Halq’emeylem:

The Integrated Resource Package (IRP) for Halq’emeylem has been approved by the Ministry of Education. This means Halq’emeylem can now be taught as an accredited second language course for grades 5 to 12. Tsetsel Ey!!! Your children can now take Halq’emeylem in place of French for graduation. Seabird has been working on this for years. Fraser Cascade SD78 has supported financially for years and recently Chilliwack SD33 has joined the team. There will be a celebration at Seabird sometime in October.

Education:

Chilliwack SD33:

On June 8th, 2009 the local education agreement (LEA) between School District 33 and 10 Stó:lō  communities was signed. The LEA is a formal agreement between the Chief & Council of each community and the Board of Education. The LEA recognizes that School District 33 is in S’olh Temexw (Stó:lō  Traditional Territory) and that the Stó:lō  have specific rights that should not be buried inside “Aboriginal”. This LEA is all about student success. Opportunities for success are provided through identifying accountability and responsibility of parents, communities, schools and the school district. Each plays a vital role and must support each other. Communications and reporting relevant information are crucial in providing necessary interventions to keep students in school and on stream to succeeding. One of the most significant aspects of reporting is both a mid year and end year report that provides information by subject, grade and school. The reports are written in a way that protects student privacy yet the teachers and principals that need to know, will. The mid year report will help identify subjects and grades of students that are at risk of not succeeding. Once identified, interventions can be developed and implemented to improve success by the end of the school year. The year end report will show the changes resulting from interventions as well as an all inclusive standing of all First Nation students. It is important to stress that students can not be identified individually in these reports.

The LEA was developed under the strong guidance of Assistant Superintendant Michael Audet. Michael is a strong advocate of student success. A big thank you to Michael!!! It is also great that the Board of Education supports the principles identified in the agreement. This is a very clear demonstration that the Board wants to improve the learning outcomes of Stó:lō  students.

This LEA is one of the best agreements in BC. If anyone would like a copy drop me an email at tye@stolotribalcouncil.com.

Regional & National: 63

63 First Nations in BC continue to negotiate the formal signing of First Nation Jurisdiction of Education. There is both federal and provincial legislation in place to support First Nations taking back jurisdiction over education. It is understood that First Nations view education as life long learning. This is a chapter of that which recognizes participating First Nations have jurisdiction for schools located on-reserve Kindergarten to grade 12. Key areas are School Certification, Teacher Certification and Curriculum and Standards. The agreements have been initialed and now negotiations are over adequate resourcing to implement the agreements. The federal government needs to be reminded of the commitments made when the federal bill was put through by the Conservatives and that they understood it needed proper resources to work.

Indian Control of Indian Education 2009

Indian Control of Indian Education (ICIE) was developed by the National Indian Brotherhood in 1972. In 1973 the federal government adopted ICIE as the national policy for First Nation education. Much has changed since then. There are now over 600 schools and over 100 post secondary institutes located on-reserve under local First Nation control. We now have huge numbers of our members with doctorate, masters and bachelors degrees. We have 37 years of experience of ICIE. Although ICIE applies today as it did in 1972, it is time to update it to take into account the capacity and successes of First Nations across the country. At the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly in July 2009 ICIE2009 will be presented. We will be asking delegates to take it home for distribution and feedback. We will then ask for ICIE2009 to be formally adopted by the Assembly at their December 2009 Special Assembly. We will also be asking that each province and territory customize ICIE2009 to fit their regions. It is important to note that ICIE2009 will be a broad umbrella that all provinces and territories will fit under. To do that there needs to be give and take to find common ground. This is why we need a regional version that fits regional needs. It would also be great if nations also customize the document to fit their needs and aspirations.