鈥榃hat practices do high-performing school districts and band schools employ that raise educational outcomes for Indigenous students?鈥�
That鈥檚 a big question and the opening sentence in a 221-page report, Learning From the Best, authored by three of sa国际传媒鈥檚 leading educators. The report raises some questions and provides some answers that pull no punches in doing both.
The report should be required reading for school trustees, people thinking about becoming school trustees, superintendents and school principals as well as First Nations band chiefs and councils.
Using data collected from 12聽school districts and nine First聽Nations band schools recommended by experienced Indigenous educators, the extensively referenced report meticulously examines best practices and major roadblocks to school success for Indigenous kids.
鈥淎t its best,鈥� says the report, there is 鈥渁 fierce determination to improve the achievement of Indigenous learners.鈥�
鈥淎t its worst, school district administration is passive, almost inert [with] quiet acceptance of the status quo and is disinterested in designating and pursuing hard targets 鈥� a reluctance to rock the boat.鈥�
Strong stuff, and were it not for the indisputable experience, qualifications and reputations of the three authors, Thomas Fleming, Jerry Mussio and Barry Anderson, it would be tempting to just skim the executive summary and set it aside.
That would be a mistake, because it is the painstakingly researched body of the report which provides insight into the issue which has historically plagued public education in sa国际传媒 and has been skimmed over for long enough.
This is not a 鈥渂ad news鈥� report by any means. In the past 20聽years, graduation rates for Indigenous students have risen from 39 per cent to 66 per cent, but are still well short of the non-Indigenous graduation rate of 86聽per cent.
The report instances successful programs as ones which embrace a 鈥渃ulture of care鈥� with relationships between school districts and local First Nations communities being conducted in an authentic manner.
These successful situations, say the report, are where district administration also has a coherent plan, with benchmarks in key areas of learning, literacy and numeracy.
The report expresses some disappointment with numerous previous reports and audits which, it says, were considerably better at reporting gaps in student outcomes rather than identifying what was needed to close the gaps.
In the 2017-18 school year, depending on whose numbers you accept, about 5,000 First Nations students living on reserve were enrolled in schools managed by First Nations while more than 7,000 on-reserve students were enrolled in sa国际传媒 public schools.
Another about 59,000 self identified as Indigenous students (including M茅tis, Inuit and non-status) were also enrolled in public schools.
In some districts, that means First Nations and other Indigenous enrolments range from six to eleven per cent.
The additional funding which goes to school districts to cover the additional needs of First Nations students also requires some explanation.
Federal education funding for Status First Nations students attending a district public schools goes to the First Nation, which then pays the school district when there is a local education agreement between the First Nation and the board.
In 2014-15, boards received $59.9 million in federal funding under local education agreements.
When there is no local education agreement between a First Nation and a board, the ministry advances education funding for Status First Nations students to boards as part of their grant allocation, and the federal government reimburses the province. In 2014-15, that amount was about $30 million.
That arrangement has led to some misunderstandings between boards of education and First Nations councils.
The report also unflinchingly identifies the history of a climate of mistrust, anxiety and disengagement which it attributes partly to history and partly to the unfamiliarity of school district officials with First Nations cultures, traditions and ways of knowing.
At the same time, the report acknowledges the struggle, even among Indigenous educators, to define educational success in terms that balance academic performance with the preservation of language and culture.
Some on-reserve parents are not supportive of schools, band and otherwise, and do not see what the school system calls education as being of any use or value.
In my own experience, that disengagement can also be credited partly to the seemingly inflexible organizational requirements of public schools; be there every day, on time, homework done, ready to learn what is being taught. That, just one example, creates an intrinsic conflict between the school and the expectations and culturally based responsibilities of tribal family life.
Geoff Johnson is a former superintendent of schools.
