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Failed tests blamed on truancy Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison Northern News Services Published Monday, March 12, 2012
The reason, according to many educators, is that they're showing up to school less often. "I could beat this one around, but I'm not going to," said Roy Cole, superintendent of the Beaufort Delta Education Council. "If students aren't in school, then they cannot learn. It doesn't matter about the quality of teachers in our communities. It doesn't matter what kind of resources we put in there. It doesn't matter the training that we provide to our teachers." The average attendance in smaller communities, at 82.3 per cent, was eight per cent lower than in Yellowknife. The average attendance in regional centres like Inuvik and Norman Wells sat at 85.4 per cent. In the Beaufort Delta's nine schools, attendance was at 81 per cent last year, compared to 74 per cent four years ago. "Are we evolving? Are we eventually going to get there? My response is yes," Cole said. "It will happen over time, but it's one of those things that we're hoping will happen sooner rather than later, because the people who are being negatively affected are the students." For the 2010-2011 school year, students in smaller communities scored close to 30 per cent lower than regional centres in English and 33 per cent lower in math. In addition, one out of three students in smaller communities was excused from the assessment tests because they were on documented individualized education plans. In comparison, in regional centres it was close to one out of 10 students. "I can speculate, I can guesstimate several excuses as to why (Alberta Achievement Test) scores are not as high in the communities, but it comes down to attendance," Cole said. Dan Daniels, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment, agreed. "By the time most aboriginal students get to Grade 10, they're two years behind." On average, aboriginal students in the territory miss 41 days of school per year, according to the department. By the end of Grade 9, that would account for two full years of instruction. "Therein lies the issue. This is as simple as that," Cole said of the statistic. David Reid, president of the Northwest Territory's Teachers' Association, said a higher turnover rate for teachers in communities is another factor in lower student assessment results. "In the regional centres and in Yellowknife, for the most part, not in all cases, you have a very stable teaching population," he said. "A lot of the teachers have been in those places for many, many years. You develop a good relationship with the students and the parents. A lot of the communities have a higher turnover and it takes longer to establish those relationships with the students and the parents to have the focus on education. I think that's the main issue." A third factor is the lack of daycares and child development centres in smaller communities, according to Daniels and Reid. "They're getting a leg up," Reid said of children in Yellowknife and regional centres. "Many students in the North who first enter the school system are not quite ready for formal schooling," Daniels said. To try and bridge the gap, the department is increasing its focus on early childhood development and even considering new programs, like junior kindergarten, that would add hours young children spend in the classroom. "It's certainly something we're looking at," Daniels said.
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