Aboriginal Education Committee

BCSTA’s Aboriginal Education Committee: A focus on Aboriginal student achievement

The Aboriginal Education Committee represents boards’ interests in Aboriginal education – at the same time, developing ideas and recommendations for the vital work of improving Aboriginal student achievement. As well, the committee continually seeks to heighten knowledge, awareness and understanding of Aboriginal issues.

The committee stays alert to potential problems with provincial policy and implementation, and keeping members up to date. It develops recommendations on Aboriginal education matters for action by BCSTA.

The committee meets several times a year.

Next Aboriginal Education Committee Meeting Schedule

Check the calendar for details on all BCSTA meetings and events.

Aboriginal Education Committee Minutes Archive

Minutes from 2005 to 2008 can be found in the archive

By following this link you will be taken to the DocuShare database. To search for a specific topic within Minutes, use the Search: box at the top right corner.

Committee members

Aboriginal Education Online Trustee Discussion

If you are a BC school trustee with an interest in aboriginal education issues and would enjoy an opportunity to discuss issues with fellow school trustees, you are invited to join BCSTA’s online discussion group. If you would like to join, send an email to Maggie Li with your request. You will receive a “welcome” message and guidelines for use when you have been added to the discussion group (fnec-discussion@interchange.ubc.ca).

Aboriginal School Trustees

As of January, 2007, out of 60 public school boards, 18 (30%) have aboriginal trustees. Out of 420 school trustees, 31 (7.4%) are aboriginal. This compares with 9.5% of the student population. Of the 16 boards with over 25% aboriginal student population, 11 have one or more aboriginal trustees. In a similar survey in January, 2003 (following elections in 2002), 16 boards reported 28 trustees of aboriginal background.

Aboriginal Education Support

British Columbia’s school districts have put into place a wide variety of supports for Aboriginal students. Much of this has been made possible by targeted provincial funding provided to districts offering special programs and support to Aboriginal students. In addition, many of these programs and services are the result of First Nations and school district cooperation supported by Federal funding.

Read some documents that explain how school boards support Aboriginal students across the province:

1. First Nations Education Committee report published in April, 2006: Supporting Aboriginal education in BC’s public schools.
2. The November 2006 overview entitled Supporting Aboriginal Learners: Action Research in BC Schools, which mentions some of the projects and innovative programs that Aboriginal students participate in across our province.
3. Promising Practices from District Reviews published by the Ministry of Education.
4. Education of BC Aboriginal Students: Challenges and Opportunities May 26, 2006.  Power Point Presentation to Canadian School Boards Association Congress 2006.
5. Sharing Our Success: More Case Studies in Aboriginal Schooling George Fulford, with Jackie Moore Daigle, Blair Stevenson, Chuck Tolley, Tracey Wade. Published by Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education, February 2007. Ten case studies from across Canada. Available for purchase. Link to Executive Summary and order information.
6. Several district projects highlighted at the Learning in Action Showcase focused specifically on meeting the needs of aboriginal learners: SD50 (Haida-Gwaii-Queen Charlotte), SD54 (Bulkley Valley), SD62 (Sooke) and SD82 (Coast Mountains)
7. District Information, Links, Research and Reports: SD23 (Central Okanagan) Aboriginal Education Report: 2003-2004 and SD74 (Gold Trail) Annual report on first year goal progress in the five year Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement, November 2006.
8. The First Nations, Métis and Inuit Children Youth: Time to Act published Fall 2007 by the National Council of Welfare.

Links

• First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC): facilitates discussion about education matters affecting First Nations in BC by disseminating information and soliciting input from First Nations.
• Ministry of Education: Aboriginal Education Enhancement Branch: responsible for developing policies, procedures and initiatives related to the education of Aboriginal students in British Columbia.