A sketch of the old Argyll Centre Edmonton campus

Argyll Centre grew out of an experiment of the mid-1990s that asked the question, “What would happen if learning opportunities were made available to students, through technology, 24 hours a day, seven days a week?” A number of Edmonton Public Schools became engaged in trying to answer this question. By 1998, Argyll Centre had been created to amalgamate the learning that had taken place about online 24/7 learning as well as to become Edmonton Public Schools' center for home education services. LearnNet, Argyll's online delivery platform, began serving students across the province of Alberta, with teachers acting as learning facilitators available to students as and when the students required help.

Since those early days, Argyll has become a leader in facilitating home-based learning opportunities. LearnNet continues to serve a wide range of students across Alberta. Home Education has diversified to include Learning Partnerships where parents and teachers share the responsibility for student education, and Blended Programs, in which students have their parents as the primary educator for part of their learning and Argyll teachers as the primary educator for other parts. Within the home education realm, Argyll's Natural Learning Community provides opportunities for students to engage in organic, experiential learning. Christian Programming is available to students across parent directed Home Education, blended, learning partnership, and teacher directed courses of study. Many Argyll students prefer to engage in Correspondence courses, supported by expert teachers.

Argyll staff of 1998 at the old Edmonton Campus.

As Argyll's expertise grew at facilitating unique learning opportunities, other programs and delivery methods were added to Argyll's portfolio. Earn While You Learn serves students who wish to gain work experience or who want to earn an income while learning. Through such offerings as the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), Work Experience, eTourism, Green Certificates (agricultural themes), and community health programming, Argyll has become a leader in combining the experiences of the working world with academic achievement. The Aboriginal Circle initiative tailors pace and design of learning to recognize and respect indigenous teachings and lifestyles. Live Online is an exciting opportunity for students to engage together in a virtual, teacher- facilitated classroom and to connect after class through technology. Alternative High School gives teachers and highly involved parents the ability to customize a program to meet provincial curriculum requirements through a wide range approaches and choice of resources.

Argyll Edmonton staff of 2008-2009 at the Terrace Heights campus.

In 2009-10, Argyll is forging ahead with ideas to strengthen its approaches and to increasingly meet student needs. The classroom-based Caraway Alternative Program is expected to be permanently assigned to Argyll in 2010, allowing ongoing work to continue at building a program of excellence, focusing on student engagement and parent involvement. Band at Argyll, operated in partnership with EPSB’s Music Enrichment Program as music to our growing repertoire and is available not only to Argyll students but to students across Edmonton and area at the beginner and intermediate levels. Adding to our already strong technological capacity, is Argyll's new Social Networking Tool, which allows students to connect as they do in commercial programs such as Facebook ©, but to do so behind a secure firewall that is monitored by parents and teachers, creating a safe, web-based environment.