The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Donna Leask

Since 1998, Edmonton Public Schools has included a commitment to support and strengthen program delivery to Aboriginal students in its priority documents. Why?

It is important to recognize the efforts made by many over the years to improve Aboriginal education. However, the district recognizes that, despite efforts by school and district staff, self-identified Aboriginal students do not perform as well than their non-Aboriginal counterparts on standard measures of achievement and also that self-identified Aboriginal student graduation rates continue to be disappointingly low. The district has a responsibility to provide the necessary support services and programming to improve Aboriginal student achievement, retention and graduation rates.

As of September 30, 2001, Edmonton Public Schools had approximately 5,500 self-identified Aboriginal students, representing approximately seven percent of the district's total student population. The district's self-identified Aboriginal student population has increased steadily since 1995, when the district first began collecting such information. It must be noted, however, that the self-identified Aboriginal student count does not reflect the actual number of Aboriginal students in our schools. District staff estimate that as much as 10 percent of the district's total school population is Aboriginal while acknowledging that some students and parents are reluctant to self-identify themselves as Aboriginal.

Approximately 15 percent of Aboriginal students attend the elementary and junior high Awasis programs at Prince Charles and Sherbrooke schools, the Rites of Passage Program offered through Balwin School, and high school at the recently opened Amiskwaciy Academy. Approximately 85 percent of the district's remaining self-identified Aboriginal student population attends community schools. About 50 district schools have a 10 percent or higher Aboriginal student population, though this number is expected to rise given that, according to the 1996 Census, the Aboriginal population is growing at a rate 2.5 times that of any other group in Canadian society and the fact that more than half the Aboriginal population is under the age of 25.

Although the picture of Aboriginal student achievement continues to be discouraging, this is not to say that many individual schools have not tried or are not testing a variety of measures to improve their Aboriginal student achievement. Schools such as Prince Charles and Amiskwaciy employ their own Aboriginal liaisons, who provide student and family support. These schools make efforts to incorporate an Aboriginal perspective into the curriculum. Other schools, such as Abbott, receive the weekly support of an Aboriginal liaison from Aboriginal Education (AE). Still other schools, such as Rundle, use an Aboriginal liaison from Aboriginal Education in tandem with staff from Aboriginal support agencies.

What does the commitment to strengthen program delivery for Aboriginal students look like on a day-to-day basis? The district created an AE leadership position to provide advice, set direction and make recommendations to the district on matters related to the education of Aboriginal students. The district also established an Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee to work with the Supervisor of Aboriginal Education. This committee, which includes elders, Aboriginal high school students and representatives from Aboriginal agencies or agencies that offer services to Aboriginal people, provides ongoing advice and input to the district on educational issues. In addition, a principals' committee on Issues and Strategies in Aboriginal Education works with the Supervisor of Aboriginal Education. This committee supports principals as they learn effective strategies to improve Aboriginal student success. Principals share best practices and devise plans to assist the district in formulating long-term plans to support Aboriginal education. The Supervisor of Aboriginal Education also presents awareness, issues and strategy sessions at the Principal Development Institutes and New Teacher Institutes.

The AE unit works out of Edmonton Public's Central Services and provides school and district support on a noncost recovery basis. There are five liaisons who provide a host of services and supports, including teacher consultations, class presentations, student counselling and support, home visits, case conferences and mediation to approximately 80 of the district's 206 schools. Liaisons fulfill both a support and advocacy role that may involve recommending resources to teachers, helping parents interpret assessment results, attending case conferences, board hearings, youth justice committee hearings and expulsion hearings. There is also an increasing demand for the Aboriginal liaisons to provide such services to approximately 20 schools for one to two days per week on a regular basis. (Currently, these services are provided to Abbott, Brightview, Westminster, Lawton, R.J. Scott, Prince Charles, L.Y. Cairns, Ross Sheppard, Balwin, M.E. LaZerte and Youngstown schools.) AE staff continue to provide and facilitate AE awareness training sessions for school, district staff and senior administration. AE staff also work with Leadership Services to resolve placement issues for Aboriginal students and represent the district on approximately 20 community boards and committees dealing with issues affecting Aboriginal people. This community involvement is critical if the district is to continue building bridges to the Aboriginal community.

Aboriginal Education staff are endeavouring to provide more educationally based, rather than social-work-based, supports to school and district staff. The district's Blueprints for Supporting Teaching and Learning model has encouraged AE staff to explore ways to further support Aboriginal student achievement. AE staff are considering ways to assist schools in identifying and implementing their instructional focus and to ensure that an Aboriginal perspective is included.

Furthermore, AE staff assist schools in researching, selecting and implementing Aboriginal resources and effective strategies and are committed to helping schools engage families and the community in supporting their school's instructional focus. The staff believe that these efforts will result in the overall improvement in Aboriginal student retention and success.

In addition, AE staff continue to work with district teachers and Resource Development Services to develop the Aboriginal Resource Collection list for district schools. The district's partnership with the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society has resulted in the Rites of Passage Program, which is designed to better assist and educate at-risk Aboriginal junior high school students.

In addition to its district-focused work, AE has worked with district staff, Alberta Learning and Aboriginal educators from other jurisdictions to develop Aboriginal Studies 10, 20 and 30. AE staff have also supported the work of district staff and Alberta Learning to develop a framework of K–12 Cree Language and Culture Curriculum.

How else can we better support Aboriginal student achievement? We can strive to dismantle the barriers built by parental and community distrust of schools and educators' lack of understanding of the history, values and issues affecting Aboriginal people. We can develop appropriate resources that feature Aboriginal history from an Aboriginal perspective and make these resources accessible to all schools. As well, we can address the remnants of systematic racism in our schools and society.

We must not be distracted from our educational mandate. At the same time, we must assist schools, students and parents in dealing with the difficulties of student transience, attendance difficulties, perceived lack of student motivation, homework completion, tardiness, communication difficulties, misunderstandings between home and school, a lack of Aboriginal role models and a lack of hope. We must provide strategies that students, parents and teachers can use every day. We must focus on issues such as literacy and numeracy, staff development, cultural awareness and home and school relations. Aboriginal Education must continue to work with other district staff to correlate, adapt or re-create as necessary research-based solutions that have been proven effective in improving Aboriginal student achievement. We are committed to piloting such programs.

Aboriginal parents and the Aboriginal community have joined the district in becoming increasingly more demanding of the district in its provision of supports, services and education to Aboriginal children and youth. Five years ago, it was rare for an Aboriginal parent, caregiver or agency to contact the district or a school with concerns. Today, more calls asking for assistance are being placed. I see this development as a positive change. It is important to remember that Aboriginal parents and the Aboriginal community want the same thing for their children that non-Aboriginal parents want for theirs; namely, respect, support, encouragement and a high quality education.

Despite the numerous issues and challenges, I believe that we can improve Aboriginal student achievement, one teacher at a time, one parent at a time, and most important, one student at a time.

Donna Leask is the supervisor of Aboriginal Education for Edmonton Public Schools. Leask taught for 21 years and has served for six years as an administrator.