Life in high school can be tough if you can’t relate to the learning methods. Perhaps you can’t focus for more than a few minutes. Maybe you’ve never felt comfortable in school. Maybe you don’t care about education because you don’t feel safe.

The University of Winnipeg Collegiate is trying to overcome the barriers that some students face in public school – but they just can’t meet the demand.

In September, a model school on the fourth floor of Wesley Hall opened its doors to provide select high school students with the extra attention they need to do well.

“We encourage them to learn about how they learn,” said Ian Elliott, teacher at the model school. “The kids love it.”

The school, named the Innovative Learning Centre, currently has 20 students, with three graduating this spring. This will free three more spots for next year.

Students arrive at the school by referral from other organizations, like guidance counselors and public school teachers.

The referred students had shown great potential in school, but needed a different environment to help achieve it.

“ I don’t feel the struggle here.

Kayla Ducharme, student at the U of W Collegiate model school

“The goal is to increase access to post-secondary education for children who are underrepresented,” said acting director Gerri Zacharias, who is also a teacher at the Innovative Learning Centre.

One student attending classes with Zacharias and Elliott is Kayla Ducharme.

“I feel more safe here,” she said. “I usually don’t feel that way.”

Kayla is in Grade 9 and was not finding her experience in public school satisfying.

“The biggest difference here would be the school work,” she said. “Here it’s work-at-your-own-pace. I don’t feel the struggle here.”

Kayla was referred to the program through Big Brothers, Big Sisters (BBBS). She said she was referred because they saw something in her they didn’t see in others: a love of learning.

“I really do feel like I can go on to university,” she said, happily.

The model school is set to move into the Richardson College for the Environment when it is completed in 2010. This will allow the school to take in more students and hire more teachers.

For now, the model school has only two teachers – still a better student-to-teacher ratio than most public schools.

Due to the space restrictions, the school does not have a waiting list. They don’t want to raise hopes unnecessarily, Zacharias said.

Since the model school is only in the first year of operation, recent budget cuts at the U of W suggest there may not be adequate funding for all programs.

But the model school won’t suffer, Zacharias said.

The school is funded through donations from the Faculty of Education, the U of W, U of W Collegiate and a variety of other businesses.

They receive money through the Winnipeg Foundation, but not from them. The Foundation acts as a mediator to other funders, Zacharias said.

As students are referred to the model school, referees sometimes provide funding.

BBBS Winnipeg was able to financially sponsor the six students it referred, Zacharias said.

“We can be fair and treat each child differently,” she said, explaining every student in the model school has an opportunity to blossom in their own way.