Mother Teresa Middle School in North Regina. Photo by Manfred Joehnck.
It is a ground breaking experiment in Aboriginal education outcomes, with a private company putting one million dollars on the line.
The Mosaic Company is putting up the money over five years to help boost the high school graduation rate for about 88 students attending the Mother Teresa Middle School in North Regina. Most of the students are Aboriginal and come from disadvantaged homes.
Education Minister, Don Morgan says this is a first for the province and for Mosaic.
“It’s totally unique. It is something that has never been done before,” he said. “We are excited about it. We welcome it and we are hoping to see some interesting things come out of it.”
The social impact bond will be repaid with interest if the students attain an 82 per cent high school graduation rate. If the rate reaches 75 per cent, three-quarters of the money will be repaid, but if the grad rate is below 75 per cent, there will be no repayment. That does not worry Mosaic’s Senior Vice President, Bruce Bodine. He has faith in the school and its students.
“We are going to do everything we can to support them and help them achieve those results,” he said. “We are confident in the capabilities of the staff and the school.”
One of the students who went to the school is Ashantay McKenzie-Missens. She is now in grad nine at a high school, but is still being helped by staff at Mother Teresa. She says the school made a huge difference in her life.
“It helps me in some many ways, I mean they just put so much effort in to you,” she said. “It made me feel really loved and I don’t think I have ever felt that way at any other school before.”
The money will be used to support the students at the school and after they leave it and go on to high school.
Right now, the Aboriginal high school graduation rate in Saskatchewan is about 40 per cent, while the rate for non-Aboriginal students is about 82 per cent.
This is the second time Saskatchewan has partnered with a private company to use a social impact bond.
Back in 2014, one million dollars was raised by Conexus to fund a home for single mothers in Saskatchewan.
This is the first time in Canada one has been used for an education program.