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Moira Stilwell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, joined representatives of the Conseil Scolaire Francophone (CSF) and Aboriginal communities to sign British Columbia’s 47th Aboriginal education enhancement agreement today. 

“This agreement will help improve Aboriginal student success and provide all Conseil scolaire francophone students with a greater understanding of B.C.’s rich Aboriginal history and culture,” said Stilwell. “The steps outlined in the agreement will increase the sense of belonging for Aboriginal francophone students across B.C.” 

Aboriginal education enhancement agreements ensure that Aboriginal culture is integrated in public schools, and Aboriginal communities are involved in the design of programs, services and curriculum delivery aimed at improving Aboriginal student achievement. 

The school district, the Ministry of Education and local Aboriginal groups within each of the regions where CSF schools are located worked closely to develop goals to help enhance the success of Aboriginal students. These goals include: 

·         Improving the academic success of Aboriginal students.

·         Helping Aboriginal students graduate with a strong sense of cultural pride and the ability to take on leadership roles in their communities.

·         Achieving a balance between academic and cultural values focusing on the four aspects of the holistic self: spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical.

“The process of developing our Aboriginal education enhancement agreement has helped weave new relations among Aboriginal families, and it has helped the whole CSF learning community focus on celebrating the incredible richness of culture in our midst,” said Roger Lagassé, CSF director of Aboriginal studies. “One of the exciting directions contained in the framework agreement is encouragement for the creation of French Aboriginal education learning materials. There is a great deal of work to be done here, and there is potential to serve wider francophone audiences hungry for more traditional knowledge.” 

School districts report encouraging results following the signing of an Aboriginal education enhancement agreement. After the Vancouver Island North school district signed its agreement in 2005, the pass rate for Aboriginal students in Science 10 went from 30 per cent in 2004-05 to 95 per cent in 2007-08. Completion rates for Aboriginal students in the Kamloops/Thompson school district increased by more than 10 per cent following their second agreement in 2006. 

The CSF is a French-language education authority that operates 38 schools within the traditional territories of nearly every First Nation across the province. The CSF serves approximately 300 students of Aboriginal ancestry. 

To date, 47 B.C. school districts have signed Aboriginal education enhancement agreements. These agreements are just one component of the collaborative processes that the Province is undertaking to improve Aboriginal student achievement. Other components include the new First Nations education jurisdiction agreement and developing Aboriginal content for the K-12 curriculum.

The Province is investing an estimated $52.6 million a year – $1,014 per student – for Aboriginal education in 2009-10. The funds are used to support Aboriginal language and culture programs, Aboriginal support service programs and other local Aboriginal education programs.