SOUTH SLAVE
A successful literacy initiative in South Slave schools is inspiring a similar program for students in Nunavut.

Dr. Shelly Pepler, executive director of curriculum and school services with Nunavut's Department of Education, and Dr. Curtis Brown, superintendent of the South Slave Divisional Education Council, stand in front of the school board's offices in Fort Smith on March 19. - photo courtesy of Steven Lee, South Slave Divisional Education Council

A delegation from Nunavut's Department of Education was in the South Slave for the second time last week to learn more about Leadership for Literacy, an initiative of the South Slave Divisional Education Council (SSDEC).

Dr. Curtis Brown, superintendent of the SSDEC, said it's exciting that Nunavut is modeling its initiative on Leadership for Literacy.

"When you start to be emulated or modeled or even looked at from outside because of the good things you're doing, that's very validating," he said.

Asked if it might even be flattering, he replied with a chuckle, "I'd say so. A little bit."

Over the last few months, the SSDEC has been informally working with Nunavut’s Department of Education.

In December, an eight-person delegation from Nunavut toured SSDEC schools in Hay River and on the Hay River Reserve.

This month, a 12-person delegation – consisting of teachers, principals, superintendents, executive directors, and a representative of the Nunavut Teachers' Association – visited Fort Smith on March 18 and 19 and Fort Resolution on March 20.

Dr. Shelly Pepler, executive director of curriculum and school services with Nunavut's Department of Education, noted her department had looked at a number of jurisdictions for successful literacy initiatives that it could replicate.

"We were just looking and trying to see practices that we thought might work with our children in Nunavut, as well," she said.

Pepler said there are a few things that her department really likes about Leadership for Literacy, beginning with the fact that it's research-based.

Secondly, there is the emphasis on student assessment.

"In Nunavut, we don't have a history of collecting a lot of data around how well students are doing in reading," Pepler noted. "We have perceptions of how we think our students are doing, but we don't have hard data that really tells us how our students are doing. That was one thing that we wanted to come and learn more about."

The only data collected on reading skills is collected through the Alberta diploma exams in Grade 12, she said, meaning there is basically nothing from kindergarten to Grade 11 to show how well students are doing.

The Nunavut education system also estimates its literacy success through public perception and what happens when students go on to post-secondary education, she explained. "We know that it's not seamless for them. They end up taking one or two years of foundation to build up their literacy skills and mathematical skills. The perception is that our students are not ready for post-secondary when they leave high school. Their literacy skills are not strong enough. So, once we start tracking, that will probably give a greater understanding of exactly where our students are and if that perception is actually reality or not."

Pepler said another critical piece of the SSDEC literacy initiative is capacity building.

"We have looked at coaching as a classroom-based coaching model. We've played around a little bit with what that might mean, but none of us realized the depth of coaching that's happening in the South Slave, and the amount of time and effort that has gone into thinking about how to build teacher capacity in the classroom," she said. "So that was a real blessing for us when we came to see and have those conversations to be able to see the practices and watch the debriefings and watch how thoughtful it is in the South Slave."

The Nunavut initiative, which has yet to be officially named, will be introduced this fall in kindergarten to Grade 4 with the intention of phasing it in for all grades over three years if everything goes well.

Pepler said the goal is that in a few years the quality of education that children are receiving in Nunavut will be equivalent to any place in Canada.

Brown believes the SSDEC will also benefit from the informal arrangement to share information with Nunavut.

"I was really keen on the opportunity for our teachers and our principals to be put in a position of sharing with others," he said. "This is a win-win situation. Nunavut might feel that they're learning from us. I think that we're learning ourselves, as well."

Brown is "absolutely confident" the literacy initiative inspired by the South Slave will help students in Nunavut.

Leadership for Literacy, which was introduced in 2007, has made a difference in the South Slave.

In 2006, only about half of the students were performing at or above the standards for reading and mathematics. Seven years later, 74 per cent of South Slave children were reading at or above the Canadian norm, and testing revealed improvements in mathematics, as well.

Last year, a survey also indicated that 92 per cent of parents were satisfied with their children's learning in SSDEC schools, compared to 74 per cent in 2006.