SelfDesign Learning Foundation, the authority for the SelfDesign_® Learning Community, is funded through various streams including grants, donations and charitable gifts.

SelfDesign Learning Community is funded by the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care as a Group 1 Independent Online Learning School. This means we are funded at 63 per cent of the flat public school online learning per-student rate.

SelfDesign Learning Community also receives funding from the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care for learners with a special education designation. Funding is equivalent to 100 per cent of the public per student operating cost determined for the level of support required to provide the best possible education for the student. In other words, this funding is the same for all learners across the province.

SelfDesign Learning Community is one of the largest independent online learning schools in British Columbia and offers education to residents of B.C. We offer a personalized and flexible approach to education for approximately 2,000 learners from kindergarten to grade 12 each year.

Learners have the same opportunities to graduate as learners in brick-and-mortar (traditional classroom-based) schools. Your child can apply to post-secondary institutions to further their education and work toward a future professional career. Your child can graduate with a B.C. Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma), Adult Graduation Diploma or School Completion (“Evergreen”) Certificate.

As a new model of education for the 21st century, online learning offers solutions to many of the challenges faced by traditional brick and mortar schools. It also provides learning experiences that are flexible and supportive of the needs of today’s generation of learners.

Online learning meets provincial standards and is directed and supervised by a B.C. certified educator, with the responsibility for the program resting on SelfDesign Learning Community.

Homeschooling should not be confused with online learning. While homeschooling is the responsibility of the parent/guardian, students enrolled in an online learning school such as SelfDesign Learning Community are guided and supported by teachers certified by the B.C. Teacher Regulation Branch.

Personalized learning, in the SelfDesign Learning Community, means your child takes the lead in their own learning. We understand that not all children learn in the same way, at the same pace, in the same learning environment. At SelfDesign Learning Community, we focus on your child being at the centre of their learning journey.

It is a 21st-century approach to education that puts the needs of your child first because they are a unique individual with their own learning style, interests and goals.

Personalized learning is different than classroom-based personalized learning. Classroom-based personalized learning involves customized educational lessons to support learners’ needs yet within the limitations of a fixed curriculum and learning schedule.

What sets us apart from other online learning schools and brick-and-mortar schools is our model and philosophy which is focused on personalized and lifelong learning.

We follow the B.C. Ministry of Education and Child Care curriculum, in a way that puts your child at the centre of their learning journey. We acknowledge that learning is a process, not a product, and that it’s centred on relationships and conversation.

We guide your child, with the support of a B.C. certified educator, to develop a personalized learning plan for your child that will help them achieve the path to completion that best suits them – B.C. Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma), Adult Graduation Diploma, or School Completion (“Evergreen”) Certificate.

We also engage professional service providers to support your child in areas such as music, art, speech and occupational therapy, physical education classes, and more.

You are an expert in knowing your child and are a valued part of the circle of relationships that include parent/guardian, learner and educator.

All SelfDesign Learning Community educators, service providers and contractors are required to submit a criminal record check for working with children, youth and vulnerable adults in order to provide services to SelfDesign Learning Community learners.

Yes, SelfDesign Learning Community provide learners with Indigenous learning opportunities so they can understand the world and its relations through a framework of Indigenous wisdom and philosophy.

Learning takes place in your home, online, on your travels and in your local community.

We provide you and your child with digital technologies and resources as a complement to real-world learning. This includes access to subscriptions such as Discovery Education and BrainPop, which we provide free of charge.

Your child will have the option to access to real-time online connections with their peers and B.C. certified educators using web conferencing technology. They also work with their educator on the digital platform for communication, the ePortfolio, as well as access resources and extend their learning through the SelfDesign Learning Experiences Library.

We also support learning through relationships and in the community by providing various optional group learning opportunities and in-person events such as:

• Online workshops for grades 6 to 12
• Online forums for learners and parents/guardians
• Seasonal, fun-filled in-person camp opportunities for grades 9 to 12 (five per year)
• Family camps (two per year)
• Special interest clubs
• Work experience or apprenticeship options for youth in grades 10 to 12
• Yearly commencement ceremony
• Other special events

At SelfDesign Learning Community, we assess our learners based on competencies.

Because our kindergarten to Grade 12 program is based on competency, we assess learning not through reporting, but through a process we call Observing for Learning. Our B.C. certified educators participate in an ongoing weekly conversation with you and your child. This type of communication and dialogue is led by your educator.

In the Observing for Learning process, you observe and reflect on your child’s learning during that week which includes describing learning activities as well as the learner’s engagement or emotional response. Your educator responds, reflects and shares in observing, and also matches your child’s learning with B.C. Ministry of Education and Child Care requirements, from kindergarten to Grade 12.

Your educator will coach you and your child in how to observe daily activities, assisting you in noticing learning as it unfolds in everyday moments.

As your child becomes a youth, they collaborate directly with the educator in the Observing for Learning process, with parent/guardian-support as needed. This fosters and allows your child to form a deepened awareness of their own integrated learning, goals, interests and skills related to learning to learn such as time management, flexible thinking, and organizational skills.

Youth in grade 10-12 also engage in theme-based learning that is assessed in personalized, supportive and relationship-based ways that meet Ministry of Education guidelines for high school courses.

You and your child will be matched with one of SelfDesign’s 175 B.C. certified educators, called learning consultants, who guide learning in your home, online and in your community. They work with you and your child one-on-one to co-create individualized goals, interacting on a weekly basis with curiosity and inspiration. They provide direction and resources to the learner while validating learning for academic credit.

The role of the educator evolves as your child develops, from providing direct educational support for parents/guardians of younger learners to being a mentor and guide for youth as they enact their personalized learning.

Educators are matched with learners and families in the following ways:

• Educators agree to work with your family based on the information you provide, and consideration of whether it’s a good fit for both parties.
• Your family and the educator work together, potentially over the course of multiple years, until one or both parties decides to leave or a switch is made to another educator.
• If your child needs support services, a learning consultant is chosen for you based on your child’s needs, and you work together until one or both parties decides to leave or a switch is made to another educator.

Parents/guardians are vital members of the learning team at SelfDesign.

You know your child’s needs best and often have the clearest ideas about what types of learning activities will best facilitate your child’s development. Our educators will take this input and work closely with your family to develop a learning plan that meets the learning needs of you child.

Being a parent/guardian of a SelfDesign learner does have a time commitment and it varies for each learner. Parents/guardians of learners in kindergarten to Grade 9 support learners at home and in their community and provide weekly communication through a process we call Observing for Learning.

Learners in grades 10-12 take a larger role in their own learning process and often do their own communicating through Observing for Learning, with support from their parent/guardian for home and community-based learning. Parents/guardians of learners receiving support services are required to provide additional supports for learners and engage in additional communication with educators.

At the beginning of each learning year, your learning consultant will help your family craft an individualized learning plan for your child, taking into account their interests, goals and activities. You’ll collaborate with your learning consultant to plan for activities, learning experiences and resources that fit your child’s needs. SelfDesign does not send you any specific curriculum to engage with but supports your child’s learning in a personalized way.

We also give you access to our Learning Experience Library which includes more than 150 curated resource offerings to explore. These Learning Experiences contain videos, book suggestions, articles, hands-on activities and more; and each one is linked to the B.C. curriculum in a cross-curricular way.