McKitrick’s kindergarten students made their way into the school gym last Thursday, wearing t-shirts much too big for them saying “Class of 2030.”
A Living Sky School Division initiative has been in development for about six months, which will follow McKitrick’s kindergarten class through the years as the students progress in their schooling, wherever they attend school.
Class of 2030 is one of many efforts by the division to increase graduation rates, particularly among First Nations and Métis students.
The initiative’s theme is “It takes a community to raise a child,” and community sponsors, businesses, and leaders are also participating. Superintendent of Learning Tonya Lehman and Senior Executive Assistant/Communications Shannon Lessard organized the Thursday event.
The students were introduced to parents, Living Sky staff, and the public. Elder Ethel Stone began the ceremony with an opening prayer, followed by words from MLA Herb Cox, Living Sky’s Director of Education Brenda Vickers, North Battleford’s deputy mayor Kent Lindgren (who read the kids a book), and McKitrick principal Amanda Risling.
The students were presented with small stuffed mustangs, representing McKitrick’s mascot, and the audience was shown short profiles of the students and their future plans. A number of students wanted to be either firefighters or police officers.
Kids could put their hands in paint and imprinted them on pieces of paper. A time capsule was also available, and among other things parents could write messages for the future students their kindergarteners would become.
According to Living Sky’s 2015/16 annual report, Living Sky’s three-year graduation rates among the 2013/14 cohort of non-First Nations/Métis/Inuit students for the 2015/16 school year was 90 per cent. The 2013/14 cohort of First Nations/Métis/Inuit students graduating during the 2015/16 school year was 32 per cent, although former director of education Randy Fox said at a June board meeting Living Sky’s more accurate rate was approximately 40 per cent.
Living Sky’s five-year graduation rate for the 2011/12 cohort of First Nations/Métis/Inuit students graduating in 2015/16 was 47 per cent. The non-FNMI rate was 90 per cent.
The Ministry of Education is holding school divisions responsible for students attaining graduation rates of FNMI students of at least 65 per cent by 2020, and the graduation rate among all students of 85 per cent.
