News release

Province Invests in Spryfield Youth

Education and Early Childhood Development

High school students in the Spryfield area will have a greater chance to succeed in school, graduate and pursue post-secondary opportunities, thanks to provincial funding for Chebucto Connections’ Pathways to Education program.

The province announced today, June 27, that it will invest $100,000 each year for the next three years in the young people of Spryfield.

This is the first time the province has invested in Pathways to Education, and Spryfield was the first community in Nova Scotia to be part of the Pathways program.

“Every year some students make the life-altering decision to drop out of high school,” said MLA Michelle Raymond on behalf of Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Ramona Jennex. “We know that a high school diploma and post-secondary education open so many doors for our young people and ensure them a bright future. We are putting kids and learning first with this funding so that these young people can reach their full potential.”

Pathways to Education is a national program that provides advocacy and academic, financial and social supports to youth. It is delivered in the Spryfield area by Chebucto Connections, a local community-based organization.

“We base our work on community priorities, and we heard loud and clear that finishing high school was a key one,” said Bonnie Ste-Croix, executive director of Chebucto Connections. “Now, with three years under our belt and our first Pathways to Education-Spryfield students graduating in June 2014, we could not be happier with the impact this program is making in the lives, schools, families and communities of our young people.”

“Pathways has definitely changed my life,” said Katie Chisolm, a student who is part of Pathways to Education-Spryfield. “Before I joined Pathways, I was failing Grade 9 math. In my first couple of months with Pathways, my grade went from 40 per cent to 65 per cent. My teacher recommended that I go into Math Foundations 10. After a couple of days, I upgraded to academic math, and I finished that course with an 88 per cent mark. This was all thanks to Pathways.”

The funding will come from the departments of Education and Early Childhood Development, Justice, and Community Services.

More information on the program can be found at www.chebuctoconnections.ca.