#jphs

My role within the organization is a unique one. My title is ‘community liaison.’ I’m a support for students if they have an idea and would like to take it forward, and we also work very closely with the University CSL program, which has provided great mentors to our students.

I coordinate student volunteerism in our school. For example; If a student is interested in working on a solution to homelessness in Edmonton, I can connect them with local organizations and grassroots initiatives to work on a long-term project. I will also find interdisciplinary connections between coursework and the project so that students may receive credit for their work. I create interdisciplinary learning opportunities so teachers can find fun ways to collaborate, but also have the projects [that] students want to work on really impact the community in meaningful ways. An example is our Bike Rack project where the design class designs the bike racks, the welding class manufactures them, and the City of Edmonton installs them in various streetscapes in the city. The students see their work on the streets and understand that they had a role in making our streets more unique and creative.”

“I found out about CSL while I was working at Public Interest Alberta (PIA). A friend of mine was completing his board internship at PIA and also told me about an independent [CSL] course he completed where he travelled to Ladakh, India and worked with the producers of the “economics of happiness’ film, and received credit for his studies there. I thought that was just the coolest thing I had ever heard of, and I didn't realize school could be that interesting. Since then, I’ve been more and more interested [in CSL], and once I had a job where I could actually be in partnership with CSL I seized that opportunity. It has been a great relationship ever since.

CSL, to me, is an interesting way to diversify the perspectives that students are exposed to. When they make relationships with different CSL students, and they hear about their stories and what they’re learning, it not only broadens our students perspectives, but also helps transition our students from high school to postsecondary, if that’s what they’re interested in. CSL students also receive a benefit from working with JPHS as the work provides a great opportunity for our CSL students to be engaged in praxis; they not only study and learn theories, but they actually get to implement those theories right into the work they’re doing, and that’s a really critical space to be in.”

“CSL students provide me with different insights that I might be blind to because I’ve been working at JPHS for six years. They might ask questions about “why do you do that?” or “what is this all about” and it can make me really rethink and reflect on our practices. That is just as beneficial for me as a practitioner as it is for my students in terms of the mentorship they receive.

I have had quite a few CSL students return after their placement had ended. A CSL student of mine ended up working for JP and is now doing amazing things in education. Another CSL student did quite a few projects with us. She initially came on as a mentor for the coffee shop project, and then worked with us in a different capacity helping us create a Global Café coffee cart design. She keeps us very networked, and reaches out to us in her different capacities.”