SEAFORTH — Pending approval of an application to bring extra energy-related curriculum to St. Marys DCVI, the Avon Maitland District School Board hopes to have Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs in each of its nine secondary schools by 2012 — or maybe even next year.

SHSM course pathways allow Ontario high school students to put emphasis on a particular career path or vocation, with courses in traditional subjects skewed to relate to that area of study. There is also a co-op work placement aspect to all SHSMs, with students interning at area businesses.

School boards must apply to the Education Ministry for extra funding for particular SHSMs in their high schools. Since the SHSM initiative was introduced four years ago, the Avon Maitland board has achieved approval for a number of ongoing SHSMs.

Most recently, a cosmetology program was approved for F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham and, according to education superintendent Jodie Baker, there’s a strong possibility the board will receive an additional $130,000 to aid in the 2010-11 start-up of that program.

Baker updated trustees on the board’s SHSM programs during a regular meeting Feb. 23. She explained that Avon Maitland’s most recent funding application — for an energy-related program at St. Marys DCVI — will, if approved, finally enable the board to offer at least one SHSM in each of its secondary schools.

Baker was uncertain if the application would be considered for the 2010-11 school year or the year after. She added that approval of the application may depend on the ability of the board to demonstrate a willingness of the St. Marys employment community to support the SHSM.

“It’s wide open,” she said, when asked about the specific needs of the application. “If you can find partnerships to make it work, and show there’s support in the community, you usually have a better chance.”

Even without an SHSM to call its own, St. Marys already plays a prominent role in the promotion of the program by the board — and potentially other boards across the province.

The town’s Grand Trunk railway bridge walkway provided the setting for a video, produced by and starring Avon Maitland employee and some-time Goderich-based actor Wes McVicor. The video – actually part of a series that also includes segments to promote specific Avon Maitland SHSMs – has drawn the attention of Education Ministry officials, who are encouraging other boards to use it as a promotional tool.

“It’s not a money-maker at all for the board because it was, partly, funded by Education Ministry money so they really have a right to use it,” commented McVicor in a recent interview. “But we’re just happy to have the Avon Maitland logo on it and to maybe have people across the province watching it.”

The Education Ministry money was part of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, which works with the board’s SHSM program to promote apprenticeships. Other funding came from the board’s arms-length fundraising agency, the Foundation for Enriching Education Huron-Perth — for which McVicor works as associate director

McVicor says he’ll use the video series locally to approach area businesses for potential apprenticeship and work placement opportunities. The videos can be viewed on the Avon Maitland website at www.yourschools.ca