High school students heading back to class are going to have more options this year when it comes to electives.
The province announced Tuesday the addition of seven collegiate programs at Alberta schools for the 2024-25 school year, three of them in Calgary.
The Calgary programs are managed by the Calgary Board of Education (CBE), the Calgary Catholics School District (CCSD) and Fusion Collegiate in partnership with the University of Calgary, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Bow Valley College and Olds College.
The programs will offer students the opportunity to take dual credit courses, creating a new path to post-secondary education, while taking a deeper dive into topics like science, aviation, technology, engineering, agriculture, business, information communications and the trades.
More than 190 CBE Grade 10 students have already enrolled in the board’s new Digital Future Pathways program (delivered in-person at local high schools and online) in partnership with SAIT.
Students will be able to explore career paths including robotics, animation, and photography, while also providing a direct path to SAIT’s School of Digital Technology.
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“This blended learning environment will connect students with technology and communication career interests with potential pathways into post-secondary credentialing and workplace opportunities,” said Calgary Board of Education chair Patricia Bolger.
Calgary Catholic will be opening Our Lady of the Rockies Collegiate school in January 2025.
The remaining four collegiates are located in Calmar, Peace River/Grimshaw, Coleman and Dunmore.
This past school year, the province said five new collegiate schools opened in rural and urban communities across Alberta:
- Central Alberta Collegiate Institute (CACI), in partnership with Olds College & Red Deer Polytechnic
- Building Futures Collegiate School, in partnership with Northern Lakes College and Olds College
- Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute (SACI), in partnership with Lethbridge College
- STAND (ST&), in partnership with Bow Valley College
- STEM Collegiate, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)
The Alberta government said since a dozen collegiate schools have opened since they were introduced in 2021.
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