The Quesnel School District serves about 3000 students with twelve elementary schools, a grade 8-9 junior school, a grade 10-12 secondary school, a secondary alternate program, and a Distributed Learning School.
The K-7 elementary schools range in size from 100 to 300 students. Our small rural schools in the communities of Wells, Nazko, Kersley, and Parkland have multi-grade classrooms and vary in size between 14 and 78 students.
The French Immersion program grades K-7 are located in a dual track elementary school Red Bluff Lhatko Elementary. The long standing French Immersion program continues on at Quesnel Junior School and Correlieu Senior Secondary.
All grade 8 and 9 students in Quesnel attend Quesnel Junior School which is designed on a middle school model. Students are divided into smaller learning communities with a focus on the core subjects. The Interdisciplinary teaching teams create strong connections with parents and families. Social emotional learning and a supportive transition to high school are the strength of this school.
Correlieu Secondary School serves students in the graduation years grades 10 -12. Students have an opportunity to take all core subjects and a wide range of electives. Career programs, French Immersion, Trades and the Arts allow students to explore their passions. Correlieu has a long history of athletics with individual and team sports in all areas from downhill skiing to basketball.
Quesnel Distributed Learning Program – QDL is an online learning community available for students in grades K-12. Students can take additional courses outside of the school timetable or learn from home.
You can look forward to opportunities to collaborate and learn with others. We have collaborative blocks at the senior high and junior high levels and grade level meetings in elementary. There are professional learning communities at the school and district level focused on topics such as technology and self-regulation. Our Early Literacy Project of tiered intervention in primary classes ensures support for literacy resources and time for collaborative planning. Our mentorship program provides teachers with access time for class visits, in-class support, planning, or collaboration time.
Our diverse population is supported in inclusive classrooms through the collaborative work of the Support Services, Curriculum and Aboriginal Education Department staff. Together this staff forms our District Learning Services Team, committed to supporting schools to meet the diverse needs in classrooms.
Our focus is the classroom. Teachers are provided with technology, such as smart boards, pods of laptops or specialized software, as well as equipment such as sensory balls or cushions, visual timers, etc. in order to support various learners.
Teachers have time to meet as a team to plan for students and to create IEPs. Student teams also have opportunity for professional development focused on topics such as Autism and FASD or on how to use specialized software programs or assistive technology.
It takes collaborative efforts to make a difference. We believe in our motto “Together We Can”.
“I have been employed by the Quesnel School District since 2000, and have worked in various different positions. I was hired as an Educational Assistant and worked in this position until completing my Bachelor of Education degree in 2007. I was then hired as a classroom teacher until completing my Masters of Counselling. I currently work as an Elementary Counsellor. One thing that has always amazed me is the supported team approach the district takes when dealing with students and families. Everyone’s roles are valued and viewed as important in the success of our students. All team members conduct themselves in a friendly and professional manner and support one another both inside and outside the classroom. It’s great to live in a community where we can watch our students grow and transform into successful adults.”
“I received my Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Victoria in 1994. My first full-time continuing position in the district was as a Learning Assistance Resource Teacher in an elementary school and I continued in this job for sixteen years. Throughout those years, I worked with many groups, focusing on remediation of literacy skills. This led to my interest in prevention of literacy difficulties and that started me on a journey towards focusing on Early Intervention. Having a supportive School Based Team enabled me to work with early intervention groups while also working with older students to continue to develop their literacy skills. In 2012, I moved into a grade 1-2 classroom and was very thankful for my years of concentrating on literacy. During my time in the classroom, I was excited to see the District’s support for Early Literacy. I was fortunate to work with the District Early Literacy Teachers as well as the School Based Learning Assistance Resource Teachers to implement programs in my class that helped all students with a wide range of literacy levels. I received professional development, mostly in the form of mentoring and collaboration with colleagues that helped me greatly to support a Balanced Literacy program in the classroom. This year, I was fortunate to join the District Early Literacy Team. I have learned a great deal and I am enjoying working with colleagues focusing on literacy.”
“After beginning my career in another school district my family and I relocated to Quesnel. We wanted to be somewhere neither too big nor too small and with lots of opportunities for our growing family. We found our home here. I have been teaching in Quesnel for four years and am currently teaching a grade 3/4 class at Riverview Elementary School. This district encourages passion driven inquiry in staff and students. Working in this school district has offered me the opportunity to explore different areas of teaching including secondary Agriculture, secondary English, Resource, and both primary and intermediate elementary. The district has encouraged my pursuit of new ideas in education such as inquiry based learning and passion projects to improve student engagement in both the school and community. I have met wonderful people while working here and the team based approach to education in this community really sets it apart from others. I work in a positive, passionate, accepting, and supportive staff and rather than feeling anxious about this school year coming to a close I am feeling excited about my next opportunity to enrich my teaching practice may be.
”