Auditor Judy Ferguson. Photo courtesy of Manfred Joehnck.
Saskatchewan’s auditor notes improvements in the overall high school graduation rates for Aboriginal students, but also finds one school division that needs to improve its grades.
The Living Sky School Division has nearly 6,000 students in the North Battleford, Unity and Spiritwood area. About a third are Aboriginal.
Auditor Judy Ferguson says they do not have the same sense of belonging as the non-Aboriginal students, and their grad rate is only about 32 per cent. She suggests the division make greater use of its elder’s council.
“We think they are not working with that elder’s council to the extent that they could,” she said. “There is general discussion with the elder’s council, but they aren’t sharing the detailed results about students within their area.”
On a more positive note, the auditor reports the overall high school graduation rate for Aboriginal students in the province has improved significantly from about 33 per cent in 2011 to 42 per cent in 2016.
“So in the right direction, and that is a pretty good increase,” she said. “Is it where it needs to be? Not yet, so I think the whole sector realizes it has further work to do.”
The government’s objective is to increase the Aboriginal high school graduation rate to 50 per cent by the year 2020.
The most critical aspect of the auditor’s report deals with government monitoring of pipelines. Judy Ferguson says the government needs to do better, noting it has implemented only two of five recommendations she made back in 2012.