Lord Beaverbrook High School

 The Canadian Academy of
Travel & Tourism:
a focus on
Lord Beaverbrook
High School
Calgary, Alberta
A Case Study: Lord Beaverbrook High School
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Canadian Academy of Travel & Tourism
CATT Background
The Canadian Academy of Travel & Tourism is specially designed for students within the high
school system as an introduction and/or enrichment to tourism high school programming provincially
and territorially. It has operated in Canadian schools since 1995. The program can act as added
value or enrichment to existing local and provincial tourism programming or as a stand alone
course/credit. CATT can be introduced in a high school at one of three different levels: Gold, Level II
and Level I.
CATT aims to promote the national importance of tourism among young people, to highlight
the career opportunities in tourism and to develop skills through national standardized learning
outcomes associated with curriculum learning activity sets for educators to use academically and
experientially in their high schools.
Its mission is to introduce and promote careers in the tourism industry while students pursue their
high school studies. Students enrolled in the program follow regular high school curriculum with a
“specialization” in tourism. Academy students demonstrate learning outcomes referenced to the
National Occupational Standards for Transferable Skills established by the Canadian Tourism Human
Resource Council, the Employability Skills 2000+ assembled by the Conference Board of Canada
and Human Resource and Social Development Essential Skills.
The Canadian Academy of Travel & Tourism is a program
of the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council
A Case Study: Lord Beaverbrook High School
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Canadian Academy of Travel & Tourism: A Case Study
The following is an in-depth look at the Academy Gold-level
program independently run within a secondary school setting.
With a commitment to tourism studies and exploring careers in
the industry, each Academy program is a unique operation,
flavoured by the culture and the spirit of the
surrounding community.
The School and the Community
Lord Beaverbrook High School is situated in the southwest area of Calgary known as Acadia. The Grade 9
– Grade 12 school has nearly 2000 students and includes an “Advanced Placement” program for academically
advanced students, an “Arts-Centred Learning” program for students who excel in the arts, and a “Career
Pathways” program for those students wishing to explore career and life skills options. The CATT Gold School
program is offered through Career Pathways. The school prides itself on high academic standards, with a focus
on post-secondary entrance. In 2009, students graduating from Lord Beaverbrook were awarded approximately
$600,000 in scholarships and bursaries.
Lord Beaverbrook is located in a heavily populated area approximately 15 minutes away from downtown
Calgary. The surrounding area is made up of a number of newer, affluent subdivisions. The average local
household income is over $50,000 per year and unemployment rates in the area are very low. Family focus
within the school population is on attaining a post-secondary degree or diploma.
CATT Gold School Program at Lord Beaverbrook
The CATT Gold School Program has been part of the Lord Beaverbrook curriculum for three years. It is one
of the smaller programs in the school, with just four classes and one teacher dedicated full time to travel and
tourism. The small group of students in the program have developed a real sense of “family”, which prevents
them from feeling lost in the large student population.
Before graduating from high school, Grade 12 students in Alberta must pass standard provincial exams.
Curriculum is very rigid, and emphasis in Grade 12 is on academic subjects and preparation for the provincial
exams. Because of the flexible nature of the CATT program, staff involved in the CATT Gold School program
have been able to find ways to fit the required modules into the regular curriculum.
Students finishing Grade 9 at Lord Beaverbrook have a wide variety of Grade 10 courses and options to
choose from and Academy administrators promote their program heavily. Grade 10 and 11 Academy students
go into each Grade 9 class and talk about their curriculum, skills, trips, and hands-experiences in the program.
As part of their CATT requirements, senior students design and distribute posters and design a travel and tourism
focused web page for the school site. Academy students also promote the program and raise funds for trips by
selling “Halloween-o-grams”.
A Case Study: Lord Beaverbrook High School
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School Staff Involvement
There is just one full-time CATT travel and tourism teacher at Lord Beaverbrook High School. Through
careful planning, and by taking full advantage of resources made available by CATT and Emerit, she has been
able to develop modules and schedule classes for all three levels. The flexible CATT curriculum has allowed her
to modify modules slightly to fit the rigid Alberta curriculum. Guidance counsellors and teachers from other
departments help out when necessary by sitting in on intake interviews, exit interviews, and portfolio
presentations. Representatives from the Calgary Health Department and provincial Ministry of Labour come into
the school to teach FoodSafe and other certification modules.
CATT Curriculum at Lord Beaverbrook
The Grade 12 emphasis on academic subjects and preparation for provincial exams is a potential stumbling
block for Academy students at Lord Beaverbrook. In order to accommodate this, program coordinators give
students a head start by including three of the required CATT credit courses in Grade 10: Tourism Industry,
Accommodations, and Food & Beverage. In this way, students can complete a larger section of the required
course work when the school academic requirements are a little more relaxed. By introducing more of the CATT
credit courses earlier, program administrators feel that they give students more of a sense of the serious nature
of the program, while discouraging those students who may think that travel and tourism is an “easy credit”.
At Lord Beaverbrook, the focus of CATT Gold curriculum is on challenging projects that combine a variety
of travel and tourism related skills within a framework of essential skills. To complete the Customer Service
Module, students work in teams to develop a model of a charter airline company including a business plan,
marketing plans, and budgeting.
