Living Sky School Division was eager to show Education Minister Don Morgan the impact of the Gateway to Success program in the division.
Morgan was in North Battleford Wednesday where he met with Living Sky officials and visited a number of locations. One of his stops was at North Battleford Comprehensive High School where graduation coach Jesse Armstrong and a number of NBCHS students were able to share their experiences with the program and how it has helped them achieve graduation goals.
The Gateway to Success program is aimed at improving graduation rates of First Nation and Métis students in the school system.
It was developed in the wake of the 2013 Joint Task Force on Aboriginal Education and Employment recommendations on how to improve graduation and attendance rates.
Partnerships were developed between Treaty 6 Education Council and with both Living Sky and Light of Christ Catholic school divisions through the Invitational Shared Services Initiative. In 2014, $150,000 was allocated to each school division so they could take on graduation coaches, who could help provide support for First Nations and Métis students to help them achieve academic goals.
The program in North Battleford is modelled on a similar program called Braided Journeys in Edmonton, which has had success in improving graduation rates.
At NBCHS, a room is set aside for use by students to meet with the grad coach regularly.
There, according to Armstrong, they can tutor students, provide cultural activities and provide them with a sense of belonging.
The program is making an impact.
“I see students that are engaged in their own learning, that are actively coming up with high school graduation plans, I see them working towards a three-year graduation rate and then beyond that making plans for post-secondary education.”
The education ministry asked to see the grad coach room and talk to a number of students about the impact it is having.
“It’s the first time I’ve actually had a chance to talk to students that have participated in the program,” Morgan said.
“The feedback that we’ve received from students and from parents and from schools is that it’s been well received and it’s going well.”
Morgan says this program has been implemented in a number of school divisions. According to ministry numbers $6.4 million has been allocated in funding for 11 school divisions going back to 2014 for 16 Invitational Shared Service Initiative partnerships, with $2.4 million for the 2016-17 budget year.
“Our First Nations grad rate has gone from 31 per cent to over 40 per cent,” said Morgan. “It’s still a long way from some of the goals that we’ve set, we want them to be at over 50 per cent for our First Nations and Métis students, but I’d like to see them at 75-85 per cent as the rest of the general population is.”
The point was made to Morgan that the province’s investment in the Gateway to Success program was money well spent.
“What we really wanted them to hear today is, it’s working, it’s needed and students are ultimately benefitting from having this in the school,” said Armstrong.
“Our grad rates are going up, our credit attainment is going up for First Nations and Métis students, and many of them spoke to the minister to say they are graduating on time and this room is having a big impact on their education.”
Perhaps the real underlying message to the minister was that this program was worth the province’s investment during a time of tight budgets and cuts.
The province is currently running a deficit and coffers have been hard hit by the shortfall in resource revenues this year. Still, the deputy premier indicated education and health care remain priority areas.
As revenues have dropped off, Morgan said, the message to school divisions is to “find ways to make sure that you are going to commit resources to the classroom, that you keep the supports where the students are, and you find savings in administration and governance, joint buying, common calendars, whatever you need to find savings. We’re doing the same within the ministry, so we’re saying we’re challenging you, but above all you’ve got to keep the best resources for the kids.”
While the Gateway for Success initiative in high schools is one support the education ministry has provided support for, there are others.
Morgan also noted there are literacy and numeracy supports going back to Grades 3-6. Another that Morgan identified was funding for programs such as KidsFirst and the Early Childhood Intervention Program, “where we go into the homes, we identify kids that have got special needs, and determine whether they’re getting good support from parents, whether they need outside support. So it’s a continuum.”
Later in the day Morgan was able to see for himself the effort of Battlefords KidsFirst and the Battlefords Early Childhood Intervention program as a Toddler Activity Group (TAG) session took place for families at the NationsWEST Field House.
It was the first session of the year following summer break and according to Kathy Byl of Battlefords KidsFirst they were excited to have the deputy premier there. MLA for Cut Knife-Turtleford Larry Doke was there as was Corey O’Soup, First Nation and Métis advisor with the Ministry of Education, who will soon be taking over as the Children’s Advocate in the province.
The group sessions at the Field House are funded by KidsFirst and held on a weekly basis. The activities on Wednesday focused on children between 18 and 36 months, with the kids and their parent/guardians participating in games and various activities.
Morgan himself was encouraged to join in to see for himself what a typical TAG session was like for participants.
