A rich smell of cedar seeps through the expansive foyer of Ladysmith Secondary School.
Rough-hewn planks bound to posts form walls and floor as a traditional Coast Salish house begins to take shape around students as they pore through textbooks and chat about teenage interests.
The house will be home to a two-year education project centred around a master carver. John Marston will be adzing out a welcoming figure as the student bodyB次元官网网址檚 daily stream ebbs and flows around him, and he shares his wisdom with those who wish to learn.
Ultimately, the carved figure will become a token of the hospitality being offered to those who walk in the schoolB次元官网网址檚 front door. But the project itself B次元官网网址� called Nutsumaat Syaays, or Working Together as One B次元官网网址� is something more.
It is a manifestation of a welcoming process occurring behind the scenes that is quietly powering one of Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 most significant education stories.
In a trend being repeated in many school districts across the Island, First Nations students are graduating in numbers unheard of a generation ago.
Those close to the situation credit the steady progress to a concentrated effort to create a sense of connection and belonging that may have been lacking in the past.
B次元官网网址淚t brings our culture into our school,B次元官网网址� Ladysmith student Brittany Elliott said.
B次元官网网址淥urB次元官网网址� is the possessive pronoun of choice for Elliott and her classmates Kyle Joe and Sha-lena Horne when talking to Black Press about LSS.
Members of the Cowichan and StzB次元官网网址檜minas First Nations, each student is actively involved in the school B次元官网网址� be it in an academic, sports, or leadership role.
They talk quietly but with obvious affection about the classes and activities they enjoy, the teachers they like, the hum of the schoolB次元官网网址檚 social life and their plans after high school.
Each is also on track to graduate this spring.
According to a report commissioned for the Assembly of First Nations chiefs, Canadian indigenous students were graduating high school at a rate of about 36 per cent just seven years ago B次元官网网址� exactly half the overall national graduation rate.
In December of 2015, the provincial government announced B.C. aboriginal completion rates had capped five years of steady improvement with a record high of 63 per cent.
The Port Alberni, Comox Valley, Qualicum and Sooke school districts all matched or exceeded the provincial rate last year. Nanaimo, Campbell River and Victoria missed the cut, dropping to 58, 51 and 60 per cent respectively, but that was after each posted rates of 64 per cent in 2014.
However, with the overall B.C. completion rate hovering at 86 per cent, there is still work to be done to close the gap.
Chris Beaton is the executive director of the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre, an independent First Nations service and advocacy group.
B次元官网网址淥ur vision is to support the vision of 100 per cent graduation,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e right that itB次元官网网址檚 trending in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go. I would challenge you to find anyone who is happy with the pace.B次元官网网址�
Beaton said schools are succeeding when they create an environment that makes aboriginal learners feel at home.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 seeing an indigenization of the curriculum,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not pulling four kids out of the classroom and building dreamcatchers. The curriculum is embedded into the whole student body.B次元官网网址�
Front-and-centre in the campaign are educators like Nanaimo-Ladysmith district vice-principal of aboriginal education Anne Tenning.
According to Tenning, her district has adopted the holistic approach of making sure a First Nations perspective is addressed in every aspect of school life.
B次元官网网址淎 focus is collective responsibility,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪tudents receive extra support and it is everyone in the system supporting.B次元官网网址�
Part of that is adding visible First Nations components to everyday school routines that confirm the cultureB次元官网网址檚 strong presence in the greater community. This includes initiatives like verbally recognizing traditional territories at public meetings, using films, books and essays created by aboriginal thinkers and artists as resource material, and an elder-in-residence style program being piloted at Nanaimo District Secondary School.
But it goes beyond the exterior trappings and into what is actually being discussed in the classroom. The local HulB次元官网网址檘umiB次元官网网址檔um dialect being taught as a credit language course is a good example.
Just as significant are the serious talks taking place in class on the subject of colonialism and its effect on the indigenous population. Tenning said great effort has been made to inject First Nations issues and culture into the curriculum as living, breathing things.
B次元官网网址淏efore when we were studying First Nations people it was like we were studying people out of a museum,B次元官网网址� she said.
The students back that up, saying their First Peoples English and B.C. First Nations Studies classes engaged them in a way previous English and Social Studies classes had not.
