More inclusiveness and supports are needed for Indigenous students in the Northwest Territories if educators want to see higher graduation figures.
That's South Slave District Education Authority superintendent Souhail Soujah's perspective on numbers released Aug. 5 by the NWT Bureau of Statistics, which found just 56.2 per cent of NWT Indigenous residents over age 15 have a high school diploma.
"Although the trend is positive, the graduation rates for Indigenous students are barely above 50 per cent SA国际影视传媒� while non-Indigenous graduates are soaring at 92 per cent," said Soujah. "This is problematic."
Of the 33 communities in the NWT, there are only four where 75 per cent of the population has at least a high school diploma. Those are Fort Smith, Hay River, Norman Wells and Yellowknife. Inuvik and Sachs Harbour are close SA国际影视传媒� at 71.4 per cent and 72.6 per cent, respectively.
Soujah said giving students more reasons to participate in the education system and making them feel more welcome are essential because improving attendance rates is the key first step.
"Create a school environment where students see themselves reflected in the staff and their surroundings," he said. "The research suggests that when students are taught by teachers with similar cultural values, their graduation rates increase significantly.
"Initiatives that prioritize hiring Indigenous teachers in our schools are of great benefit to our students and the community," he added.
Simply importing the southern colonial education system doesn't work, with the punitive, top-down approach falling out of favour among educators across the country, he contended.
Finding ways to ensure students are challenged academically but still able to succeed is also essential.
"Why would students want to go to a place where all they experience is failure?" asked Soujah. "However, we must take great care not to create a false sense of ability. We cannot lower expectations, as that is essentially reverse discrimination."
Noting many families are rightfully suspicious of the education system after multiple generations were affected by trauma from the residential school system, Soujah said improving the cultural importance of school among families is paramount to improving attendance.
The school year also needs examination, Soujah suggested. The southern model running from September into June runs contrary to the freeze-thaw cycle of the North, which has shaped human cultures for many millennia.
The Fort Resolution District Education Authority is experimenting with a longer school calendar this fall SA国际影视传媒� starting Aug. 14 and running to June 5.
"The reason for their decision is partially to combat attendance drop in the summer months, the risk of fires forcing an evacuation during school, the air quality in June due to forest fires elsewhere, and to take advantage of the fall weather for on-the-land activities," said Soujah. "If this change goes well, we hope for it to be adopted by other communities as well. "
Academic planners were limited in how much they can adjust the schedule, as the timing is partially controlled by a collective agreement between the Union of Northern Workers and the Northwest Territories Teachers Association, which determines the length of employment for teachers and staff, Soujah noted. The NWT Education Act dictates the number of instructional days and, up until this fall, being attached to the Alberta curriculum meant students had to complete their year-end exams at the same time as those farther south. However, once the GNWT switches to the B.C. model this fall the latter should no longer be an issue.
Soujah added there was a great deal of support among educators towards moving to a year-round schooling model to accommodate Northern lifestyles.
"It accommodates cultural needs, and it reduces summer loss SA国际影视传媒� the academic skills students lose over the summer break when they are not academically engaged SA国际影视传媒� this is the biggest detriment for underprivileged students who fall further behind their more privileged peers during the summer."
