Kath Penner is a friendly face who can be seen at a desk at the Winkler Library on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. until the end of May.
Her presence is one piece of an initiative designed to support the local homeschooling community.
‘A little bit more accessible’
Penner’s role is that of homeschool engagement facilitator, and through it, she connects with and provides information to anyone involved in homeschooling who has questions or could benefit from the resources to which she has access.
“It's just so that it's a little bit more accessible than you coming to the office, ... so if you're checking out books with your kids, then you can just stop by and say, ‘Hey, I have a question,’” she says.
“Sometimes people don't feel like they have the time to go out of their way to go to an office and make an appointment.”
‘Part of a two-year journey’
Dan Ward, the superintendent of Garden Valley School Division (GVSD), says the arrangement is “part of a two-year journey” that serves to build bonds between the division and the homeschooling group.
“We have a project and a partnership with the Department of Education and the provincial government to support this initiative,” he says.
Outreach through Penner’s position is one aspect of the partnership. There have also been evening sessions about the homeschool supports the division offers and information about public schools.
Although there is information about public schooling and high school graduation, Ward stresses that the information sessions have also been about much more.
“We want to make sure that folks know that there are options out there, but also homeschool families might have general questions about curriculum, ... and we’re happy to provide that information,” he says.
Another resource
As the initiative to connect with the homeschooling community continues, Ward says a new project is on the horizon.
“One of the things we are also starting up and have established is some assessments for families who might be interested — completely confidential and optional, of course,” he says.
“These are ways to reach out to the homeschool community because we know that it's a large community in our region, and we want to be part of this partnership. We do provide public education, but we are also a service to the entire community at large.”
Help with curriculum
In her role, one of the things that Penner provides is information about curricula.
“Home school people ... can pick and choose the curriculum that they wish, but they have access to the Manitoba curriculum,” she says, adding that it’s available online for no charge.
“If [someone doesn't] know how to access it, I am more than happy to show them where it is. It’s a great resource and exactly what we as teachers use. They can access science, math, ELA, Phys. Ed., health — anything that we access as teachers.”
Pursuing post-secondary education
Penner says that one topic that also tends to come up is how to pursue post-secondary education as a homeschooler.
“Sometimes it's been, ‘We've been homeschooling our children, but my daughter wants to become a nurse. What does she have to do?’ And so then I can say, ‘Okay, let's talk to one of the guidance counsellors at the high school,’” she says. “We're all about making connections, facilitating engagement.”
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Another topic of interest is the few different options for homeschooling students who may want to take a few courses to prepare for university. Penner says these are some of the most common conversations she has.
“Most of it has been conversations about high school courses, accessing our RRTVA courses or apprenticeship programs,” she says. “Even those students who are in public school don't have those conversations until you're in high school, and if you're not in the high school to hear about it, it's something that a lot of parents might have questions about.”
‘We’re looking forward to next year’
As GVSD’s project continues, Ward is looking forward to its continuation. He is also pleased with the results so far.
“We're really looking forward to next year, but right now, we're kind of taking stock of our first year. We've had great success with outreach. We've had a number of events that went very well,” he says.
“We're getting lots of questions and queries as Kath mentioned, largely around late middle school and high school education, and really, when we set out, that was one of our goals.”
To ask questions about any of the topics above, visit Penner at Winkler Library on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Appointments can also be scheduled during the week at the Garden Valley School Division Office in Winkler.
The phone number is 204-325-8335.
With files from Jayme Giesbrecht