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SUNSHINE COAST — Nicholas Zalan Haines wasn’t at all sure he would graduate from high school.

A continent away from the heart of the Ojibwe culture he was born to, he started his long climb to graduation at tiny Pender Harbour Secondary on the Sunshine Coast. But he was not alone.

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Nick’s adoptive parents Rob and Val Haines reached out to the school district when he entered high school to ensure the entire “village” would guide their son as he made his way.

School District 46 employs an all-encompassing “wrap around” strategy for students that need extra support in which the student, guardians, counsellors, teachers and senior district staff get together to create a plan for success at the beginning of each year. And then they execute it together.

“High school was pretty tough for me, so I was lucky that I had all those supports,” said Haines, who graduated in June before heading to Vancouver Island University to pursue culinary arts training.