Efforts are being made to increase the number of aboriginal students graduating from high school in Saskatoon.
Jennifer Hingley is the coordinator of the First Nations and Metis education unit of the city’s public schools.
She explains that since December 31st they and other schools in the province have been instructed by the government to increase the graduation rate of aboriginal kids by 50%.
She says they’ve begun looking at ways of improving literacy skills and student engagement to make sure this happens.
However she says much of their approach is making sure aboriginal students feel included in their education and environment:
“That looks like an increase in content, in curriculum. That looks like teaching practices where we’re looking at the whole child. That looks like looking at what is on our walls, in our schools, how do your students and our families see themselves reflected in the buildings. Those types of specifics around that.”
She says three years from now they want to see 100 more aboriginal students graduating high school in the division.
The provincial government told school divisions it wanted to see their respective plans for closing the graduation gap in by the 1st of this year.
An official with the ministry says they have received responses from nearly everyone, but a few of the divisions say they need more time to complete their plans.