“Is it the same as it was before? No. Is it better or worse? No. It’s different. The students and staff are making the most of it, and it really shows the resilience of the human spirit as they grow and move forward in their personal lives and in their professional lives.”
These are challenging times for anyone tied to education – from the various elementary, middle and high schools in SD67, to UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College and their many outreach campuses, to learning centres such as Sprott Shaw.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced school closures, along with virtual learning and classroom social distancing.
“We have protocols for COVID in place, we have protocols campus wide for coming in. I’m wearing a mask, you’re wearing a mask, and masks in the common areas are required,” continued Sprott Shaw Penticton College Campus director Zola Goebel. “We have sanitizers in every room. We limit the size of the student body coming in, so if it’s a large class of 20 coming in, they’re not all coming in at once. We’re breaking them into smaller groups that can fit within the maximum capacity in the classrooms.”
September brought a fresh start, albeit a very different learning model, for all educational staff and students.
“We had an amazing transition into online for students. It actually happened during our spring break, so we were able to successfully transition all of our student body and all of our faculty over to the online processes,” said Goebel. “And we’ve been able to continue doing that. We’re very proud of the students and staff, as they have managed this transition, and this new learning environment.”
In terms of post-secondary education, Sprott Shaw is playing a leading role in getting students ready to hit the workforce, and in the health care system, vitally important during the pandemic.
Courses include practical nursing, practical nursing access, health care assistant, early childhood education, community support worker and veterinary assistant.
A variety of business courses are offered through Webex with some of Sprott Shaw’s bigger campuses.
“We have a couple programs that need to be hands-on, we need to come into the lab, such as the nursing programs and health care programs,” said Goebel. “We’ve been able to work within the regulations of the health officer, and we make sure when everyone comes in that they’re safe, and that they have the proper personal protective equipment. And they’ve been able to continue on.”
Sprott Shaw began in 1903, and now has more than 2,500 students attending classes at 17 campuses across the province.
Students attending one of the Sprott Shaw healthcare programs get the opportunity to jump into the workforce early to gain experience. But coronavirus has put pressure on students’ ability to attend a work practicum.
“We’ve been able to maintain their course loads. We’ve been able to maintain, for the most part, their practicum. Practical nursing and healthcare assistant are the two primaries here that we do that have a huge practical component to them,” said Goebel. “And the practicum sites out there, the community for the most part when they can, are welcoming the students to do the practical pieces of it so they can actually continue and graduate.”
The student body at the Penticton College Campus varies between 80 and 100 at any time, with around 15 staff members. But learning isn’t limited to just from that group.
“Because we have our online environments right now, we also have staff across British Columbia that they can join classes with, so it’s really kind of cool that we have those experts in different areas, and we can join our students with them,” added Goebel.
She believes the fear some students had back in March when the pandemic began has been alleviated.
“There was some unknown at that time. We were able to work through that with them, and take things at their pace. The students have been amazing,” said Goebel. “The students that are starting now don’t know any different. It’s just the way they’re learning right now, and they’re just going with the flow. And they’re grateful for the fact that they have the opportunity to get their education done.”
Goebel believes the pandemic has forced people to think of other options for a career.
“Many or our grads have become those frontline workers in all of the essential service areas, and not just in nursing and health care,” said Goebel. “What we’re finding is that people that are sitting at home and have lost their jobs because of COVID are re-evaluating. They’re taking this opportunity to say, ’I always want to be a…’”
“So we’re actually seeing an increase in people coming in and actually looking for some changes in their life and their careers.”
For further details on the Penticton College Campus, click here.
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