Building Community in Calgary Classrooms

Building Community & Connection in Classrooms

BCCC

Building Community in Calgary Classrooms

Building Community & Connection in Classrooms is a collaborative opportunity with schools across Alberta. This early Fall service-learning placement gives students entering their final year of the program the chance to work alongside teachers as they begin a new school year. Participants support the school start-up process and work with teachers to develop classroom community and foster relationships with students from August until mid-September.

Participants have the opportunity to actively engage in classroom settings, based on the needs of each class. Participants are also encouraged to become involved in other aspects of the school community during and after their service placement to give them a broader sense of how to develop community in different settings.

Who?

For students entering their EDUC 500s in the Fall semester.

Working with students K-12 depending on the school/teacher/classroom you are paired with.

What?

School-based program

Focus on building relationships in the first month of the school year.

When?

Weekdays during school hours

Late August to late September

 

Where?

Various schools throughout Calgary

We are currently trying to determine if there may be a possibility of rural and remote placements available as well.

Logistics

  • Participants will meet their school partners before the school year begins to begin developing their relationship and learning about how schools prepare for the start of a new school year. These activities may include supporting teachers as they prepare for the new term, attending in-service sessions, and brainstorming community-building activities for the start of the term.
  • Pre-service teachers will volunteer in classrooms in the school during the first three-four weeks of school. In-classroom activities will focus on active engagement in a classroom setting and may include working with students one-on-one and in small groups or supporting teachers as they develop community in their classrooms.

Post-Placement

  • Students who are interested in continuing their placements after the program is over are encouraged to discuss this possibility with the teachers they are working with. While this may not be an option for all students, it is sometimes possible to transition the placement into an ongoing classroom support/coaching role. Please note: While we encourage students to engage in their school community after this placement has ended, we are not able to place students with the same school/teacher during their Field 3 placement.
  • Pre-service teachers will participate in a group meeting at the end of their placement (approximately 1 hour). This group meeting will provide pre-service teachers with the opportunity to reflect on the service-learning experience, and to guide improvements for the program.

Requirements

  • Participating pre-service teachers must have successfully completed Field 2 and be entering the final year of their BEd program.
  • Participants must be available to attend the full day professional learning opportunities in late August. 
  • Pre-service teachers need a current Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening. 

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Design and implement a variety of activities that meet students’ interests and learning needs
  • Examine how programs and educators create communities that are conducive to teaching and learning
  • Gain experience working with youth in a classroom setting
  • Identify specific opportunities for you to contribute to program communities in a positive, professional manner
  • Model positive behaviour for children, youth, teachers, and parents
  • Navigate new challenges as an educator with the support and guidance of a mentor in a similar field
  • Share and receive knowledge regarding teacher education and teaching practice
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Fall 2025 Applications are now open!

  1. Log on to Elevate and go to My Werklund Experiences > Courses/Programs
  2. Find the BCCC program and click Apply
  3. Complete the Step 1 of the Application

Apply on Elevate by June 15, 2025!

BCCC FAQ

We open up applications for BCCC before you leave for summer break so that more students can learn about the opportunity.

For the first few days before your university courses begin, we ask that you are available to be at your placement school for the full day(s) of PD and prep. 

BCCC is a voluntary and optional program, so once classes start, your volunteer schedule will depend on your class schedule. You can work with the host schools at your first meeting to determine what timing will work best for you both.

You cannot miss class time for this opportunity.

BCCC may seem like another Field Practicum, but there are no partner teachers or assessments. Host schools vary on how they work with our students. Some schools will have you work with one or two classrooms, or some may have you going into many different classrooms, depending on the timing. This is something you can talk with your host school about at your first meeting, and we will have resources to support you either way!

BCCC has fewer host schools and placement options than Field, so we cannot guarantee how close placements will be to you. We do our best to match you based on your area(s) of preference, as well as any relevant subject matter, teaching interests, and grade preferences.

Our host schools take this on as an optional and additional service to the profession and our students. Similar to placement distance, we don't have always have a lot of options for school specializations. We will place you in as close of a match to your goals as possible, but wherever you end up volunteering with BCCC, you can find transferable skills and experiences towards your future career.

...what a fabulous opportunity it was to have these students with us for the past month. They have come off and on in their spare time and have been so valuable to supporting our students and teachers... Their initiative and enthusiasm were both greatly appreciated. We have absolutely loved having them here with us.

BCCC Principal

It takes a few years for most teachers before they experience what we got to experience. Many teachers would feel overwhelmed in a new school at a new position. The advantage this placement has given us is that it's shown us how things work behind the scenes before the students come in and how important it is to have things setup correctly.

BCCC Participant

We got to see how teachers prepare for their first day and also how they begin establishing relationships with their students. It was also interesting to see the 'hiccups' in preparing for the first day and how the admin and teachers worked together to get through it.

BCCC Participant