The University of Regina wants to improve the success rate of Aboriginal students. It is hosting a two-day conference called, “Discover Your Direction”. Its aim is to get more Aboriginal high school students to finish high school and pursue a post-secondary education.
More than 100 Grade 9 students are taking part. They are from public schools in and around Regina, as well as several nearby First Nations. Statistically, their chances of success are low. Province-wide, about 60 per cent of Aboriginal students in Saskatchewan will not graduate from high school.
Grade 9 student Page Mabis doesn’t want to be one of them. She has big plans.
“Yes, I want to successful in the future,” she says. “It’s the only way to go.”
Rebecca Sangwais from the Ochapowace First Nation east of Regina is a success story. She graduated with a business administration degree and is now the Aboriginal student recruiter for the U of R. Sangwais says Aboriginal students are getting the message that education is key to success. She says the poor graduation rate is turning around.
“We are going to change that,” she says. “It is one of the facts out there, but it is going to change. We are the fastest growing demographic, and that is one of my jobs is to instill education as a major opportunity for these children.”
One of the organizers of the conference is Len Brhelle. He wants the students to feel welcome and realize they can be successful.
Brhelle says a high school failure rate of about 60 per cent is just not acceptable.
“It’s sad,” he says. “I am not really sure of all of the reasons for that.”
The students are touring the campus, participating in sessions, meeting with current students and spending the night at the students residence. More than 11 per cent of the student population at the U of R is Aboriginal. It has been steadily increasing over the last number of years. Grade 9 student Kayla Stone knows what she wants for her future. She says post-secondary education is definitely a part of her plans.
“It’s important because I really want to get a successful job and being successful when I am older,” she says. “So I know getting started now and knowing what I want to do will be a good thing for my future.”
The government’s goal is to improve the Aboriginal high school graduation rate to 50 per cent by the year 2020.