The Vancouver Learning Centre
is the "Village" it takes
to get the very best outcome
for each learner.
The VLC is a Learning Centre, not a school. Click here for clarity.

The VLC is not a school but a Specialist Learning Centre. The VLC delivers a team-based process. A teaching captain is assigned to oversee the program delivery and to be the main contact with the parents who then become an integrated part of the team. Schools can then be involved as appropriate.

In the case of home schooling, the curriculum, homework tasks, testing, and the program to earn credentials and provide oversight to the curriculum is up to the distance education school. This becomes the learner’s school and the VLC will work collaboratively with the school’s contact person and will actively address all IEPs or special needs developed by that school.

Whether the student attends on site at VLC and remains as part of a class or works with a distance education school, the VLC becomes the specialist provider of one to one teaching based on the special needs of the learner in collaboration with the learner’s parents and the contact person assigned by the school.

The Vancouver Learning Centre
is the "Village" it takes
to get the very best outcome
for each learner.
The VLC is a Learning Centre, not a school. See here for clarity.

Services

The Application of These Programs

Three models are used in providing one-to-one teaching at the Vancouver Learning Centre:

  • a part-time program
  • the BOOST program
  • home-schooled students with special needs

In addition, we use a four-semester schedule.

Part-Time Program

In the first model, students who are in school attend 2-6 hours per week, along with their regular schooling. Most students take this part time program. Parents tell us that students love to come, even after a long school day, or at least they do not object.

BOOST Program (Buying out of School Temporarily)

The second model is for those who are not in school. They attend the BOOST (Buying Out Of School Temporarily) Program. This includes 10 hours of one-to-one instruction and 15 hours of supervised learning per week. This provides for a fulltime educational experience. Students have to be able to learn independently for some of the time under supervision to be eligible for the BOOST program. Thus, while the Vancouver Learning is a learning centre and not a school, some students spend their full school day on site, where they have a very rich and intense learning experience as a bridge or transition to the next stage of their learning journey. 

To provide convenient learning schedules for all of our students in their one-to-one teaching programs the VLC is available for instruction from 8am to 8pm five days a week, and from 9am to 6pm on Saturday.

Home-Schooled Students with Special Needs

The third model is for home-schooled students who are different learners. Home-schooling has been chosen for a variety of reasons.Their families have elected to move away from a traditional bricks-and-mortar school to a home-schooling model. 

The Vancouver Learning Centre, while not a school, has a successful record of collaboration with distance education home schooling agencies, who are considered the student's home school. The home school is in charge of the student's curriculum, and the VLC facilitates access to their programs for learners who otherwise would be unable to learn successfully with this model. This applies particularly to students with special needs. 

The home-school agency remains the “school of registration” for these students, offers IEPs and credentials, teacher advice and access to examinations. VLC programs incorporate these school programs, but offer the specialty of informed teaching strategies to work for a successful outcome with learners who have difficulty learning in traditional ways. 

The supplemented home-school experience therefore emerges as a manageable and individualized program for the long-term benefit of each student as they proceed through their educational journey.