The most important impact of setting up a community learning centre is the emphasis placed on partners, who contribute in cash or in kind. “Together, we can do more” is the maxim that describes and underpins the relationship of co-operation between the school and the community. We all work together to expand the possibilities of lifelong learning.
Last year, our partners provided a contribution equivalent to more than $2.5 million. We have relied on more than 350 partners in various projects. This allowed us to offer services, resources and programs that did not exist before the creation of the CLCs.
In its March 2011 report, the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages indicates:
[The partners] contribute to the revitalization of the English-speaking communities, help to develop a sense of belonging to the community, provide an opportunity to build bridges between generations and between the school and the community, while offering services and activities that are tailored to the needs of each region.
The work with partners from various sectors is a balancing act. The CLCs endeavour to meet the particular needs of their community, whether it is with youth, in health, education, art or culture, while encouraging more substantial community involvement, in order to improve the chances of success and student participation.
Furthermore, the CLCs increased communities' connectedness, reduced isolation, improved accessibility to various activities, information and resources, all in English, and allowed for services to be provided in a new form, services that hitherto were not accessible to community members.
The CLCs helped build what was sorely lacking in the anglophone community: networks, partnerships and relationships, not only between the schools and the existing anglophone community organizations, but also with the services offered by the provinces and the regions, the NGOs and with various policy discussion groups.