Dear Editor,
I have recently caught wind that Northern Lights Public Schools is playing with the idea of cutting funding to the Bonnyville Outreach School, formerly known as the Bonnyville Off Campus School (BOS). I was saddened, but not shocked, to hear this news. But that is why I’m writing to you, to share my personal experience about this particular matter.
I was a top-notch student until Grade 4. I was interested and excited to soak in all of the knowledge that I could. My third grade provincial exam marks were very high, superseding my fellow students. In later grades, these peers surpassed me with their ability to learn within the classroom setting.
With my home life turning upside-down with my parent’s divorce in my 10th year, it was hard to focus on my education. I wasn’t confident about my own future. My heart was split in two with my family dividing. Everything was so unpredictable. I felt lost. I gave up. My far-off future was the last thing on my mind. I just had to attend school.. who cared about the rest?
When high school came around, I fell flat on my face. I didn’t feel like I belonged there. The information that the teachers were trying to cram into my melon just wasn’t sticking. My parents didn’t know what to do with my “rebellious” behaviours that came with the teenage influences around me. I became an “outcast”. With my lack of parental support emotionally, I was sent to live with various family members with the hopes that I might straighten out.
Long story short, I worked at my minimum wage job(s) enough to build up a damage deposit and first month’s rent to create a stable life for myself with my beau at that time. I worked in the mornings and attended the Off Campus/Outreach School in the afternoons, knowing that I didn’t have many options for my future careers without a high school diploma. I didn’t want to struggle to make it by. I wanted to have a satisfying life, a family, and thrive. I had ambitions and dreams.
After obtaining my high school diploma through the Bonnyville Off-Campus or “Outreach” school, I have held many amazing jobs. Currently, I’m on the fifth year of employment with an international company with a bright future of “ladder climbing”.
If I didn’t have the opportunity to complete my schooling with this amazing option to learn, I don’t know where I would be. With my youngest brother being in a tough situation similar to my own, I immediately enrolled him with the Outreach School. He also has hopes and dreams to become an outstanding citizen, which I have the confidence he will be. He has been raised in a home-schooled environment , but has flourished with this system of learning.
A big part of these accomplishments can be awarded to the schooling system we have in our community. I can’t thank the members of the BOS enough, even if it was back in ‘05, the year of my schooling completion. I can proudly say that I was part of the largest graduating class for the institution!
In conclusion, this particular school is extremely important to our community. The quality of education was and is phenomenal, and the supporting staff hired are the right choices for this type of support. Cutting back the funding for this school will not benefit the community, but creating awareness of the amazing possibilities most likely will!
Nina Veenstra
Bonnyville resident
