Students rally to keep Surrey learning centre open

Students from the South Surrey White Rock Learning Centre and supporters are protesting to keep their school open after the Surrey School District was told there aren’t enough funds to keep the alternative school open.

The school is slated to close in June, with the district saying it can’t afford to renew the lease of the building.

This is a devastating blow to the students here, many of whom shared vulnerable stories of life before their alternate education.

“I felt like a failure, and maybe school wasn’t for me. I had a plan to end my life because I genuinely felt like I would never amount to anything since I couldn’t even get through high school,” one student said.

“In Grade 10, my mental health was at an all-time low, and I stopped going to school. Then I learned about the learning centre through a friend…and I felt like for the first time in my school experience, I belonged.”

Organizers here say over 100 students face an uncertain future if the learning centre is forced to close.

Anne Whitmore, president of the Surrey District Parent Advisory Council, says Surrey will go from five alternative learning centers to just two this year. She says this will hinder inclusive education in one of the largest municipalities in the Lower Mainland.

“What is happening here is not okay,” said Whitmore.

“It is not okay to return students where they often experience trauma and are being bullied, where they don’t feel like they have a future.”

In a statement, Minister of Education and Child Care Lisa Beare told The Leader Spirit, in part, “We have been assured the Learning Centre model will continue with the same flexible programming for each student’s needs, just in different locations — locations that are distinct from the mainstream school communities.”

Supporters are pushing to keep this location operational and want the ministry to open its chequebook.

Lizanne Foster, president of the Surrey Teachers’ Association, says they just learned that learning centres do not qualify for capital funding.

“That’s the money that comes from the ministry in order to provide space, buildings for classrooms, in a district,” Foster said.

“I don’t know why learning centers do not qualify for that kind of funding.”

As for the students, they say learning centres like this one are what is needed for them to feel safe and thrive.

“It’s for people who don’t feel like they fit into the current school system,” said Grade 12 student Katie Kline.

“It really has changed my life, the way the teachers have helped me grow to my potential.”