School Goal One
At ILC, we seek to develop students’ resilience, social responsibility, healthy identity, and sense of belonging in their community. We will do this through positive adult connections, supported interpersonal opportunities, and wrap around mental health support.
How might we intentionally design peer connection opportunities that are inclusive, sustained, and healthy, and lead to meaningful relationships that support positive growth?
In what ways can we create engaging learning experiences for students that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and nurture a sense of purpose that guides and grounds them?
Saanich Secondary Students
School District 63 Individual Learning Centre fosters the growth of students who are confident, life long learners, ready to make meaningful contributions to their family and community. Our students pursue academic, career, and personal excellence through self-paced, individualized learning in a calm, caring and respectful environment. The Individual Learning Centre (ILC) is a school of choice with two campuses, located in Broadmead and Saanichton, supporting students in grades 9-12 working towards Ministry of Education graduation. Aligned to the BC Curriculum, the ILC offers a personalized, flexible, and innovative approach to learning.
Students join the ILC with diverse needs, often seeking an alternative educational experience that involves flexible programming, a smaller school environment, wraparound mental health support, and the opportunity to work face to face with caring educators on a personalized plan. We support students through a thoughtful intake process, daily check-ins with teacher advisors and support staff, and strong connections with families and guardians.
ILC staff are committed to building relational trust and placing student voice at the center of each educational plan. Through this model, students achieve academic success while also developing essential life skills in communication, critical and creative thinking, and personal and social responsibility.
Our students:
- Represent the diverse communities of the Saanich School District
- Embark on individualized learning journeys that require personalized academic and mental health supports to build confidence, capacity, purpose and a positive identity
- Are strong, intelligent, hard-working, and talented individuals who are worthy of success
- May have encountered barriers within traditional school settings or the broader community that have made it difficult to fully engage with learning
- Bring rich cultural backgrounds and valuable life experiences to our school community
- Might say, “Get to know me. Meet me where I am at. I can learn. I deserve a pathway forward!”
Our goals and inquiry questions align directly to our district’s strategic priority of Mental Health and Wellness. In addition, our approaches are deeply rooted in the First Peoples Principles of Learning.
First Peoples Principles of Learning
The Mental Health and Wellness Goal needs to ensure that:
- Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
- Learning requires exploration of one ‘s identity.
- Every learning opportunity begins with the foundation of a strong, supportive adult relationship. Each student is paired with a Teacher Advisor to collaboratively develop a Personal Education Plan (PEP), engage in regular progress reviews, and set meaningful goals throughout the year
- Offering full wrap around support through increased counselling services for students and families both onsite as well as through Outreach opportunities
- Strengthening relationships with outside agencies to ensure our students and families are resourced throughout the year
- Supporting early intervention by offering a grade 9 cohort model that builds core academic skills
- Addressing anxiety and mental health barriers through small group work, targeted social skills training, after school support groups, field trips in community, and active living opportunities
- Enriching the grad program through cross enrollment and partnership with neighbourhood schools
- Providing prioritized and purposeful transitions to dual credit opportunities, district career programs, post secondary, and the world of work
- Offering a combination of academics, land-based learning, clinical counselling, and community involvement through a partnership with the Take a Hike Foundation
- Maintaining consistently strong 5- and 6-year graduation rates that reflect ongoing student persistence and achievement. Students who participated in grade 9 cohort in 2018, 2019, and 2020 went on to achieve a combined graduation rate of 78%.
- Demonstrated measurable improvement in student attendance patterns, indicating stronger engagement and connection to learning.
- Gathering and reflecting on student voice showing increased enjoyment, belonging, and reduced stress levels - student statement: “I feel so much less stressed going here than at my last school.”
Expand social skills and mental wellness group offerings at both sites to further support students’ social-emotional development and overall well-being.
