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New initiative aims to boost student attendance in Tlicho
Schools seek to avoid repeat of enrolment drop last September

Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, Sept 10, 2012

BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO
An initiative has been launched in the Tlicho territory to encourage young people to attend school.

Shannon Barnett-Aikman, director of education with the Tlicho Community Services Agency, explained the initiative originated with something that happened last year.

"Where it's coming from this year is we did have a fairly significant drop in attendance last September," she said, noting there was an overall decline of about 40 students in the five schools in the region's four communities - Behchoko, Gameti, Wekweti and Whati - from the previous September.

So this September, the agency is allowing each school to hire a local person to make home visits and talk with parents and children about the importance of regularly attending school.

Barnett-Aikman said, in some cases, that will lead to "sensitive conversations" about the responsibilities of parents.

"Our goal is to increase enrolment by as much as we possibly can," she said, adding that just maintaining the status quo would fall below the goal.

The home visits program will run until mid-October.

Along with being good for individual students, Barnett-Aikman noted that school attendance is also important for the funding the schools receive from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, which bases annual funding on enrolment on Sept. 30 from the prior year.

"So whatever our September figures are this year, that will inform what our operating budget will be for next year's school year," she said.

Barnett-Aikman added last year's drop in enrolment has potential implications for operating budgets this year, although she didn't have exact figures.

"It's a fair chunk of change," she said. "It has some possibly serious implications for the number of staff we're able to maintain and the level of programs we're able to offer."

Aside from students just not attending school, Barnett-Aikman said enrolment drops can also be influenced by other factors, such as families moving to other communities for post-secondary education or employment reasons, and some young parents deciding to stay at home to raise their children.

Along with the visits to the homes of parents and students, schools in the Tlicho are also trying various other tactics to encourage attendance, including prize draws for good attendance and a buddy system where older students encourage younger students to attend class, along with a media blitz to encourage attendance. Adults are even being encouraged to return to high school.

Michael Botermans, a long-time teacher at Chief Jimmy Bruneau School in Behchoko, is visiting families in that community to encourage attendance.

"I know many of the parents, many of the guardians and grandparents, and I can go into the homes and sort of lay it on the line that, you know, you've got to start acting - not just thinking - you've got to start acting like you're serious about your kid's life and your own life," he said, adding he explains why it is important for children to be in school.

Botermans said young people are either missing too much school or not going to school at all.

"We have issues with kids not coming that are not far from graduating. They've just got a course or two left," he said.

Botermans also noted not attending school creates a bad habit among young people of not being committed to what they do and doesn't prepare them for post-secondary education or the working world.

"It's not just for them to be successful in their high school career, but it's also to build that life skill," he said.

Botermans said the home visits involve straightforward talk in which parents are told it is unacceptable that they are not ensuring their children are in school.

Courtney Wanazah, a Grade 12 student at Chief Jimmy Bruneau School, believes young people should stay in school.

"I think it's very important because they need their education to get a job and to have a good name for yourself, and to have a good name for the Tlicho people," said the 18-year-old.

Wanazah intends to finish high school and to make her mother proud.

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