Editor,
The PAN’s coverage of the closing of the South Surrey White Rock Learning Centre has been excellent. Anna Burn’s 1/25/25 article It’s a real tragedy: Community rallies for learning centre, highlights how by creating a safe space where marginalized students feel supported and understood, the Learning Centre provides an environment in which they can learn and thrive, and how, in some cases, it can literally save their lives.
As the article explains, students that go to the Learning Centre often suffer from trauma, they are often poor, sometimes drug addicted and sometimes suffering from suicide ideation. None have done well in regular schools.
The Learning Centre provides early intervention giving them the opportunity to "rebuild their lives, find their passions, connect with the community and get the support that they need." Without this intervention there is a high risk that many of these students would end up homeless, drug addicted or involved with gangs and crime, with the commensurate costs for society that all those outcomes entail.
Instead, the vast majority have become fully engaged, functional young adults as demonstrated by the creativity, spirit, communication skills and intelligence of the students involved in trying to save the centre, and the many testimonials on the Save The Learning Centres FB page by parents, students and educators to the program’s success. Given that the Learning Centre has achieved the type of outcome that our elected officials repeatedly proclaim is their objective, it is incomprehensible that a program like this would be cut.
The Surrey Board of Education has re-confirmed their intention to close the South Surrey White Rock Learning Centre in June as planned, but the group of former students advocating to keep the centre open haven’t given up and will be appealing this decision again at the next board meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.
Community support for keeping the centre open has been fabulous, and for those interested in attending the meeting to show their support it will be held in Room #2020 at the District Education Centre located at 14033 92nd Ave. A strong turnout would provide additional impetus for the elected board to change its mind.
Carolyn Latzen, Surrey
