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: _ School leaving gives teens an alternative ~~â€" By Mary Stupart dentsâ€" who. don‘t want to go to school and aren‘t benefiting from a regular school programâ€"no longer have : to attend© classes until their 16th birthday . Thanks to a statute passâ€" ed by the provincial govâ€" ernment in February, 1975 they now have an opporâ€" tunity to leave school early in search of educational experiences in the work worlkd. The early school leaving legislation, which came into _ effect _ September. 1975 in Waterloo Region, has brought a collective sigh of relief to the lips of many _ area _ educators. They say it is a definite improvement over keeping young teenagers in school against their will. Before the legislation was passed school attenâ€" dance officers had to charge 14 and 15â€"yearâ€"olds with truancy if they skipâ€" ped school on a regular basis. However, the courts were reluctant to proseâ€" cute such minor cases. Emerson MacMillan, suâ€" pervisor for area one of the Waterloo County Board Watch this space for future announcements of auctions Rummelhart Auction Sales Co. 744â€"9679 578â€"0060 amm» IVIPMINUT AL I VRLRKL 2 EPP Quality without the cost â€" 245 King St. W.Kitchener In the Dunker Bidg. across from Kresges Mon.|Wed. 9 to 5:30, Thurs., Fri. 9 to 9, Sat. 9 to 5:30 KEN GARVEY Licensed Auctioneer . were saying ‘don‘t send _ us such petty cases." The â€" attendance counséllors ~ were caught in the middle _ between the ~schools and | the judges. It was the _ realization that this was an unnatural situation that ; _ prompted the© education > ministry to pass the early‘ ._ school leaving legislation," . _ he said. > The intent of the old $ system was to make sure . every child received an > education up to the age of z 16. This system was wellâ€" 1 intentioned but â€" ‘"unrealâ€" istic‘‘ Mr. MacMilHan said. n Some students are better â€" _ off outside the regular o schoolâ€" system _ working s or combining partâ€"time )â€" â€" studies and work. of Education is an educator.. ents must fill out. an apâ€" leaving proceduresâ€" are â€" a examined> by .a subcomâ€" step in the right direction. mittee... Parental agreeâ€" caught in a bind. The deâ€" partment of ed@ucation was saying ‘charge them with The early school leaving legislation is administered by a board of education committee and four subâ€" committees. To â€" apply for early school leaving. the student and his parâ€" Going . . . Going . . . ment. for absolutely necessary and gram for the student. The teaching staff pro vide , background informaâ€" tion on the student which the committee uses to make its decision. school attendance officer: Each school leaving subâ€" committee is composed of a school board trustee, a representative from Canâ€" ada Manpower, an attenâ€" danrce counsellior â€" and a school board official. The attendance â€" counsellors aren‘t allowed to vote on the decision to let the stuâ€" dent leave school because they must represent the interests of the student before the committee. ‘"‘The role of the comâ€" mittee is to examine each application to see if the program the parent and student have proposed is acceptable," said Mr. Macâ€" Millan, who is a member leaving. or work out a comproâ€" mise with the student and can‘t just say he wants to leave school without havâ€" ing worked out a definite program."~ A major role of the committee is to ensure that the student is not being exploited by his poâ€" tential employer, his parâ€" ents or the school. 44 form. which . is by .a subcomâ€" Parental agreeâ€" leaving school is necessary and «C 5 is have â€"a~ watchâ€"dog. safe »pâ€" guard role which is pretty eâ€" valuable,"" said Mr. Macâ€" is Millan. ‘‘We investigate nd â€" all aspects ofâ€"the student‘s +o. , T4. the studént has a definite must® sign his intent to hire the student and workâ€" ply with regulations of the Industrial Safety Act and the â€" Construction _ Safety Act. _ The task of the commitâ€" tee is often frustrating beâ€" cause federal and provinâ€" cilal statutes conflict over the legal work age of a child. In one case the committee examined. a 14â€"yearâ€"old student applied to. leave school for an apprenticeâ€" ship in industry. The school,, the student‘s parents, the attendance counsellior and the committee agreed the job was perfect for the student. However, a reguâ€" lation in the federal Inâ€" dustrial Safety Act makes it illegal for a child under 15 years of age to work in industry. Because the early school leaving committee cannot contravene existing labor laws, the student‘s request was denied. â€" . "It would be nice‘if the left hand (provincial govâ€" ernment) knew Wwhat the right hand (federal governâ€" ment) was doing," said Mr. MacMillan. permission to leave school early, he is still considered an enrolled student. The board of education retains *~ At the annual meeting of the Waterloo Regional Heriâ€" tage Foundation held recentâ€" ly in Kitchener, five atâ€" large members were rgâ€" elected to the board. They are Margaret Rowell of Waterloo, Claudette Millar of Blair, Gerald Musselman of Cambridge, Bill Thomson, regional commissioner of iÂ¥ j# .