The Alaska Highway Consortium on Teacher Education (AHCOTE) program is celebrating its 20th anniversary of preparing teachers for classrooms in northern British Columbia.

The teacher education program, which leads to teacher certification, is jointly sponsored by Simon Fraser University (SFU); Northern Lights College (NLC); the University of Northern British Columbia; Peace River North, Peace River South and Fort Nelson school districts; and local teacher associations.

A celebration to mark the 20th anniversary will be held on Thursday, May 22 starting at 7 pm at the Quality Inn Northern Grand Hotel in Fort St. John.

Invited guests to the event include representatives from SFU, NLC and the partner school districts. The event is open to anyone, including current and former students, with a connection to the program over its two decades of existence.

“The Faculty of Education has a long history of meaningful community engagement and enhancing accessibility for students by delivering education programs to areas across B.C.,” said Paul Shaker, dean of education at SFU. “The 20th anniversary of AHCOTE is a significant milestone that celebrates the dedication and commitment of not only the partner institutions, but the students and teaching communities as well.”

The AHCOTE program started originally as a way of meeting the professional development needs of northern B.C. school districts.

Greg Larsen, who retires in August as NLC’s vice president corporate services, had been talking with some of his former co-workers in the Fort Nelson school district about how to provide some basic training in classroom management skills for substitute teachers.

“Who would have believed 20 years ago that, first of all, there would have been a suggestion for this type of program, let alone that it would be as successful as it has been, turning out hundreds of graduates,” said Larsen. “The whole objective was to keep people in the area, and obviously it has worked.”

Since then, the program has evolved with separate classes operating at the Dawson Creek and Fort St. John campuses of NLC. Plans are also being undertaken in an attempt to see the program return to Fort Nelson for 2009. Last year alone, 23 prospective teachers graduated from the program.

AHCOTE 20th Anniversary Celebration

Date: May 22, 2008

Place: Quality Inn Northern Grand Hotel, Fort St. John

Time: 7:00 pm

Speakers:

Paul Shaker, Dean of Education, Simon Fraser University

Stephen Smith, Director of Professional Programs, Simon Fraser University

Greg Larsen, Vice President, Corporate Services, Northern Lights College

Lesley Lehay, Assistant Superintendant, School District No. 60

Kathy Sawchuk, AHCOTE grad and Superintendant, School District No. 59

For more information on the 20th anniversary celebration

contact the AHCOTE office at NLC, 250-785-6981 or 1-866-463-6652.

For more information about the AHCOTE program

visit: http://www.educ.sfu.ca/pdp/special-programs/index.html

For more information about Professional Programs in the Faculty of Education

visit: http://www.educ.sfu.ca/pdp/

For more information about the Faculty of Education at SFU

visit: www.educ.sfu.ca