Co-op Education Lead Teachers:
Mrs. Marcia Cho, marcia.cho@tdsb.on.ca and Ms. Susanna Scocchia, susanna.scocchia@tdsb.on.ca
Business Studies & Cooperative Education Assistant Curriculum Leader:
Ms. Susanna Scocchia, ext. 20105, susanna.scocchia@tdsb.on.ca
Course Offerings:
2 credits (morning or afternoon ), 4 credits (morning and afternoon)
Introduction:
Cooperative Education is a ministry-approved program that allows TDSB students to earn secondary school credits while completing a work placement. The program consists of a co-op course monitored by a cooperative education teacher, a related curriculum course in any subject, and a work placement. Co-op is an opportunity for students to “try-out” a career which will help them in making decisions for the future.
Students can choose from a variety of work placements; for example: a school classroom, an accounting firm, a retail store, a hospital, a senior’s home, or a garage among others. Students are encouraged to select a work placement that relates to a career they are interested in or is connected to their chosen post-secondary pathway.
Students can apply two co-op credits towards their compulsory high school graduation requirements, with no limit on earning optional co-op credits. Co-op placements are arranged for students by their secondary school. Credits are earned through in-class instruction as well as the demonstration of course expectations at the work placement.
An application package with references is required to be completed for admission into the Co-op program. An interview with the co-operative education teacher will be scheduled once the Expression of Interest Form is submitted.
“I am a SHSM-ICT student and I got a co-op placement at RBC in their technology and operations sector. I worked everyday in a team of five to come up with a solution with a problem RBC had. I developed important skills like design thinking, programming in Python and HTML, prototyping, teamwork, and presentation skills. I did cool tasks that could not be done is a school setting like conducting user interviews and presenting a pitch presentation to an RBC senior director. I gained valuable experience everyday. I talked to mentors and got wonderful advice and built meaningful friendships and connections with my teammates and managers. I would strongly advise everyone to take co-op. You get an opportunity to try out a field and see if it fits what you are interested in. You gain experience and learn so much more.” (February 2021)
"I worked with VRGEN/Gamepill, and worked with them throughout the final quadmester of the 2020-2021 school year. I worked with them online, playtesting their new game, Smashball, and it has been one of the best experiences I’ve had throughout my high school career. Throughout the placement, I played their game, participated in tournaments, and if I encountered any bugs, I would work with one of the programmers to figure out what went wrong and how to reproduce the bug. I learned how to record gameplay, how to work with others in a workplace environment, and how to recognize when I encountered a bug, and learned how to predict what went wrong inorder to reproduce it. I would definitely recommend this placement, as this is just a fun way to learn how to get into streaming/competitive games while learning some important skills linked to coding all at the same time." (June 2021)
“It was great to join the Co-op program at Vanier and meet my amazing Co-op teacher. I loved how we had nice introductions and lessons before we got into the real Co-op placement. Spending my time with residents at Cummer Lodge Long Term Care Home, I have learned to open my heart and how to communicate. I can feel the connection between my Co-op team and the residents. But the best thing is the seeing smiles on those who I have brightened their day. "The best way to multiply your happiness is share it with others ". (June 2021)
"My co-op took place at the TDSB Be Our Guest Program. I performed multiple tasks concerning the hospitality industry and ways to solve the problem that have made itself known due to the ongoing pandemic. I have gained knowledge of learning how to be more confident in giving presentations, and working with people better than I already had. Any advice that I would give to people who would like to take Co-op in the future is to just be confident and have an open mind concerning where you might be placed, it may not be your first choice but it will help you in gaining resources that are useful for the workplace." (June 2021)