Welcome to SCIDES
Welcome! We are thrilled that you found your way to our website. Let us introduce our school to you:
At South Central Interior Distance Education School – SCIDES – we offer Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) courses, as well as courses for adult learners. We’re a fully funded, public, and accredited BC school located in School District 58. Our programs and courses are free for BC residents; tuition fees only apply for international students and may apply for some courses for adults who have already graduated.
SCIDES is a distributed learning (DL) school, meaning most of our students are primarily at a distance from our teachers, whether they are studying online at home, within another educational facility, or anywhere else with an internet connection. Distributed learning students completing their studies with SCIDES will receive their British Columbia Dogwood graduation diplomas (we celebrate over 50 graduates, of all ages, each year!).
Among all the educational opportunities schools in BC have to offer, distributed learning is one we feel very excited and passionate about. We believe it is an excellent way to get a quality education that’s personalized and fits into your life. At SCIDES, we offer elementary and secondary students the opportunity to personalize their learning and have full control of their own educational paths. Adult learners have the chance to upgrade, graduate or take additional courses without ever stepping inside a BC face-to-face high school.
A comprehensive list of over 130 online courses (browse them all here!) allows you to choose and design a program that is both flexible in delivery and supportive of your unique learning style. We provide the materials, resources, planning, reports and personal support required – you choose the program that best fits your life, whether it is full-time or cross enrolment with a face-to-face school. Our staff at SCIDES is always available for our students, and also works hard to build relationships with educators at cross-enrolled schools to ensure the best experience for you.
Our students come from a wide range of experiences, and our mission is to create a personalized learning environment for anyone, anywhere, in any situation! We support elite athletes, gifted learners, adult learners looking to upgrade, families abroad for both work and travel, and students with learning disabilities, injuries or with an illness that prevents them from attending regular classes – and most importantly: students and their families, who want to take charge of their own educational path.
SCIDES is located in the beautiful Nicola-Similkameen Valley, but we serve more than 1,700 learners throughout BC in our K-9, high school, and adult learning programs. That includes over 100 full time K – 9 students, well over 100 full time 10 – 12 school-aged and adult students, and over 1500 cross-enrolled secondary students (in over 2200 courses) – and we’d love for you to join the learning experience at SCIDES. Register online, or contact us for more information.
We look forward to connecting with you!
Message from the Principal
The following is an excerpt from: J. Abner Peddiwell’s The Saber-Tooth Curriculum, first published in 1939. Two stone-age philosophers are discussing education and, interestingly, what they say, even by 1939 standards, is not that different than modern discourse on the subject.
“Schools are educational institutions, aren’t they?”
“Of course.”
“And is education supposed to change people?”
“Certainly.”
“Is it supposed to make them better or worse?”
“Better, naturally.”
“Then, in order to know what to do with our students in the [school], we must discover how to treat them so that they will become better?”
“Well, yes, better, more efficient, more competent intellectually. We must teach them how to think, not what to think.”
“A student can become better, more efficient, more intelligent only with respect to the social environment in which he operates?”
“Why – er – yes, I suppose so.”
“Then in order to determine what our [school] curriculum should be, we must first decide what our society should be?”
“Oh no! Certainly not! That would be the blueprint of a future social order. That would be teaching them what to think. Besides, you would be pretending to know what is going to happen tomorrow. Only the Great Mystery knows what is going to happen tomorrow…..”
“I don’t see anything so wrong about attempting to predict what is going to happen tomorrow. If I teach my students tiger-scaring just as professors have been doing for the Great Mystery knows how many years, will I not, in effect, be predicting that those students are going to be in a society tomorrow in which tiger-scaring will be a very valuable thing for them to know?”
Imagine a pre-historic curriculum in which fish-grabbing, horse-clubbing and tiger-scaring were the basic, necessary courses that all students must master in order to contribute to their society. In the 21st Century, this would seem ridiculous. As the world and its societies change, so too must its educational systems. But no change happens without a bit of debate, angst, and hard work.
The 2018-19 school year welcomes even more updates into the BC curriculum. I am excited for the courses that have come – and that are coming – available, but also realize the work required to make them ready. School-age students are being given opportunities to learn a broader and more focused range of topics in a teaching environment that values coaching (as opposed to directing), learning (as opposed to getting the work done), and collaborating. The competencies of our Redesigned BC Curriculum promote the education of people who can work together in the world, appreciate its diversity, and tackle its challenges. What an amazing resume!
While fish-grabbing, horse-clubbing and tiger-scaring pre-date all of us, the basics of “reading, writing and ‘rithmetic” do not. And they are still prevalent. In fact, literacy and numeracy skills form the foundation for learning in our province and more work than ever is being done to ensure that everyone achieves mastery.
Now, in my second year at Kengard Learning Centre, curriculum and engagement are on my mind. How can we maximize students’ educational experiences and ensure they are equipped for the world they are inheriting? How do we help prepare youth for jobs and careers that don’t even exist yet? What do they need from their school? And so I return to the stone-age dialogue.
Like death and taxes, change is a necessary part of life. In fact, it is an indicator of life. Whether we require a “love it or list it” makeover, a new diet or exercise regimen, or an opportunity to explore something entirely new to us, continuing to stretch and adapt to our world helps us to improve ourselves and it. (As I write this, I think of two families with my school this year who have embarked with their children on a year-long trans-continental and trans-Canadian tours.) Education has become remarkably adaptive and responsive to individual needs; it is a great time to be a student!
So I leave you with these thoughts for the upcoming school year. Embrace your learning. Think about things. Explore creativity for pleasure and problem-solving. Be active. Discover something you want to know - and pursue it. Care. Whether young or old, it is never too late to learn. And while some subjects still develop the tools necessary to unlock your learning, all of them have the potential to change your life.
Wishing you all an inspired educational journey.
Mrs. K. Goetz, Principal
