It also provides industry with an understanding of the educational curriculum and gives teaching staff exposure to industry. The fifteen year old education partnership between J.A. Williams High School and Portage College has offered students the opportunity to snap up jobs in the skilled trades. Each Spring, administrators from JAWS and Portage College sit down and map out blocks of time and courses the college can offer, then the school sets its timetable. The school pays for instruction time, supplies and materials, but there is no facility fee. The course offerings are different each semester, depending on where the college can fit the high schools students in.
Flexibility is an important key in the partnership.
The partnership makes a difference for many JAWS students. Many have chosen to remain in high school because of the diversity of the courses available and they have gone on to graduate from Portage College or have earned a journeyman's ticket. A lot of students are making career decisions based on the courses they have taken. Complete details of this partnership are available in this Press Release .