Student who fought for YPT program delighted by success
Posted Jun 10, 2011 05:47:14 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Grade 10 student who made it her mission to keep the Youth Pathways and Transition program
going at the quinpool education centre is a happy young woman today.
Shannon Simpson was involved in petitions, a Facebook campaign and a video presentation to the Halifax Regional School Board to show how important the program was to the students.
The board decided not to eliminate the program this week and Shannon tells News 95.7 she’s very happy.
“I’m really excited, I can’t believe it actually,” she said. “I guess I’m happy because they finally opened their eyes.”
The YPT program is offered to students with high absentee rates or who can’t function in a conventional classroom. Shannon has said the program saved her life and kept her in school, and has had similar results for most participants.
She said she just couldn’t stand by and let it be cut in order to save money.
“I knew that I wasn’t going to give up,” she said. “No matter how hard anyone else tried, I was going to try my best so that I knew that whether it closed or stayed I had tried my best.”
The number of staff allocated to YPT has been reduced from nine to five, and the program will now be available only to high school students.
