Officials from Memorial University and Mount Pearl Senior High signed an agreement today to mark a learning partnership in the field of information technology.
Students from Mount Pearl Senior High, together with their principal Sheldon Barry, and Karen Kennedy, director of the Division of Lifelong Learning, gathered for the signing ceremony documenting the partnership.
The event marks the inception of a local academy at Mount Pearl Senior High based on outreach IT coursework between the two centres of learning.
The Division of Lifelong Learning focuses on developing provincial linkages and partnerships. As a regional Cisco Networking Academy, Lifelong Learning is authorized to offer the Cisco official curriculum to prepare students to write the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification that is highly recognized in the IT industry.
“Partnering in the delivery of Cisco Networking curriculum to Level 3 students will build on a shared vision of learning and will give students an opportunity to learn new skills as well as ignite a passion for further education in information technology,” Kennedy said.
Cisco provides a subset of the curriculum which can be delivered in high schools. Mount Pearl Senior High can now offer the first two of four required courses. Over the summer months, educators at the Division of Lifelong Learning trained Mount Pearl Senior High teachers in the Cisco coursework. Those individuals are prepared to deliver the Cisco curriculum to their students.