A student complexity program pioneered in Rocky Mountain House will expand to Drayton Valley next year as Wild Rose School Division looks to better support students with severe behavioural challenges closer to home.
Wild Rose School Division (WRSD) announced a second RISE program will open at Frank Maddock High School beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
The expansion is expected to reduce lengthy transportation times for students from the north end of the division who currently travel to Rocky Mountain House for specialized programming.
“The round trip for Drayton Valley would be approximately an hour and a half each way,” said Leah Odynski, director of inclusive services with WRSD. “We feel like it’ll be much more successful if we can have this program in Drayton Valley so we can service our north end.”
The RISE program — which stands for Reaching for Individual Success Everyday — was first introduced in Rocky Mountain House in 2024 following an increase in student complexity after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program currently operates out of Pioneer Middle School in Rocky Mountain House and supports between 10 and 12 students with one teacher and three specially trained educational assistants.
Odynski said the program is designed for students struggling behaviourally and academically in traditional classroom settings, rather than students with cognitive disabilities or complex medical needs.
“We believe in Wild Rose that students struggle behaviourally often because they have a lack of skill,and often struggle to be successful in a regular classroom environment,” she said.
The program focuses on social-emotional learning, project-based education, and community involvement while collaborating with families and support agencies.
Students also have access to speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, district psychologists, and outside behavioural specialists when required.
Odynski said the ultimate goal is to help students transition successfully back into their home schools after six months to two years in the program.
“In the Rocky program over the last three years, we’ve been able to return five students to the classroom with great success,” she said.
WRSD officials said the Drayton Valley expansion will effectively double the division’s capacity to support students with complex behavioural needs.
Odynski added the program has also helped reduce aggressive and violent incidents within schools across the division.
“We’ve reduced those incidences dramatically,” she said. “I believe that RISE is one of the key factors in that.”
Leah Odynski speaking to the reduction in critical incidents over the last few years
She added that the division intentionally waited before expanding the model outside Rocky Mountain House.
“We wanted to make sure we had the model and the formula just right before we extended it beyond Rocky,” Odynski said.
The new Drayton Valley program is expected to welcome students beginning in September 2026.
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