Statistics can sometimes be misleading, but there is no doubt that the graduation numbers released last week by the Ministry of Education are clearly depressing.
School District 8, which includes Nelson’s LV Rogers Secondary School, is experiencing a big problem when it comes to students earning their graduation certificate.
Results for SD8 in all categories are well below the provincial average.
Overall, 69 per cent of students graduated in 2017, down from 81 per cent in 2014. The provincial average is 84 per cent.
For aboriginal students, the graduation rate slipped by 10 per cent to 58 per cent. The provincial average was 66 percent.
And for special needs students, the rate was just 49 per cent last year, down nine per cent from the previous year. The provincial average was 69 per cent in 2017.
While the numbers are alarming when compared provincially, they are shocking when placed next to the graduation totals from SD20, which includes high schools in Castlegar and Trail.
SD20 reported a graduation rate of 93 per cent overall, while grad rates for both aboriginal and special needs students was at 88 per cent.
There are likely many factors affecting the rates for each district, but one particular comment from the SD20 superintendent stood out. Bill Ford told the Trail Times last week that the district “changed the culture of the school district. We are now a school district focused on learning and not just student learning, but educator learning.”
So would the leaders in SD8 perhaps look to SD20 for ways to improve things here?
“Yes, as educators, we are constantly consulting and collaborating with other districts,” said superintendent Christine Perkins, “We share ideas, hold joint professional development days, and meet as a group of regional and provincial superintendents.”
Perkins didn’t say if there’s anything specific about SD20’s strategy that SD8 might be duplicated here.
But she did say joint meetings have led to the creation of a new “Learning Initiatives Plan” focusing on “numeracy, literacy, inclusion and indigenization of the curriculum” which will begin this September.
Perkins, who only started her job last September, said the district hopes to turn things around by tracking every student, beginning in Grade 8.
“We want to know the story behind every child.” she said, “We will continue to make positive change one child at a time.”
She added the district is “working hard to create some opportunities to transition” students who are having difficulty and “ensuring we have strong connections with our post-secondary institutions.”
Perkins, last week said educators in SD8 “want to go from average to amazing,” said one of the crucial questions the district is trying to answer is, “Why do we educate?”
She continued, “If we do not know why we educate, then we won’t be able to move things forward.”
“Our parents/guardians and educational leaders must know what drives them. For some it might be for academic achievement, for others family or religious values, for others yet, socio-economic advancement, and others, a social justice or human rights values system,” Perkins said.
She said answering the question would be part of developing a Strategic Plan for SD8.
A mother who has had two indigenous, special needs students in SD8 contacted the Star to say she feels the current education model in the district is not working for her children.
She said the curriculum is “too formal and constrictive,” adding, “We are focused too much on literacy. We need to support those who don’t fit into the contemporary model.”
The mother, who has worked in SD8 and SD20, did not want to be identified, but said her eldest son was able to graduate in 2017 only because of her strong influence.
“I was an advocate for my child. Not every parent can do that,” said the woman.
She said her 14-year-old son, who is is struggling, “learns more on YouTube” than he does at school. She said she will push her younger son to ensure he graduates.
“They need creative solutions, otherwise they won’t succeed. The educators need to be advocates for the kids,” said the mother, adding “you are dealing with an inability to modify.”
So, is SD8 on the right path to turn the slumping graduation numbers around?
Or, do changes need to be made?
