麻豆传媒AV

School boards across the province have adopted an education sector strategic plan addressing short-term and long-term goals for Saskatchewan's PreK-12 schools. It was developed through a gathering of education partners including the Ministry of Education, school division administrators, elected school board members, First Nations partners, M茅tis partners and several other organizations.

This first strategic plan is the beginning of a process that will help set the direction for the education sector as a whole for 2014 to 2020. The 2014-15 plan focuses on the PreK-12 education sector and in future will widen to include public libraries and literacy organizations.

The long-term outcomes in the plan include:

By June 2020, 80 per cent of students will be at grade level or above in reading, writing and math.

By June 2020, collaboration between First Nation/M茅tis/Inuit and non-FNMI partners will result in significant improvement in the achievement and graduation rates of FNMI students. (The target is yet to be set.)

By 2020, Saskatchewan's graduation rate will be 85 per cent.

By June 2020, 90 per cent of students exiting kindergarten will score within the appropriate range in four of the five domains as measured by the Early Years Evaluation.

While the goal of increasing graduation rates amongst First Nation and M茅tis students does not yet have an official provincial target, it has been an ongoing goal of the Light of Christ Catholic School Division.

"We've been monitoring it and paying attention," says the soon-to-retire director of education.

Herb Sutton and other central office staff say a focus on building relationships is behind the success they have seen so far.

The division is proud of its numbers, says Sutton.

Light of Christ on-time graduation rates (meaning to graduate within three years of starting Grade 10) have been consistently above the provincial results for FNMI students over the last several years.

The 2012-13 numbers showed a provincial average of 37.4 per cent, while Light of Christ's statistic was 56.4 per cent. In addition, while the provincial average had only increased from 31.8 per cent in 2008-09 to 37.4, Light of Christ's had increased from 40 per cent to 56.4 in the same time frame.

Light of Christ's numbers for five-year graduation rates among First Nations and M茅tis students are also impressive, which means they are consistently coming down as the result of more students graduating within three years, points out Kelvin Colliar, superintendent of learning.

While the division is proud of the numbers, it says it sees a need for continued work and improvement to close the gap between FNMI students and non-FNMI. Ultimately, it would like to see the demographics equally represented. Grade 10-12 enrolment in 2013-14 of 453 students included 140 students self-identified as First Nations, M茅tis or Inuit, or 30.9 per cent. Ideally, that demographic would be at the same percentage within the graduating students.

One of the actions being taken to continue the improvement involves funding that has been made available to hire graduation coaches to help First Nations students improve their chances for graduation.

Colliar says this area has been allocated $300,000 to provide supports for First Nations students. The Treaty Six Education Council has partnered with Light of Christ Roman Catholic Separate School Division, Living Sky School Division and Battlefords First Nations Joint Board of Education to hire graduation coaches for John Paul II Collegiate, North Battleford Comprehensive High School and Sakewew High School. They are now in the process of hiring the grad coaches who will work directly with First Nations students and their families to help them meet their Grade 12 requirements.

It dovetails seamlessly into Light of Christ's relationship-building focus, says Colliar.

Sutton says a grad coach will help build a sense of hope for students. Many students aren't clear about what they want to do after Grade 12. A grad coach will be able to say "here are the possibilities" and "here is how you can achieve them," says Sutton. The relationship with the student is critical, he adds.

The graduation coach program will focus on relationships and mentoring to build close supportive relationships with students. It will also support the transition between Grades 9 and 10, where there is a high dropout rate, and the transition between high school and post-secondary school. It will expose students to career possibilities and support the pursuit of those, and will support academic achievement through tutoring, course planning, peer mentoring and role modelling. It will encourage dialogue between parents, school and student and it will also help students develop a sense of belonging through cultural activities.

It won't be a case of students finding themselves in a "big institution where they fit in or drop out."

It is a "monumental shift in thought," says Sutton.

It won't be a case of "watering down," either, says Colliar. It's a matter of knowing their students and that they need their classroom work to be relevant while presenting an appropriate, rigorous level of challenge, he says.

Carlo Hansen, principal of Light of Christ's high school, John Paul II Collegiate, says, "We're in this together."

School administrators and teachers have to be open to doing things differently, to not be afraid to ask questions about how they can make things better, says Hansen.

One of the results of an online students' survey, Tell Them From Me, is that students are disheartened if they don't have an advocate, he says. Having a graduation coach will mean there will always be an adult to advocate on the student's behalf.

Hansen, whose school moved to a Grade 8 home room model in the 2012-13 year, expanding to Grade 9 this year, says the earlier relationships are built with students, FNMI and non-FNMI, the better graduation rates are going to be.

In the Light of Christ School Division, says Hansen, numerous students are transitioning into the high school from surrounding schools in Grades 8 and 9. Having them with the same teacher for half the day means they have someone with whom they can develop a relationship. That is also true for parents.

The home room experience has also made students more accountable, and attendance has improved.

It's because they are being seen, says Marie Graw, learning co-ordinator.

"They know someone is looking for them," she points out.

It's not just a disciplinary issue, she says.

"It goes back to relationship."

Hansen says feedback from Tell Them From Me indicates the home room model has resulted in students feeling someone "cares" about them.

While Light of Christ's graduation rate for all students is 80 per cent, better than the provincial average of 74.8 per cent, the province wants that rate to climb to 85 per cent by 2020.

There is a sense of urgency, says Sutton. As proud as the division is of its numbers, he says, the deputy minister of education has made it clear the 2020 goal is not an "option."

Colliar says it's never too early to start talking about graduation rates, even at the pre-K and K levels. Research is clear about the importance of early learning to the overall success of students.

The division has placed a focus on improving reading scores in the early years, knowing it to be imperative that students be reading at grade level by the end of Grade 3 if they are going to have future success in school.

In fact, having at least 78 per cent of Grade 3 students reading at or above grade level scores by June 2015 is one of the short term goals of the education sector strategic plan on the way to the ultimate goal of having 80 per cent of students at grade level or above in reading, writing and math by 2020.

Toward this end, the Light of Christ Catholic School Division has been working with its teachers to create early learning environments that are consistent with current research, and have been tracking the reading levels of students in Grades 1 to 3 to measure successes and to identify areas and particular students that require further interventions.

In June of 2012, 13.5 per cent of Grade 3 students in the division were reading below grade level and a program of intensive intervention has been initiated for these students.

Colliar says all of the division's intervention strategies are based on proven research.