Glendale’s grateful for co-op support from the community

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Glendale High School’s co-operative program has faced many challenges during this 2020-21 school year, but in some ways has thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last March, when schools shut down, so did the co-op program and everything after March Break went to online learning,” said Tim Davis, GHS Cooperative Education – Department Head.

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“We persevered from late March through to the end of June and finished out last year really looking forward to the prospect of being back in-person.”

One of the priorities in the fall was finding safe placements.

“They (local businesses) were all very diligent, they all had COVID protocols, and our kids understood that and they followed them very well,” said Davis. “I felt students were perfectly safe to be in our community.”

Davis said he and GHS co-operative program colleague Rob Farr, and approximately 100 students involved in co-op over the last year, were extremely grateful to the many businesses in Tillsonburg and area that supported the program and offered student placements.

The list is extensive, but Davis wanted to thank all of them publicly. They are 3E Power Services Ltd., Annandale P.S., Aylmer Tire, Baird Machines Inc., Blue West Equipment, Canadian Tire, Chrissy’s Catering, Coach Contracting, Colours by Karen, DaSilva Auto, DeGroote-Hill, Diesel Logic Woodstock, Downtown Tillsonburg BIA, Dykhom Farms, Escapes Salon and Spa, Forever Young Family Fitness, Haven Salon and Spa, Hayley’s Training, Hue Salon, James Battin Law Office, Jansen Landscaping, Kelsey’s Roadhouse, Kiddie Cove Daycare, McKee Sport & Garden Ltd., Modern Trends Inc., Optometrists on Broadway, Ostrander Veterinary Clinic, Otter Creek Construction, Otter Plumbing Inc., Oxford Mobile Fleet Service Inc., Oxford Speech Plus, Pioneer Cabinetry, Prouse Electrical & Mechanical Ltd., Ruffin’s Pet Centre, Shackelton Auctions, Sobeys, Sonbeam Daycare, South Ridge P.S., Southwest Fire Academy, Special Occasion Cakes, Sprucehaven Farm, Station Arts Centre, T.D. Logan Plumbing and Heating, Tail’s Inn Dog Grooming, Tee Burg Golf Academy, The Little Moments Event Planning, Thomson T.A. Electrical Contractors, Tillsonburg Family Pet Centre, Tillsonburg KIA, Tranquility Health and Beauty Centre, Triton Innovation Inc., True Masons, V&P Topsoil & Landscaping Supplies, Westfield P.S. and Xcel Fabrication & Design Ltd.

There would be changes in the fall of 2020 having students in cohorts, attending in-person classes every other day, quadmesters, and other measures put in place for the health and safety of students and teachers.

“We had been green-lighted to be able to have our students go into placements, so we were excited about that prospect because that’s truly the heart of co-op,” said Davis. “They want to go out, see and experience those career opportunities that they’re really interested in. So that was great.”

In the quadmester system, students take two courses per half-semester. Being a double credit course, that would be all a co-operative student would do for the entire half-semester.

“It certainly presented challenges, but at the same time I felt it even offered some greater opportunities,” said Davis, noting that was particularly true for some trades, recalling earlier occasions when businesses had asked for a co-operative student for the entire workday. In the past, that would not be possible – the student had to be back at school for other courses.

“Because their entire timetable for one quadmester was focused on co-op, we were able to have a great deal of flexibility. That flexibility certainly helped quite a great deal in terms of what we were able to manage and pull off.”

In some cases, it was a challenge finding placements. It often took more calls than usual, said Davis, who has always experienced ‘amazing support’ from local businesses supporting the co-op program.

“Some of the answers – and perfectly understandable answers – we’re cohorting ourselves, so we can only offer an opportunity on any given day. Or we have our bubble here and the folks who are in it would like to keep it that way. Or I’ve had to lay off some of my staff, the optics of bringing in a co-op student on a volunteer basis versus calling back my laid off employees, it doesn’t look good.

“I understand, I don’t begrudge anyone doing what they need to do to run their businesses and protect themselves, their employees, their clients. So it had to be done with a lot of flexibility and a great deal of understanding for everybody.”

The co-op teachers needed to come up with some creative solutions, which included virtual placements. Rather than being on site, students could sometimes work remotely with employers.

“It’s a brand new world for us and our program.”

It worked well for GHS students who could work for elementary school teachers.

“There were teachers at the public schools here in town that said graciously said ‘yes,’ allowing them to work with individual students or groups of students through an online platform … without ever having to step into any of the school buildings.”

Another student did Zoom workout sessions for a personal trainer’s clients.

“We stretched the way we did things. Traditionally we wanted students to be right there doing things. I think some of them got exposure to the genuine ‘realities of now’ and moving into the future of that remote working.”

Ideally, of course, Davis like everyone else wants to get back to a more traditional society – and co-operative program. But the lessons learned through COVID, he said, could impact the way they do their work in the future.

Another student worked with an event planner, he said, and a lot of the behind-the-scenes planning work was done remotely.

“I think we can look at ways to make that better going forward, with greater flexibility going forward, too.”

Davis taught co-op in the first and third quadmesters, Farr, Communications Technology / Co-operative Education at Glendale, had the second and fourth.

“The fourth quadmester, which started April 26th, has been entirely under the Stay-at-Home Order,” Davis noted.

“The only students able to do in-person placement during this current quadmester are students would be enrolled in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program.”

“The first three-quarters of the year we were kind of floating in and out of lockdown,” said Farr. “So we either had flexibility to place students, ie. ‘not in lockdown,’ before Christmas there really wasn’t much effect co-op program because everything was open. As we were in lockdown, the (Thames Valley) board basically said nothing is happening as far as co-op goes. So it was kind of either business as usual, with COVID obviously being a considering factor, but if everybody was following the health and safety rules we were able to work within that situation.”

The challenge became ‘how to guide a student during the lockdown’ into a trade placement rather than something like retail or law offices.

“Usually it’s a pretty even split between students that are focused on trades backgrounds and students focused on a ‘professional’ direction. During this last quadmester, basically all the ‘professional’ options were not on the table.”

It meant opening students eyes to the many available options.

“Everyone thinks trades are carpenters, construction, automotive mechanic or welder. Those are a very small portion of the trades – I believe there are over 200 recognized trades in Ontario. So we were able to utilize that list a lot more fully this time around.”

Some trades were more affected by COVID-19 restrictions than other, he said.

“It’s a challenging time for everyone,” he said, noting the greatest challenge was working with businesses that were allowed to be open as an essential service, but still had to deal closely with the public at the same time.

And like Davis, Farr expressed his appreciation for the community support.

“I really, really appreciate the consideration standpoint. We’ve never really had a business just say ‘no, not happening.’ Businesses definitely took a day or two to think about what type of experience the student would get. It’s always a bonus when a placement really thinks about ‘what can we offer the student?’ They’re being challenged with all these restrictions, the lockdown, and they still took the time to say ‘what can we offer the student because we want it to be a meaningful experience.’ Not that they always offered a placement, but they were open to the idea and considered it. That’s what I really appreciate about businesses in Tillsonburg and area.”

Planning and surveys to gather information from students/parents are already happening now to prepare for the 2021-22 school year beginning in the fall.

“As it has been for most of this (pandemic), we’re waiting for information,” said Davis. “And of course that information seems to change every single day.”

cabbott@postmedia.com