To compensate for the limited number of “community” events offered in the urbanized area, Academy staff
bring a range of speakers to the school. These representatives from industry, government, and education
provide students with insight into all aspects of the travel and tourism industry, demonstrate what employers
expect from workers, and what workers can expect on the job. Regular guests include:
•
Alberta Hotel Lodging Association
•
Travel Insurance Industry Representatives
•
Tour Operators
•
Organizations offering “Gap Year” international volunteer opportunities
•
Professional Event Planners
•
Tourism Calgary
•
Delta Bow Valley Hotel
•
University of Calgary, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Mount Royal College
•
Owner of a popular themed restaurant in downtown Calgary
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Responsible Tourism and the National Park System
Responsible tourism is a key concept of the Gold School Program, and the national parks in Alberta provide
excellent opportunities for Academy students to explore this concept. Lord Beaverbrook CATT staff work closely
with Parks Canada to develop modules that give students an understanding of the concept of responsible
tourism. Parks Canada staff provide a wealth of information on the park system and responsible tourism. They
also lead an on-site seminar at Cave and Basin National Historic Site near Banff. This important national site
was the birthplace of the Canadian National Park system in 1885. During their one-day visit, CATT Gold
students learn about the history of the park system, sustainable tourism, balancing tourism and the environment,
and other important issues. Whether the students continue in their travel and tourism studies after Grade 12 or
not, these are important concepts that will help to make them more responsible adults.
The CATT Gold School Program and Essential Workplace Skills
Lord Beaverbrook staff recognizes that the development of Essential Workplace Skills is one of the most
important aspects of the CATT Gold School Program. Over the past few years the focus of education in Canada
has evolved. While academic excellence is still an important goal, educators now believe that the development
of Essential Workplace Skills is of equal value. Whether high school students continue to post-secondary
education or head straight into the labour force, these are the skills that will help them to survive and thrive in
school and the workplace. When applied to their personal lives, these same skills help them to be self-confident,
productive, and effective members of society.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has worked closely with industry to identify the
skills that are most important in over 200 careers. These skills have been placed in order of importance and
organized into National Occupational Classifications or NOCs. Learning outcomes of the CATT Gold School
Program are tied to skills established by the National Occupational Standards for Transferable Skills established
by the CTHRC through the Conference Board of Canada and HRSDC Essential Skills.
While the skill set is not the same for all occupations, there are components of each skill in most
occupations. These Essential Skills form the framework of the CATT Gold School Academy Program. The
Essential Skills included in the program include:
•
Effective Communicator – the ability to communicate by speaking and writing
•
Technologically Literate Worker – the ability to use technology effectively
•
Team Player – the ability to work as part of a team
•
Numeracy – the ability to work with numbers
•
Problem Solver and Decision Maker – the ability to solve problems and make sound decisions
•
Information Processor and Organizer– the ability to gather information and organize into a useful
format
•
Time Manager – the ability to manage time effectively
•
Independent Worker – the ability to work effectively without supervision
A Case Study: Lord Beaverbrook High School
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•
Adaptable Worker – the ability to accept change on the job
•
Business Systems User – the effective use of documents
Projects completed by Academy students are designed to strengthen a combination of Essential Skills in a
theme that is focused on the travel and tourism industry.
•
Following a workshop by the owner of a popular Calgary restaurant with a “Southwest” theme,
Academy students plan their own theme-based restaurant from concept and budget, through menu
development and decor, to marketing. This gives them the opportunity to develop a number of
essentials skills: Independent Worker, Numeracy, Problem Solver and Decision Maker, Time Manager,
and Effective Communicator.
•
Grade 12 students complete another major project on the development of a charter airline company,
including the identification of a customer base and development of business and marketing plans.
Students follow all of the steps involved in starting a successful business, and then present their findings
to the class.
•
Once a year, a human resources manager from the five-star Banff Springs Hotel visits Lord Beaverbrook
to talk about the hotel. The presentation includes the history of the Banff Springs Hotel, the essentials of
five-star service, marketing to an upscale demographic, and other aspects of running a large hotel. The
HR specialist also spends time discussing the importance of Essential Skills in the workplace.
Lord Beaverbrook Students after CATT
A high percentage of Lord Beaver graduates eventually complete post-secondary education. An estimated
20–25% of students go into college or university travel and tourism programs after high school. Other students
take one to two years off and then return to travel and tourism; still others complete other post-secondary studies
and then work in travel-related careers. Whether they pursue careers in tourism or find themselves working in
another industry, the students will use the skills that they have developed in the CATT Gold program throughout
their working life.
One of Lord Beaverbrook’s first participants in the CATT program is now a PhD candidate at the University
of Arizona. When he entered the CATT Program in Grade 10 he was very shy and totally lost in the large Lord
Beaverbrook student population. He recently phoned his travel and tourism teacher at Lord Beaverbrook to tell
her that he had just given a presentation to 500 students at the university, and that he could not have done it
without the communications skills and self-confidence that he gained in the CATT School Program.
A Case Study: Lord Beaverbrook High School
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