New place for ACE
Kael Thibault a Grade 11 student at Bakerview talks with Ren Abear, an arts and P.E. teacher at the school during the official opening of the school on Friday afternoon. His artwork is on the top right of the display.
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Updated: November 23, 2009 7:07 AM
The former Abbotsford Continuing Education (ACE) program was officially relaunched yesterday (Friday) as Bakerview Centre for Learning.
An opening ceremony and open house were held at the new site at 32622 Marshall Rd.
Abbotsford school district spokesman Dave Stephen said the project began about three years ago when the district explored new ways to run ACE, an alternative education program.
“The district looked at how it could build a dream school and how that can help some of the more vulnerable students in the community,” he said.
The former Bakerview Elementary was renovated at a cost of $985,000, and the first set of classes was offered in September.
These are geared toward students in Grades 9 to 12 who might face challenges in the regular school system. Classes are also offered to adults who want to complete their high school studies.
Options offered at Bakerview include a “bridge” program to help prepare students for classroom learning and a “pod” program, which focuses on a team-teaching approach.
The school also has a cooking facility, a class for aboriginal students and multiple locations where student support is available.
Stephen said the project was made possible by support from the provincial government.
