June 19, 2024, the School Within a College (SWAC) Class of Winter 2024 celebrated their graduation at Loyalist College. This is the third SWAC class. There were 20 students in the program this year and 15 students graduated. Two of the graduates completed Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM), one in Information/Communications Technology and the other in Sports, and one graduate completed the OYAP program as a Level 1 Automotive Technician. Another graduate was offered an apprenticeship as an Electrician starting this Monday!
The other five students will be completing their Ontario Secondary School Diplomas in the Fall semester either at SWAC or at their home school.
Teacher Kiersten Neumann-Stephens, in her heart-felt address to the graduates, said that what she admired most about this class was how they “boldly wove [themselves] into the fabric of [their] college community.”
There were also congratulatory remarks from Loyalist College President and CEO Mark Kirkpatrick and Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board’s Director of Education, Katherine MacIver.
SWAC is an exciting innovation to the “college-delivered” dual credit model, where secondary school students attend both high school and college courses at Loyalist College. Students remain HPEDSB students and graduate from their home school.
The students are 17-20 years old who are within range of earning an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with the potential to succeed, with teacher support, in a college environment. Academic programming at SWAC consists of a combination of college credits, compulsory course completion, credit recovery, experiential learning and personalized workshops delivered by the college in areas like mental health and wellness, student success mentoring, career-life planning and breaking down financial barriers for post-secondary education.