More money just a start The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 28, 1998 - AG | Aboriginal students get help eT a Ser ipe ikon oan ACROSS B.C. only 31 per cent of aboriginal students who start grade eight finish grade 12, Those nunibers probably hold truc in Ter- race as well, says Kenn Whyte, the man in charge of aboriginal instruction for the Coast Mountain school dis- trict. “The statistics are not great for First Nations stu- dents,”’ he says. Approximately one- * quarter — 2,000 — students in =the = Terrace/Kitimat school district are aboriginal. In order to im- prove their chances of grad- uation, the education minis- try provides money for lan- guage and cultural programs with a First Nations empha- sis. That money works out to about $1,000 extra per native student, says Whyte. Money is also spent on ex- tra counselling and home support. This extra level of pro- grams hasn’t been around for very long. Whyte’s posi- tion and the First Nations Education Centre have only ~ been around for about a year and a half, : “The effect won't be seen for a long time probably,” says Whyte. And he adds, enough time hasn’t gone by yet to collect relevant data on students. ; In spite of the extra money for First Nations programs, Whyte says a lot more is needed. For example, native parents and aboriginal com- munities have to get more involved in their children’s schooling, That’s working to a de- gree. For example, about 200 children and parents showed up for a recent First Nations games night at Clarence Michiel. But the problem is deeper than the school district alone can fix. Parents of native children often suffer from poverty, unemployment, alienation, hurt and anger, says Whyte... - — “These are hige sacietal "} problems and they’re not going to be solved over- night.” In a_ recently released 1995/96 report on the edu- cation ministry, findings show that poverty is one of the strongest predictors of student performance, ‘School performance ap- pears to decrease as poverty rates itcrease,’’ says the report. And there’s a direct link between how many people in the school’s area receive income support and the percentage of students who continue to post- secondary education. Among students in identi- Kenn Whyte “Kids don’t drop out of school if they’re excited and happy.” fiable minorities, the educa- tion mainistry found aboriginal students had the worst high school pradu- ation rates - 31 per cent. Fifty-seven per cent of Hindi students _ finished grade 12, 61 per cent of Spanish and 66 per cent of English students, The com- pletion rate for Vietnamese students was 71 per cent, 75 per cent for Italian, ‘78 per cent for French and Punjabi and 89 per cent for Chinese students, In order to improve the graduation... rate” for aboriginal ‘stidentst"Wihyte™playg wants a better commitment from the education ministry. It recently reviewed the money its spending on First Nations programs, and the results of that review haven’t been revealed yet, he says. ‘Phere was some rum- bling that targeted monies would go, but we convinced them that was fairly ludicrous,’’ he said. He wants more leadership from the provincial govern- ment, confirming that aboriginal education is a strong priority. Since aboriginal students make up one quarter of the school’s population, Whyte would {ike to see that reflected in teacher num- bers. Having positive role models is important, he points out. But right now there’s only about 10 or 11 First Nations people employed as counselors or teachers, out of a school district work force of 500, “One fiftieth of the work- force — how can you measure its effect on the system?”' asks Whyte. There isn’t a pool of qualified native teachers to draw from though, he says. So he'd like to see a training program for First Nations teachers based in the dis- trict. “*We’re exploring the pos- sibility of a teacher training program here,”’ he says. He says a similar program in Prince Rupert has had suc- cess. Another factor of the suc- cess of First Nations pro- grams is acceptance by the non-native community. ‘There's overall good ac- ceplance,’” he says. ‘‘We’re doing better than I thought we would.”” There’s still misinforma- tion in the community though, that native people are lazy and have everything given to them. “You still get that,” he says. And every time the Jand claims issue comes up in the news, children fight their ’ parent's ‘-battles on the hi Teachers are helping to make a difference, but even more work is needed, “Kids don’t drop out of school if they’re excited and happy,’’ says Whyte. Girls smarter than boys | WHICH STUDENTS are doing well, which are not and the explanations for it all are available in the edu- cation ministry’s 1995/96 annual report. Here are some highlights from that report. @ 71 per cent of students complete school in a normal Grade 8 to Grade 12 fash- ion. W@ However, 85 per cent of students who start school complete grade 12 at some point, whether it’s through adult basic education or other alternative programs. m@ «Unemployment rates are twice as high for young adults who have not gradu- ated from high school, com- pared to praduates — 25 per cent unemployment com- pated to 13 per cent among high school graduates in 1996, Wi 43 per cent of graduates were eligible for university in 1995/96, compared to 36 per cent in 1989/90. W@ More female students than male students are eligible for university — 47 per cent versus 39 per cent. @ Special education en- roliment has more than doubled over the last 10 years. Students with special necds now make up about 10 per cent of the student population. Half have mild to severe learning or behavioural dis- abilities and one third are classified as gifted. How- ever, the ministry has not collected data about the per- formance of students with special needs. Mm About 15 per cent of Students do ot speak English as their primary lan- guage at home. Mi Female students have higher overall grades than male studenis —- an average high schoo! GPA or. 3.0 versus 2.8 for males. They also receive more ‘ly to scholarships, and are more likely to complete high school in the traditional Grade 8 to Grade 12 fashion — 73 per cent versus 64 per cent, Bi The gender gap in math and science participation rates has narrowed. But fe- male students are more like- avoid math and physics. More than twice as many male graduates took applied courses, while female grads significantly outnumbered male grads in languages, humanitics and life skills courses, Wi In languages and home economics, female teachers are in the vast majority, while male teachers domi- nate subjects such as math, Science, computer education and industrial education. In 1995/96 ‘the educa- tion ministry gave $3.4 bil- lion to BC’s school districts. i It costs about $75,000 to school a child from kin- dezgarien to graduation, FIRST NATIONS school principal Walsh looks on as grade 12 student Keanne Stuart Tait drums a welcome song. Drummers opened a workshop last week at the First Nations Education Centre, designed to teach students about native jus- tice. The program raises awareness of native issues, ‘ we Something : ¥ Images by bl ; Karlene and Custom (Qe Video & Photography (Omg hi The ultinsate gift i ap) personal expression, Personal, private, professional photography. a) Abusband ey and wife . . professional eam. Call now to bave your picteres in time for Valentines Day! = 635-4997 Sy Y 2 4652 Lazelle Avenue \ Open Weekdays until 7:00 p.m. )) | Attention a Diabetics _ Need someone to talk to? Need advice about diet? 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