A6 The Delta Optimist May 13, 2011
Aboriginal marks on the rise
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Delta students faring better than counterparts elsewhere in province
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BY
SANDOR GYARMATI
sgyarmati@delta-optimist.com
A recent report by the Fraser Institute critical of aboriginal education in B.C. doesn’t reflect what’s happening in Delta. That’s the response from Kathy Guild, the school district’s director of special education programs, to the institute’s Report Card on Aboriginal Education in British Columbia 2011, which concluded aboriginal students continue to trail their non-aboriginal classmates in all subject areas, with no significant improvement over the past five years. Peter Cowley, the Fraser Institute’s director of school performance studies and co-author of the report card, said there’s a “considerable and persistent gap” when it comes to aboriginal success rates compared to non-natives. What’s most disturbing is that aboriginal test scores haven’t improved, he said. Cowley, whose report ranked 52 elementary and 63 secondary schools based on several indicators, said
understand how poorly the it’s clear “B.C.’s current approach to aboriginal edu- kids have done. When you look at where we started cation is disastrous.” then, I think the provincial In an interview with graduation rate was 37 per the Optimist, Guild, who cent, and it’s gone up to recently presented the around the low-50s.” district’s annual Aboriginal As far as Delta, this Enhancement Agreement district’s report to the graduation Delta school board, pointed “In Delta, I would still rate for aboriginal out that while say we have a long students aboriginal stuentering dents still lag way to go.” Kathy Guild Grade 8 behind, things and going have improved since the 1990s in this prov- right through to the end of Grade 12 has reached 62 ince when B.C. made the per cent, which is above the data available. provincial average, but still “The state of aborigineeds improvement. nal education in Canada “In Delta, I would still as a whole is not great. say we have a long way to Aboriginal kids do not do well in Canadian schools, as go. Our goal is to have our aboriginal rate improve to a general statement. British the same rate as our nonColumbia, to the credit of aboriginal students,” Guild the government, I think is said. the only one that actually “We’re seeing progbreaks out their aboriginal data so you can see how the ress and one of the things we’ve been really targeting kids are doing,” she said. is helping kids with their “I think that’s been a academic skills in their way to put pressure on the elementary school. We’ve system to do a better job. To that end, there have been also provided cultural support, which seems to be improvements ... The idea very important to aboriginal was unless we see how bad kids and their families, and it is, people don’t really
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we have aboriginal support workers who are of aboriginal ancestry in Delta schools.” There are about 500 aboriginal students in Delta, evenly divided between elementary and high schools, with about 40 coming from the Tsawwassen First Nation. Noting aboriginal students are scattered throughout all schools, Guild said many of them are, in fact, doing well, but the district is still focusing on providing them with support as well as their at-risk students cohorts. According to the district’s report looking at 2009/10, which outlines areas that have and haven’t met expectations, the at-risk percentage of aboriginals at the elementary level decreased from 46 per cent to 33 per cent. At the high school level, the 62 per cent graduation rate is the highest yet, however, 58 per cent of aboriginal students are still considered at-risk. Meanwhile, one of the district’s goals is to see 20 per cent of aboriginal graduates attend post-secondary.
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