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Stettler Learning Centre staff gearing up for move in May

Grand opening celebrations slated for the fall
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It’s certainly a quieter season for staff and students at the Stettler Learning Centre with the ongoing pandemic, but there is exciting news just the same about a coming move in town this spring.

The Centre is re-locating to the former Vision Credit Union building just south of the Jewel Theatre. The move is set to take place in the middle of May with a grand opening slated to take place this fall.

“The staff has just been absolutely wonderful in working on this project,” said Erin Wilkie, the Learning Centre’s manager. The Centre has never had its own ‘storefront’ so the move brings a terrific opportunity to be able to really stand out in the downtown area.

Accessibility will also be much better for students and staff, said Wilkie.

“We are really excited for the location,” she said, adding that there have been a few transportation barriers for some people in relation to their current location. “The new location is absolutely marvellous.”

Meanwhile, programs have been mostly put on hold with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve closed our doors to the public but we’ve remained open for phone calls, emails and if people need access to technology,” she said, emphasizing that social distance protocols and safety measures are of course in place.

All college programming of course was suspended as well.

“We have quite a few tutors who tutor English language learners (ELL),” said Wilkie, who took on the post of manager this past January. Past posts have included working as a Family Literacy Facilitator in Big Valley as well as being employed by the Clearview School Division. “So our tutors are still continuing to touch base with their students virtually.”

In the meantime, Wilkie said that program planning for the fall sessions usually happens in May and June.

“We are going to plan everything as if it’s status quo and we can move ahead in September,” she said.

Meanwhile, the move to the new spot has been a very bright spot in an otherwise challenging season with COVID-19 being a constant worry in society these days.

“We are busy these days packing up, planning and moving forward with the renovations. We are lucky in that sense in that we have a distraction from COVID-19. I think if we didn’t have the renovations going on, our days would look a lot different,” she said. “We have a purpose with this.”

Check out www.stettlerlearning.com.



Mark Weber

About the Author: Mark Weber

I've been a part of the Black Press Media family for about a dozen years now, with stints at the Red Deer Express, the Stettler Independent, and now the Lacombe Express.
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