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Revised (Nov 20 2008)
Aboriginal enhancement agreement
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Questions to consider:
- What stage is the district at in terms of an Aboriginal education enhancement agreement?
- How is the district engaging the entire Aboriginal community in ongoing dialogue about supporting the achievement of all Aboriginal students?
- What is the district’s progress toward achieving the goals set out in the agreement and how is it measured?
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It is widely understood that Canada’s public schools have not been successful in supporting Aboriginal student achievement. Graduation rates and results on standardized tests are consistently and significantly lower for Aboriginal students compared to the overall school population.
Growing recognition of this problem resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding in 1999 signed by the Chiefs Action Committee, BC’s Minister of Education, the federal Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, the BC Principals’ and Vice Principals’ Association, the First Nations Schools Association, the British Columbia College of Teachers, the BC Teachers’ Federation and the BC School Trustees Association. It states the co-signers intention to work together within the mandates of their respective organizations to improve school success for Aboriginal learners in BC.
This memorandum of understanding led to the creation of Aboriginal education enhancement agreements which commit boards, local Aboriginal communities and the Ministry of Education to collaborate to improve the academic achievement of Aboriginal students. They set specific goals, which often include integration of Aboriginal languages and cultures into the learning experience.
The agreements provide:
- a framework for involving aboriginal communities in a variety of decision-making areas to ensure that education is relevant to the aboriginal student population
- an ongoing, consistent opportunity for school district representatives and Aboriginal communities to come together as a formal body to improve Aboriginal student achievement
- a plan for helping schools effect a shift in focus towards performance-oriented Aboriginal education based on educational outcomes
- flexibility and choice in determining how to improve Aboriginal student achievement, and
- mechanisms to support dialogue with the schools, the school district and a variety of community agencies.
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Specific tasks
