New Aboriginal Education Policy in the Works
Prince George, B.C. – The Prince George School Board has voted to rescind Policy 1231 – School District 57’s Aboriginal Education Board.
The decision was made a last night’s public meeting and the Board’s Policy and Governance Committee says it will be drafting a new policy that will address issues raised by staff, parents and community stakeholders.
The Aboriginal Education Board – Policy 1231 – was created in 2011 but disbanded due to poor attendance in October 2014.
Tribal Chief Terry Teegee of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council decried the move at three Board meetings last year and called for its resurrection.
Those calls fell on deaf ears which prompted Teegee’s organization to hire legal counsel to look into the matter (Neither Teegee nor the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council have commented publicly since).
School Board chair Tim Bennett says after the decision was made to disband the Aboriginal Education Board an Aboriginal education committee was created which includes representatives from local First Nations, the Metis Association, and parents. They’ve provided advice to the District on how to spend targeted Aboriginal funds in support of Aboriginal students.
“When receiving the feedback the Policy and Governance Committee looked at it very carefully and determined that we can’t put the new structure of the Aboriginal Committee into the old policy regarding the Aboriginal Board – it was messy and it made the most sense to create a new policy that will outline the role of the committee and provide clear terms of reference and mandate,” he said.
“So, rather than trying to take something that already existed, the recommendation was to rescind that policy, and that hopefully allows the committee and senior administration to draft something that will better represent what the District is trying to do and help ensure the Aboriginal Committee recognizes they are a critical stakeholder in School District 57.”
Bennett says “he wouldn’t be surprised” if the new policy is brought out for consultation before the end of this school year.
Comments
How about one curriculum for all? Then none of these special interest groups, or boards would not be needed.
The Aboriginal Education Board existed long before 2011. I don’t know off hand when it was created, but it was no later than 1998.
Do you think that maybe someone had incorrect information and as a result, mistakenly stated 2011?
Why would you suggest that this claim that was made for the sole purpose of insulting all the founding members of that Board, and the many individuals who sat on that Board throughout it’s 20 year history?
Could it be because you try to twist and turn everything around to satisfy your twisted sense of reality. Nah, couldn’t be!
Oops, hope that I didn’t insult you, BeingHuman!
The function of the Aboriginal Education Board was not to create a separate curriculum for aboriginal students. There isn’t one. Its primary function was to advise the school district on the use of targeted aboriginal education funds. These are funds provided by the province to the school district in addition to the tuition paid for status Indian children by the federal government. They can be used for two purposes: (a) instruction about aboriginal language and culture, including the creation of necessary materials and curriculum; (b) home/school liaison, visits by elders, etc. The use of these funds must be decided in consultation with First Nations. In SD57 for many years the Aboriginal Education Board provided the mechanism for the required consultation.
Thats all fine and dandy, but why not take the 800k they are spending on a stupid structure, dedicated to the natives at Ft George Pk, and spend it on school upgrades etc?
Seems like the money the natives get, goes to the most idiotic things you could pour money into. They do not spend any on the kids, it goes to the most corrupt hierarchy of money funneling I have ever seen, worse than the Feds, or BC gov’t trickle down corruption.
I don’t really have an opinion on the park shelter as I haven’t studied the need for it. I do understand, though, that the point is to provide shelter from the rain and sun for picnickers rather than to provide a monument to Lheidli people.
I agree that a lot of money that should go to benefit the kids is wasted by the school district.
From what I have heard, there were a lot of leaders in the Aboriginal Community who sat on the previous Aboriginal Education Board. Individuals who where not just high ranking officials in their respective Aboriginal organizations, but also consisted of “the best of the best” the Aboriginal Community had to offer. We are talking about people with doctorate degrees, and masters degrees in Education.
It is unfortunate that the school board decided to closed the door on these individuals and their organizations when it comes to nurturing and maintaining a “respectful” and “meaningful” partnership between the Aboriginal Community and the School District.
I thought that they shut it down because “the best of the best” couldn’t be bothered to show up for meetings?
My understanding is that it was more of a boycott, that members were not attending out of frustration with the administration.
Comments for this article are closed.