Joe appreciated the perspective offered on other First Nations across the country, while Elliott was interested in taking in how non-aboriginal classmates were exposed to aboriginal thinking and experiences.
One canB次元官网网址檛 discount the significance of that change. Tenning, for example, had no knowledge of residential schools until she became an adult, despite the fact her mother attended one.
B次元官网网址淚 think back to when I was in high school and it had such a small presence,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲ith this generation of learners itB次元官网网址檚 becoming common knowledge.B次元官网网址�
Discussions about the residential school system may be helping todayB次元官网网址檚 students engage, but the systemB次元官网网址檚 legacy played a significant role in the education B次元官网网址� or lack thereof B次元官网网址� of their parents.
Beaton said poor experiences in the residential system embedded distrust for public education in a generation of First Nations people, which manifested itself in the way some encouraged their children. Beyond that, the fractured families the system created also took a toll.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no handbook on parenting. You learn from your role models,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淢y momB次元官网网址檚 role model was not my grandmother, it was staff at a residential school.B次元官网网址�
Tenning agreed the residential school legacy is an issue.
B次元官网网址淭hat is definitely a challenge for a lot of families, rebuilding that trust,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲e are inviting them into the schools, finding ways to include families. There is so much of a difference that can make, not just to aboriginal students, but to all students.B次元官网网址�
Joe said his dad has talked to him about the racism he experienced in school, and his classmates agree that the environment today is much better for them than it was for their parents.
Instead of avoiding school, Horne and Elliott have embraced it. Each is planning to pursue a teaching degree after graduation.
JoeB次元官网网址檚 immediate priority may be different B次元官网网址� he wants to pursue an opportunity playing rugby B次元官网网址� but his attitude about education can be boiled down to pure pragmatism.
B次元官网网址淪chool is a very important thing because you canB次元官网网址檛 get good jobs without going,B次元官网网址� he said.
Beaton supports the work being done by local schools, but says there is another element that has to part of the solution: community support outside the classroom.
He said with only 20 per cent of a childB次元官网网址檚 time spent in the classroom, it is essential that we address what is going on in the other 80 per cent of their lives. Poverty, lack of skills training, food insecurity B次元官网网址� getting your homework done can become secondary when your family is struggling to keep a roof over its head and food on the table.
He also stressed that education is not just a K-12 endeavour and work has to be done at the pre-school level. Free daycare with skilled early childhood educators would help tremendously.
On a more general level, Beaton supports a continued emphasis on creating a two-way street of community connection. He said there is little need for new standalone structures for Indigenous people.
Instead, the mission is to make indigenous culture an everyday aspect of the community, while at the same time making everyday aspects of the community part of indigenous culture.
He said it can be as simple as taking aboriginal kids using the Boys and Girls Club to a downtown yoga class so it feels like a natural option as they get older.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 need to build a new childcare program or a yoga studio,B次元官网网址� he said.
Tenning said we are seeing progress in that area with an increased aboriginal presence on school clubs, teams and other initiatives.
B次元官网网址淚 think that it's just happening naturally. Those extracurriculars are signs that they are connecting more to school,B次元官网网址� she said.
Being able to interact with teachers and other professionals who are aboriginal matters, as does seeing aboriginals in positions of influence, like NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 new city manager. According to Beaton, every success story can feed another.
B次元官网网址淓very indigenous person who breaks that glass ceiling becomes a role model,B次元官网网址� he said.
Still, change is slow, and if the goal is to reach graduation parity, Is it going to take another generation to get there?
B次元官网网址淚 hope not,B次元官网网址� Beaton said. B次元官网网址淭he conversation is beginning and we canB次元官网网址檛 stop it. IB次元官网网址檓 confident for the first time in my life that it will happen.B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址�
Aboriginal completion percentage rates by district 2011-2015
North Island 62 47 71 46 49
Campbell River 50 72 62 64 51
Port Alberni 56 73 67 58 68
Comox Valley 56 73 67 58 68
Qualicum 66 66 64 69 63
Nanaimo 52 50 56 64 58
Cowichan Valley 55 44 57 54 53
Victoria 54 61 57 64 60
Sooke 73 62 59 58 66
Saanich 43 40 50 51 27
BC Aboriginal 54 57 60 62 63
BC Overall 83 84 86 86 86
