This week, I had the privilege of visiting the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry in Downtown Victoria. I actually knew quite a bit about this school prior to my visit, as a friend of mine was a student there when we were in grade 11. I did, however, appreciate an opportunity to learn about the school from the perspective of a future educator.
The positive aspects of this independent school are numerous. One that stands out to me is the student to teacher ratio. Having so few students certainly supports the sense of community in the school and allows for the teachers to offer more personalized support. Another aspect of the school that I liked was their post-secondary preparations. That was one of my major concerns, similarly to my concerns about High Tech High in my first blog post. I was happy to hear that PSII graduates are often successful in post-secondary and that they often collaborate with the University of Victoria. Furthermore, I appreciate that they teach students how to study and take notes, as this would be a gap in their knowledge with inquiry-based learning that is void of tests and exams. I also appreciated the school’s approach to standardized exams, such as the numeracy exam, as they do not make it a cause of stress for students. In general, I think their approach to learning as inquiry and personalized can be really beneficial for students. Promoting different skills and abilities while still hitting curriculum targets is impressive.
Contrarily, I see some fairly clear downsides. The first limitation I thought of was the cost. One year’s tuition at PSII is around $8,200. Although this is less than private school tuition, it is significantly more than the nonexistent tuition at a regular public high school. When I was a high school student, my family would not have been able to afford to send me to this institution, and I’m sure there are many other students who would be in the same boat. Moreover, the small number of students limits their ability to participate in team sports. There is not basketball team, soccer team, rugby team, or really any team sports, as not enough students show interest in the same sport. While students can join leagues outside of school, they lose the opportunity to participate in traditional high school teams. Moreover, I saw first hand the struggles some students may face should they choose to leave PSII. My friend who went to this school for grade 11 ended up returning to our traditional high school and felt very ill prepared for the rigorous course load he had to take on in grade 12. While I suspect students who attend this school from grades 9 to 12 don’t have such a negative experience, anyone who is not able to commit to the full experience ($32,800) may face hardships upon their return to traditional high schools. It’s important to note that my friend who was a student there attended in 2016, which was only three years after the school’s opening in 2013, as reported by Douglas Magazine. I would hope that their current program is better-equipped to transitions students into other schools if necessary.
Ultimately, I was definitely able to see both good and bad things about this school. While I can imagine it would be a wonderful environment for some students, I don’t think it is for everyone. Personally, I do not think this school would have been best suited for me as a high school student. I see the appeal of PSII and I think it is a wonderful place, however I don’t think it would be wise for all schools to adopt their practices.