Principal Mark Maris from Parkland Composite High School (PCHS) in Edson presented his school's story at the Fall Collaborative for Moving Forward with High School Redesign in Edmonton on October 7, 2019. He spoke about their focus on high school completion and how the provincial High School Redesign initiative continues to support PCHS's various strategies to create a more student-centered learning environment. For example, along with the addition of a FLEX block of time, each PCHS student is given a comprehensive and personalized academic plan called “Your Future. Your Plan”, and they can also access additional resources and support from the Pacer Success Centre that houses academic and career advisors, an off-campus coordinator, independent learning classes, and access to the library resources. Principal Maris also shared his thoughts on the critical importance of staff building relationships with their students. "These relationships are the building blocks that allow us to help students stay in school when they struggle," said Maris. "Parkland has seen a dramatic decrease in its dropout rate because of the effort staff makes to get to know each student."To learn more about High School Redesign, please visit https://www.alberta.ca/moving-forward-with-high-school-redesign.aspx.