Sweet success: Coquitlam alternative school grads ‘inspire and humble’

In Emily Perri’s vision of her future before enrolling in Coquitlam Alternative Balanced Education, the chance to one day pursue her dream job lay somewhere between improbable and inconceivable.

“Before CABE I was struggling with mainstream school,” Perri, an alumnus from the class of 2020, said. “I wasn’t doing very good with my grades.

“I came here and the school is amazing. I was able to change my grades completely, I got A’s in everything, it was crazy.”

CABE, a District 43 alternative school with low student-teacher ratios, just held its 10th graduation in the school’s gym, 39 teens off to brighter hopes than could have been imaginable for them only a couple of years earlier.

The school uses individualized, self-paced programs in math, science, social and English, and is expanding the electives it offers.