Education of BC Aboriginal Students: Challenges and Opportunities Teresa Hebert Trustee, SD No.83 (Okanagan-Shuswap)

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 2 Challenges faced by students  Social challenges  Most Aboriginal students are off-reserve  Many Aboriginal students are a minority within their schools  Special education needs  Under-funding of band schools

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 3 Challenges faced by school boards  Lack of clarity about federal funding  Insecurity of funding  First Nations expectations  Negotiation of multiple LEAs  Off-reserve and non-status representation  Recruiting aboriginal trustees  Parent/guardian involvement

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 4 From challenges to opportunities Memorandum of understanding, Feb. 2, 1999 “We the undersigned, acknowledge that Aboriginal learners are not experiencing school success in British Columbia. We state our intention to work together within the mandates of our respective organizations to improve school success for Aboriginal learners in British Columbia.” Signed by the major education partners in British Columbia, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Chiefs Action Committee and the First Nations Schools Association

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 5 Education partners group  Aboriginal Teacher Education Consortium  Anti-Racism Working Group  Employment Equity Working Group

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 6 Ministry of Education  Targeted funding  Aboriginal student data  Enhancement agreements  All-day Kindergarten funding  Development of resources  AbNet listserv

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 7 School Districts  Building relationships with aboriginal communities  Human resources  Staff training and support  Curriculum and learning resources

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 8 How are we doing?  High school completion rates, grade transitions  Reducing the gap between aboriginal and non- aboriginal outcomes

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 9 What the future holds…  Continued commitment to improvement at district and provincial levels  Improvement in band schools resources may help public school outcomes  More enhancement agreements and improved relationships between school districts and aboriginal communities

May 26, 2006CSBA Congress 2006 Slide: 10 What the future holds…