are able tore-coupthese students,re-
investthemintheireducation,graduate them,andmore oftenthannot,sendthemto local Universities,
CommunityCollegesandthe workplace.
CarletonProjectusesaunique approachto combatingthe issuesthatface the region. Itis a three-
prongedapproachthat starts withandorbitsthe students. Creatingaculture that nurturesstudentsas
individualsandletsstudent’slife plansdictate theirindividualizededucational pathisthe keytosuccess.
Backwardscurricular designincreasesinrelevance becauseof itsconnectionwithastudent’spost-
secondaryplan,whichisat the heartof how we empowerstudents(andkeepthemcomingback). The
secondprongof our approachcomesfrom ourpartnershipswithlocal school departmentsandagencies
that are beneficial tothe successof the studentswe serve. Byworkingintandemwithoursurrounding
school districtsinsteadof incompetition,we are able tobolsterstudentconfidence in‘the system’
reinvestinginandworkingforthem, anditallowsourlocal partner schoolstorecoupstudents (in
schoolswhere everystudentcounts). Thirdly,we workinclose partnershipwithourlocal rural
UniversityandCommunity College,whichopensreal andsustainingpositive impressionsonourstudent
body,manyof whomare first-generationcollegestudents. The resultisthat studentsprioryunable to
see theirwayto a highschool diplomaare able totake several college coursesandengage inmeaningful
internshipswhilestillinhighschool, anddeveloprealisticpost-graduationplansthatcanleadto
successful andproductive adulthood.
In concluding,the keytothe successof thisprogram isnot the proprietaryblendof engagingcoursesor
the multiplicityof waystoengage inlearningexperiences. The real keyisinbuildingpartnershipsacross
townand counties,andbridge the gapbetweencommunityandyouth. There are countless free and
low-costwaystocreate these connections;more andmore optionsare available online toconnect
studentswitheachotheror educational opportunitiesacrosstime andgeographical space. However, at
the heart of the matter isbuildingrelationshipswithpeople:Students,CommunityMembers,Teachers
(newandold),Contractors,Mentors,Professors,Interns,Substance AbuseCounsellors,andEmployers.
Somedaysoon,the studentsinourclassroomswill becomeall of these andmore,andthe more we
investinthem,the strongerandmore sustainable ourcommunitieswill become.