BEAUFORT DELTA

After announcing he would be visiting homes in Inuvik, school superintendent Roy Cole is taking his show on the road.

Cole was in Fort McPherson and Tuktoyaktuk during the first week of March to meet with parents after school hours in the comfort of their homes.

As the head of the Beaufort Delta Education Council, Cole said he has noticed that bad attendance is a key reason students are failing in school.

Rather than wait for parent-teacher interviews that are held annually, Cole is taking a new approach. He brought a presentation of attendance facts with him to houses in the communities.

During his time in Tuktoyaktuk, Cole was joined by Mangilaluk School vice-principal Annie Felix. While in Fort McPherson, it was student counsellor Louisa Kay who accompanied Cole into homes.

He said the addition of a local school figure was a great asset in getting the message to each home they visited.

Cole said the message was clear: student attendance relates directly to student achievement.

It wasn't only the homes of those students at risk, the educators also visited with parents of students who are in attendance nearly every day.

"I wanted to see what it was that these parents were doing that helped their children attend school on a regular basis," he said.

One of the common themes in the homes of students with high attendance records was high expectations. Cole said the parents were vocal about what they thought their children could be achieving if they attended school.

"They want them to get their Grade 12. They want them to get their post secondary," said Cole. "They know the key to their future lies in an education."

Positive energy and reinforcement was another of the common traits shown in the successful households. He said the parents had a positive attitude towards him as superintendent and the school as an institution.

Healthy lifestyles was the third commonality the families had with each other.

Cole said abstaining from alcohol and drugs, coupled with healthy eating all contributed to students' happiness and good attendance.

Cole hopes the message will filter to the rest of the Beaufort Delta and schools will continue to see rising attendance rates across the region.

Maureen Pokiak agrees the community tour has been a success so far. The parents who have come to her all praised the school for the information as well as shedding light on the attendance issue.

"The people I have talked to were happy and I think others will be OK with it," said Pokiak.

Pokiak said the school used to make home visits a common affair, but in recent years the house calls have fallen by the wayside.

Aside from the home visits, Cole also held public community meetings to discuss the attendance issue.

He was asked by the Tuktoyaktuk District Education Authority to make a presentation in Kitti Hall, which was attended by 75 people.

"I think we generated a lot of momentum for the school," he said of the Tuk visit.

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