2025-2026 Co-op Applications are DUE FRIDAY MARCH 7th in the main office.
Co-operative Education (Co-op) involves a planned workplace experience for which a high school credit is earned. The experience offers significant opportunities for learning in a workplace/community setting to enable students to explore and acquire skills in a career, occupation, or job. Co-operative Education may be offered as half-credit or full-credit courses. Half credit courses include a 40-hour placement while full credit courses include an 80-hr placement.
Co-op requires an application, community and teacher references and an interview/discussion with the Co-op teacher before a student can be registered in the course. To participate in a Co-operative Education community-based placement, a student must be 16 years of age or be 15 and in grade 11 before the Co-op placement begins and be ready for the independent nature of community placements.
The Co-operative Education course consists of an in-school component and a placement component. The classroom component consists of pre-placement instruction, weekly reflective practice, and ongoing instruction that supports the student throughout the course and work placement. The classroom component focuses on career development, workplace readiness, and workplace health and safety. Co-operative Education placements are available in many types of work settings, reflecting the wide range of student interests and abilities. Work placements may take place during or after school hours, on weekends, and during vacations. This will depend upon employer and student availability, and the nature of the career explored.
Cooperative Education is intended to be flexible in nature. Students can be scheduled in either semester or over the school calendar year. The flexibility of co-op placements supports students in fulfilling placement requirements during the school day, on evenings or weekends, or outside the school calendar. This is often dependent upon the partnership and the experiences in which the students are engaged.
Co-operative Education should be available to any student in high school who has reached the age of 16 or 15 and in grade 11 and has met placement readiness requirements for the independent nature of credit delivery. Readiness requirements apply to all students, including students with Individualized Program Plans. If students meet the readiness requirements for the independent nature of Co-operative Education or have access to the support required for a successful placement (e.g., a job coach) on-site, they would be eligible to undertake the work placement.
The community host’s evaluation contributes to the student’s grade; however, the final grade is the supervising teacher’s responsibility. A student’s final grade for the Co-operative Education course is based on the achievement of the identified learning outcomes.
(Source: 2023, NS Department of Education and Early Childhood Development)