Garden Valley School Division is looking into a new way to do high school that trades desks and textbooks for internships, hands-on projects, and real-world learning.
The model is called Big Picture Learning, and a feasibility study will start this September to see if it could take root in Winkler. The division has tapped Garden Valley Collegiate principal Carrie Friesen to lead the study, a role she’ll step into after wrapping up her final year at GVC.
A different way to do high school
Big Picture Learning isn’t a new idea; schools in Winnipeg and across North America have been using the model for years. But it’s a shift from traditional high school, and the division wants to know if it could work in a rural setting like Winkler.
“It’s a different pathway to high school and high school graduation,” GVSD Superintendent Dan Ward explained. “It involves a combination of real-world service learning and internships with projects that students would pursue based on their passions… all linked with curriculum.”
Friesen, who has led GVC for the past six years, said the model builds on ideas she’s already been exploring in the classroom.
“It is looking at how do we use small class sizes to really individualize student learning and embed it in the community?” she said. “It focuses on the global competencies… character and citizenship, collaboration, [and] critical thinking.”
Would this work in Winkler?
That’s the core question Friesen’s study aims to answer.
“That’s the wondering; is there a world where that could work in Winkler?” she said. “What population would benefit best from it? How would we staff something like that?”
Ward acknowledged the city doesn’t have the same scale or variety of internship opportunities as larger urban centres, but said there are promising examples elsewhere.
“There are Big Picture Learning schools in smaller communities, communities comparable to Winkler,” he said. “We’ve been looking at some models, specifically in the United States... to see how they work”.
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What would it look like?
If the study finds enough support and interest, the division will start small. Ward said they’re considering a two-grade rollout in Fall 2026 — likely Grades 9 and 10 — with no more than 60 students total.
“Each grade has an advisory of not more than 15 students,” he said. “It’s application-based.”
The idea is to attract students who are passionate about a particular field — whether that’s media, trades, health care, or something else — and help them build real experience while still earning credits.
Friesen added that classes wouldn’t be broken into typical periods or subjects.
“Everything kind of gets woven together to really individualize learning and to make it impactful right from the get-go,” she said. “You don’t have to wait till you graduate in order to start making an impact.”
Ward recalled a student he met at a Big Picture school in Winnipeg who spent 10 weeks working at a food bank.
“He was also working with his teachers… on things like nutrition, the science of food, also working in social studies on why there is a need in the community, economics… all of that together… for a project and a portfolio that was to be presented as part of his final mark.”
The first step
The division is looking to begin the feasibility study in September, with a report expected in December.
“We’re hoping to have a study presented to our board and community by Christmas,” Ward said. “If it… seems to be feasible, doable, we would start in January with recruitment.”
Friesen said she’s excited to take on the challenge.
“It works out really well for the passions, my interests, and studies that I have done in the last little while.”
Ward echoed that enthusiasm and noted that while the division already offers strong programming at its high schools, there’s room for a new approach.
“We do know… that there are students who definitely struggle with conventional high school and might be looking for a different pathway.”
To follow the feasibility study when it begins, visit the GVSD website by clicking here.