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Whistler Secondary adopts semester system

Sports School launched to help athletes excel at secondary school Whistler Secondary will switch to a semester system for the 2003/2004 school year.

Sports School launched to help athletes excel at secondary school

Whistler Secondary will switch to a semester system for the 2003/2004 school year.

The decision was made by the school board at its meeting last week after a lengthy consultation at the school level and years of debate on the issue in the community.

Parent Nancy Wilhem-Morden, who has long advocated for the adoption of the semester system over the quarter system, was thrilled with the decision.

"I am really quite pleased that the semester system is coming in," she said.

"I can see that the quarter system was well suited to the so-called elite athletes but for the general population it is probably a better move to get away from the quarter system."

Wilhelm-Morden and many other parents have several concerns with the quarter system. They include the intensity for students in trying to learn subjects such as math or science in nine-and-a-half weeks.

"If students have to miss a day of school for illness or a dental appointment or something like that they miss a lot of work and then it is difficult to try and catch up before the next onslaught the following day," said Wilhelm-Morden.

And if students are struggling but parents don’t find out for a few weeks it is almost impossible to catch up and do well in the course.

There are also issues around where courses are offered in the school year.

Wilhelm-Morden’s daughter did not have Grade 9 math until last April.

"We were forced to hire a tutor in September to start teaching her math so she would remember something from Grade 8 by the time she got her grade 9 math," she said.

It is also questionable whether the quarter system prepares students for post secondary education where, in most cases, they must take at least five courses per semester.

"If you don’t know how to juggle more than two courses per quarter then you are going to be behind the game," said Wilhelm-Morden.

Whistler Secondary Principal Ken Davies started hearing concerns about the semester system as soon as he arrived at the school in 2001.

Wilhelm-Morden said he was immediately open to parents’ concerns and suggestions for change and began to look into options.

"I am really appreciate of the effort that Ken Davies put into this because as soon as he became the principal at our school he was very open to suggestions of change and he did a lengthy consultative process," said Wilhelm-Morden.

"He really did his homework before recommending this change."

For Davies the recommendation to the school board to change Whistler Secondary to a semester system was based on a number of issues.

It’s clear the provincial government wants to do away with exams based on the quarter system as only six schools in the province use the calendar.

There is also the on-going debate about modifying the school calendar in the Howe Sound District for educational and financial reasons. And he had concerns about students who were struggling to reach their potential within the quarter system.

"I think in our special circumstance, in our unique situation here, it is a necessary change at this point," said Davies.

The quarter system does benefit many of the athletes who train in Whistler and travel during the year to compete. It allows them flexibility in their schedules so they can keep up their schoolwork and compete.

Both Davies and school board superintendent Dr. Linda Rossler are adamant that switching to a semester system will not impact student athletes.

In fact at the last meeting the school board endorsed a motion to start a sports school within Whistler Secondary.

"We are going to be very diligent in ensuring that we meet the needs of all students by offering flexible options in the timetable for students that need that flexibility," said Rossler.

Although the plans for the sports school are still in their infancy a crucial part of the program will be the Cool Schools initiative, already in place at Whistler Secondary.

The initiative allows students access to almost every course offered in school via the Internet. So kids can study and keep up with their work anywhere in the world. There will also be teacher advisors available to help, both on-line and at the school or Adult Learning Centre.

The board and others involved are hopeful that the sports school will attract even more student athletes locally, nationally and even internationally in the long run, all of whom will generate revenue for the school district.

"It was intended to try and find a solution to two sets of students," said trustee Don Brett who tabled the motion.

Those are the regular students whose parents feel that "the quarter system was somehow compromising the educational standards," and the athletes and their parents who are seeking a way for their kids to compete and study successfully.

"This is, I hope, a good solution to meeting both those sets of needs," Brett said. "The athletes can get the flexibility that they want and the parents can be assured that the board understands and supports the drive to athleticism.

"And similarly for the regular students I hope parents will see this as a way the board is affirming that student achievement is very important… Creating a culture of academic excellence is one of the planned goals, with the number one goal being increasing student achievement."

Brett said Whistler’s sports school would be a test-bed for programming that can be transferred to other schools. And it will be a model that can easily be adapted to other disciplines, such as music or art.

It must also operate at a per-student cost no greater than other high schools in the district.

The board has established a committee to develop a long-term plan for the school. Principal Davies will chair it and it will present its final recommendations no later than Nov 12, 2003.

Todd Allison, general manager of the Telus Winter Sports Centre was very excited at the news.

"It is great news," he said.

Whistler already has some of the best training facilities around and Allison believes this will just make the area even more attractive to athletes.

And if Whistler and Vancouver are successful in their bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games then the sports school could be even more popular.

Said Allison: "If the bid is successful then we are probably looking at having even more teams centralize their training in Whistler and with this flexibility I think it will really help."