Building Partnerships Between Schools and Communities: a Look at Haliburton County

Building Partnerships Between Schools and Communities: a Look at Haliburton County

King, Andrea

Wadland, John; Whillans, Tom
Departments: Canadian Studies and Environmental Studies

TPB-588

1999

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Proposed community involvement program in schools

This paper links the idea of including a community involvement program in school curriculum with ways in which classrooms and schools use the community as a learning resource. Beginning with a look at the set of purposes for Ontario schools delineated in the 1994 Ontario Royal Commission on Learning, the author moves to the area of the relationship of schools and community in attaining some of these goals through community service learning. The effectiveness of such programs in achieving civic awareness and creating responsible citizens is discussed.

The state of community and school partnerships in Haliburton County is explored along with the attitudes of teachers and other administrators to such ideas. Future directions and implementation strategies for the proposed community involvement program are looked at with specific reference to Haliburton Highlands Secondary School. The paper concludes with a critique of the proposed program and suggestions for a positive partnership of community and school.

Trent University