- The published completion rate for Saanich is down from 78% to 72%.
- There is a more accurate "adjusted rate" that needs to be calculated. That number is being determined but we know it to be well over 80%. The adjusted rate comes from taking out 60 international students who were not here to graduate and who went home as expected. The adjusted rate also incorporates the large number of non-Saanich students who registered briefly at the South Island Distance Education School. By not registering again in their home districts they became ours only for the purpose of this statistic.
- Notwithstanding the adjustment that puts us over 80%, we are dissatisfied with these results and will continue to enact plans to generate greater success for more students.
- The most troubling statistic is our 21% First Nations completion rate. One upside is that we know every one of those non-completers and we are in contact with them and their families to support ongoing connection to school. Also, our strong partnership with the W'SANEC communities and our Board's productive relationship with the Saanich Indian School Board mean that there is great hope for improvement in our mutual support for the strategies outlined in the Education Enhancement Agreement signed last spring (posted on our district website).
Keven
7 comments:
My first thought is - what are the remaining 20% of students themselves saying about their reasons?
When you say 'non-completers', do you mean students who haven't finished within the desired time frame, or students who leave school all together?
Where is the gap between what schools offer and what the students are doing if they're not in school? Are they finding work? Or are they leaving without a different activity in mind? What could the school offer to bridge that gap? Increase work-trades as apprenticeships? Earlier support for integration in society (like a reality check)? What is the dialogue like between schools and the learners who are leaving in terms of what the disillusionment is for the learners regarding going to school?
Has the school system in Canada looked at other systems of secondary education in the world? For instance, in the Netherlands there are 4 year, 5 year and 6 year high-school programs. The 4 year one is more practical and prepares for trades work where students continue to trades programs where they work 4 days a week and go to school one day a week to get the theory behind what they're doing.
The 5 year prepares for a college or bachelor's program. There is a higher emphasis on left-brain learning, but there's still a good amount of practical stuff. There's more of an 'arts' approach rather than a 'trades' approach.
The 6 year prepares for entry to a master's level program and is very left-brain oriented. It is for those who are more mentally inclined so that they are getting more challenge and variation (including Greek, Latin, higher levels of Math, Physics, etc) at a higher pace. It's more science-oriented.
This way those who are better with their hands are 'off the hook' earlier (age 16), whereas those who are more science oriented graduate from high school at around 18 and go straight to higher levels of University. I don't believe it is "the" system, but I do see the merits of such a program set-up for many in a culture where 'head learning' is considered superior to practical skills trainings and trades skills.
Within those years at high school, there are 'bridge' classes to allow those students who needed a bit more time to find what they wanted or where their skills lie to move between those three forms of high school education.
That as a prelude - I find myself wondering whether the students who are 'non-completers' are more trade-oriented, arts-oriented, or science-oriented?
Hi Keven,
So that I can better understand these statistics, I hope you can answer a couple of questions.... How do the "large numbers" of non-district SIDES students and the 60 international, non-graduating students compare to past years? In other words, was last year's 78 percent completion rate an "adjusted" rate or was it the base rate while the adjusted rate was even higher (and if the adjusted rate was higher than 78 percent, what was it)?
If adjusted rates have fallen from past years, I wonder if the decline might reflect some of the budget challenges which the district has been forced to grapple with? Although SD 63 has tried its best to hold the line on programs and services, it wouldn't be surprising if the inevitable slippage eventually (sadly) showed up in our graduation rates.....
Thanks for clarifying this.
I would like to see included in the stats the number of FN who have attended SD 63 since Grade 1 versus those who transfer from LAU WELNEW. I have faith the new Enhancement program will help address many of the issues for the middle school FN students who feel disconnected with their 'education'. I also hope that the teaming (ie. with Tsawout) and meeting of minds to try and work together to turn around the problems that are plaguing the present situation on the reserve and thus being brought to school. It takes a community working together to improve the conditions for learning.
Would someone please research the 'reasons' students leave LAU WELNEW and come to Bayside? Also - the students that arrive from LAU WELNEW wait on an average of over two years to have testing done. The need of assistance and one to one guidance for these students (who are changing from a class of approx. 17 to 29 and suddenly in a multicultural surrounding) in their 'transition' year is lacking. What can we do? It needs fixing...quickly.
Hello,
Thanks for writing this blog.
But I'm wondering about the criteria for posting comments. A couple of weeks ago, I submitted a comment/question about this posting but your site still shows 0 comments. I don't think my original comments were rude or out of line....basically, I asked what the "adjusted" grad rates were in previous years (there were presumably international students, out-of-district SIDES students etc in previous years too).
Is it possible for this data to be posted so that any upward or downward trends in SD 63's grad rates can be noted?
Thanks! And all the best of the season!
Thanks for these comments. My apologies for not responding sooner, but for some reason over the past 3 weeks or so nothing has been posting. I have fixed that and will get back to your thoughtful comments and questions when I get a chance. Right now I am in Vancouver preparing for the ICSEI conference. Very exciting.
My reaction to the First Nations statistics is shocked. As a community member, I would like to know why there is not more academic support and First Nations programs available. Many of our First Nations youth coming from LAU WELNEW have a difficult time fitting in within the middle/high school. It is important to have a solid transition plan in place to ensure our kids are eased into the new environment. I agree with the other person who commented stating that there is a need for ONE to ONE teaching. Many youth do not feel comfortable within the classroom of peers and therefore are giving up on school and losing motivation to be there. They do not feel included within the school. I understand there are First Nations programs in place, however, we need more First Nations teachers and support helping the children and supporting them in a positive way. Connecting to your children is important. If our children feel accepted and feel as if they belong within the school the attendance rates would be better and chances are their graduation statistics would be higer.It takes a whole community to raise a child...let's follow this .
Not only do students need to feel they 'belong'; the school space/culture needs to be expanded/revised so that belonging is redefined and reconstructed to include a First Nations culture of belonging.
Belonging as indicated in the dialogue thus far, has the underpinnings of hegemonic 'othering'(Edward Said); to belong is to move into a foreign space.This notion requires some critical discourse analysis and some inquiry into 'what belonging feels like' to First Nations students
Louise Gonsalvez
Post a Comment