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In October 2003, Alberta’s Commission on Learning published its long-awaited report and recommendations for the future of the province’s K–12 education system. Not only did the commission identify Aboriginal education as one of the most serious issues facing that system, but it also focused 15 of its 95 recommendations on improving educational outcomes for First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) children and youth. “If we are unable to take action soon, the impact will be felt by generations of First Nations and Métis children for decades to come, and by Alberta’s society as a whole,” the commission wrote.
While stressing the need to act immediately to address the needs of FNMI students, the commission acknowledged that many school jurisdictions had already developed promising approaches to FNMI education. It was in that spirit that the Alberta Teachers’ Association convened “A Workshop on Best Practices for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Success in Urban and Rural Schools” at the University of Lethbridge last May. The purpose of the workshop, which was organized by the Committee on the Well-Being of Children and Youth, was to address issues affecting FNMI students who attend schools in urban and rural jurisdictions in southern Alberta and to showcase initiatives already underway in those jurisdictions.
One jurisdiction in southern Alberta that has developed a promising approach to FNMI education is Grasslands Regional Division No. 6, where teachers Linda Holt and Cathy Ursulan run a literacy program for FNMI students at Bassano School. The program is funded through the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement, a collaborative partnership that seeks to improve student learning and performance through initiatives that address jurisdictions’ unique needs.
The 2005/06 school year marks the third year of the literacy program, which uses reading groups to help students with identified reading deficiencies. In addition to their regular language arts program, the students attend a reading group for one period each day, where they focus on reading and comprehension strategies. Reading and comprehension are an issue at the K–12 school, affecting the core subjects.
About half the students in the literacy program are FNMI students, who represent 30 per cent of the school’s population. The program is offered to almost all students in Grades 1 to 3 and some 40 students in Grades 4 to 8. It did not prove successful for senior high school students “because students, unfortunately, didn’t buy into the program,” says Vice-Principal Lynn McLellan, and attendance became an issue.
She says the program has resulted in “significant gains in reading comprehension” over the last two years. For example, on the Gates McGinty Standardized Reading Assessment, students increased their reading comprehension by at least one grade level.
Two hundred kilometres southwest of Bassano lies Lethbridge School District No. 51, which has had a program in place for almost 25 years to address the needs of FNMI students. The First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education Program provides support for more than 500 students in the district’s schools. Key to the program is a centrally based corps of home/school liaison staff, all of whom have Aboriginal ancestry.
The liaison staff act as “everything to everybody,” says Ira Provost, the district’s FNMI coordinator. They counsel students, assist parents with questions, develop cultural awareness activities and help sensitize the schools to local indigenous cultures. Ideally, the district would like to have one liaison staff per school. Today, there are 5.5 full-time-equivalent staff serving 18 schools on a rotating schedule.
Funded by the district, the liaison program has developed out of the growing number of students transitioning from First Nations communities to urban centres to attend school. “They’re lost. The parents themselves don’t know exactly how to go about registering the students, what supports are available to them to assist them throughout that transition process, whether it be finding a new job or just moving into town with relatives,” Provost explains. “Ideally, we’re the friendly face that knows the culture, knows the protocols, knows the different needs that a parent might have that, say, the school may not know, so we help the schools as well shed the barriers.”
Provost identifies the program’s most successful achievement over the last few years as increasing awareness of the services liaison staff can provide. In some jurisdictions, liaison staff are underutilized, mainly because people do not know what they can do. Those jurisdictions should “focus on the awareness of the abilities of liaison staff and their role in the schools,” he says. “There’s so much there for them to do.”
One hundred kilometres west of Lethbridge is Pincher Creek, where St. Michael’s School runs a successful mentorship program for FNMI students. Part of Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 4, the K–12 school serves close to 400 students, about a quarter of whom are FNMI students.
St. Michael’s School launched its student mentorship program four years ago when staff noticed that the success level of FNMI students was lower than that of the general student population.
Initially funded through Justice Canada’s Community Mobilization Program, the program seeks to address shortfalls in success for FNMI students. Objectives include heightened parental involvement, improved Grade 12 graduation rates, increased attendance, good nutrition and solid career counselling.
The job of student mentor Skipper Potts is multi-faceted. “Basically, in general terms, the student mentor’s job is to do whatever he has to in order to eliminate the blocks that stop kids from learning,” explains Ray Viel, the division’s director of religious education and a former principal of St. Michael’s School. “Those blocks are identified sometimes by the mentor, a lot of times by the principal, a lot of times by the teachers and sometimes by the parents.” The school built a kitchen and hired staff to run breakfast and lunch programs with support from the Piikani First Nation and Lethbridge Community Foundation. It also started a homework club. By the end of the first year, graduation rates had improved significantly, “but there were a lot of anecdotal types of things that had occurred as well,” Viel says. “There was a much easier relationship between the general population of the school, typically the white kids, with the native kids, much better, much more friendly. They started dating each other. We actually had to scold them when they were doing inappropriate things in the hallways.” Parental involvement also improved. To this day, more FNMI parents attend parent/teacher interviews and participate on the school council.
Programs such as those in Bassano, Lethbridge and Pincher Creek cost money. In response to the Learning Commission’s recommendations, the Alberta government has given school boards an additional $1,040 per FNMI student to provide for such supports as home/school liaison staff, parental involvement and in-school cultural supports.
Much good work is being done in southern Alberta—and throughout the province—and much remains to be done. As the learning commission pointed out, “There isn’t a single solution or approach that will meet the diverse needs of Aboriginal people and communities. Instead, a number of innovative approaches should be implemented and assessments should be made about what works and what doesn’t.”
Shelley Svidal is a member of ATA Government staff.
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