More students this year, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, are taking advantage of the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre (Sask DLC), the online learning provider for the province, which offers access to full- or part-time online learning and support for individual learning needs and graduation plans.
This school year, more than 6,500 students have registered as of September 5th, including 3,800 full-time Kindergarten to Grade 12 students and nearly 3,400 part-time students. To date, high school students are registered in more than 7,200 courses, with registrations for the current school year continuing to come in. Due to the flexibility online learning provides students, Sask DLC is a continuous intake school that accepts registrations for online courses throughout the year.
This is in comparison to the 2023-24 school year, which saw approximately 3,300 full-time Kindergarten to Grade 12 students learning from home and 5,400 part-time students, primarily in Grades 10 to 12, taking one or more online courses to supplement their learning at their local school. Full and part-time Grade 10-12 students took more than 18,500 online courses to help them work toward their high school graduation and explore areas of interest and potential career paths.
Sask DLC also provided high school-level courses to more than 250 adult learners, supporting their efforts to upgrade existing credits, earn a high school diploma, or earn a credit needed for post-secondary or workforce entry. Sask DLC also provided more than 530 summer school courses to approximately 475 students in July and August.
"Sask DLC is supporting students all across our province in providing them opportunities to gain the skills and knowledge they need in our growing province," said the Minister Responsible for Sask DLC, Jeremy Cockrill. "We saw the usage of online learning grow steadily throughout last year and now again into this year. This is great news for students, schools, and our province as a whole. Our government is proud to continue to support more students in accessing online learning as they move from kindergarten to career."
Sask DLC offers more than 120 high school courses, including more than 70 unique elective options, introducing students to everything from passion areas and future career paths in the areas of agriculture, business, creative arts, technology, trades and wellness. Sask DLC also partners with industry and post-secondary institutions to provide students several hands-on learning opportunities. New high school courses being offered for the 2024-25 school year include: Baseball Skills 10, 20, Football 10, Financial Literacy 10, Oil & Gas 20 with work placement and Tourism 20 with work placement.
"Our course offerings are extensive because we know that not all students are the same, and we want to ensure students have choice in their learning to explore future pathways while earning high school credits," Sask DLC CEO Darren Gasper said. "We will continue to look for ways to expand student learning opportunities that will support them in making informed decisions about post-secondary education and careers. This supports not only their individual futures, but the future of our province."
You can learn more about all the online courses available through Sask DLC at www.saskDLC.ca.