Source publication date: September 18, 2026
Launch date: Not separately stated in the source
Community: Whitby / Durham Region
Format: Official school-board program announcement
Original source: Durham Catholic District School Board
Related local coverage: All About Durham
People mentioned: Kathryn Pilkington, Jo Grant, Jim Wilson and Whitby MPP Lorne Coe
Verification date: September 19, 2026
The Durham Catholic District School Board and Glen Hill Terrace have launched a Living Classroom that places personal-support-worker education inside the Whitby long-term-care community.
The program is delivered through the Archbishop Anthony Meagher Catholic Continuing Education Centre. Adult learners will combine course work with practical experience in resident-centred practice, dementia care, infection prevention and control, communication, mobility support and palliative care.
Training inside a care community
DCDSB says students will receive mentorship from long-term-care professionals while preparing for work in long-term care and community health settings. Glen Hill Terrace administrator Kathryn Pilkington described the model as a way to combine classroom instruction with practical experience.
The board says residents may also participate by sharing their experiences and perspectives with learners. Superintendent Jim Wilson said the partnership builds on more than 20 years of personal-support-worker education offered through the continuing-education centre.
The program is funded by the Ontario government and led by the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging in partnership with the Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing Education School Board Administrators.
Sources and verification
DurhamPoliticians.com read the complete DCDSB announcement and related All About Durham coverage on September 19, 2026. Program details and attributed comments are drawn from the board’s primary-source announcement. The source page did not state a separate calendar date for the launch.
Image attribution: Original conceptual editorial illustration created for this report; it does not depict the actual event or named people.
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