*"* :A m 4 Pc. Bedroom Suite I 2 Boudoir Lampe 7 Piece Kitchen Suite with extension Large 3â€"Seater Sofa and matching chair 2 Living Room Lamps 2 End Tables 1 Coffee Table _9 x 12‘ 20°"¢" Color Store Demos sa As Low As (While They Last) INCLUDES: 212 KING ST. E. _ KITCHENER **519â€"4120 ______DAILY__10â€"10 COLOR TV GIANT ROOMS OF NEW FURNITURE 56â€" responsibility for fiim until student is still under the {:fladicfiono(flnesehool. he doesn‘t fulfil the reâ€" sponsibilities of the agree ment, the committee can school," Mr. MacMillan must keep track of students after they leave school to make sure they are still employed or enrolled in partâ€"time studies., , Most _ students_ leave school to work partâ€"time. However. a large percentâ€" age of them combine work and correspondence courses or partâ€"time studies.‘ "It‘s opened a new aveâ€" nue for students that they never had before," said Gary Leadston, an _ atâ€" tendance counsellor. "It‘s an alternate proâ€" gram for us too. Before we had to charge them with truancy. Now we can put them on an alternate proâ€" gram... We‘re interested in the student as an indiâ€" vidual. Each program is an individual one tailored to his needs." Mr. Leadston said allowâ€" ingâ€" the student to experiâ€" ence the work world is often just what he needs. *A lot of them return to school later. They find out the working world ist‘t that glamorous and~ they miss interaction with their peer group. The main reason for students requesting early school leaving is lack of motivation for school at a **Early school leaving is planning and Gerald Eastâ€" and Mrs. Beverley Grierson man of Kitchener. of Baden. Jim Johannes of Camâ€" bridge was not reâ€"elected to the foundation â€" and Dr. David Bean of Kitchener did not stand for reâ€"election. The two new members of the foundation are Mrs. Joyce Krauel of Waterloo rXTENDED TERM PLAN INSTANT DELIVERY 50J NO $ DOWWN NO PAYMENTS TILL JUNE glamorous . andâ€" they "It‘s a little early to tell interaction with their if this figure will taper off roup."" or , increase. We â€" suspect main reason for we will have a fairly conâ€" ts requesting early stant number of students leaving is lack of . applying each year." said ation for school at a _ Mr. MacMillan. slate is elected They just have low motiâ€".. vation and no interest. If they find they need extra they may become interestâ€" _The early school leaving committee often convinces the student to return to courses for his planned career. "It‘s surprising the numâ€" ber of students who have returned to school when they learned they needed extra requirements. Often, all that‘s needed is an inâ€" dependent, third opinion," Mr. Leadston said. The early school leaving legislation also allows stuâ€" dents time off school to look for a job. ‘‘Often the students find out how hard it is to find a job and abandon the proâ€" ject. It‘s the old case of reality. If the students looked for jobs under the old system during school hours, they were classed as truant.‘" said Mr. Leadâ€" ston. © School board officials have been a little surprised at the large number of apâ€" plications they have re ceived since September. Ninetyâ€"six requests. . were received by the end of December. Only eight were rejected. Regular members of the foundation that were reâ€" appointed by regional counâ€" cil are Robert Gramlow, mayor of Wellesley, Dr. Welf Heick of Waterloo, Dr. Kenneth _ McLaughlin _ of Waterloo; Dr. Winfield Fretz of Waterloo, Mrs. Pat Roseâ€" brugh of North Dumfries township, Mrs. Kathryn Lamb of Kitchener and Elâ€" ven Shantz of Kitchener. Robert Gramlow of Welâ€" lesley was reâ€"elected chairâ€" man of the foundation for 1976. Dr. McLaughlin was elected viceâ€"chairman. 528 Victoria St. iÂ¥ , Kitchener (Beside Weston Bakeries) 745â€"6136. After hours 578â€"7154 Large Indoor Showrooms HAVE YOU DELAYED PURCHASING A MEMORIAL PHONE OR COME IN TODAY WE CAN ASSIST YOU. SUPERIOR MEMORLALS Atp