Ups and downs in education
Objectives, results presented to community during district education authority AGM
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, December 10, 2015
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A crowd of parents and educators heard that Bompas Elementary School has seen plenty of success over the past year in its programs and classes, during the Fort Simpson District Education Authority's annual general meeting the evening of Dec. 3.
Fort Simpson District Education Authority members attend the authority's annual general meeting on Dec. 3. Ashley Menicoche, left, sits at the table beside Renalyn Pascua-Matte, Andrea Mitchell, Stephanie Cudmore, Katherine Dempsey, Leanne Jose and Neil Barry. - April Hudson/NNSL photo
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Updates on the school improvement plans for Bompas and Thomas Simpson Secondary School were presented at the gathering.
The updates were from the most recent completed school year of 2014-2015.
Bompas saw an overall 20 per cent improvement in student writing.
As for culture, 58 per cent of students were retaining Dene language vocabulary they learned in school, according to data gathered from language assessments.
Acting principal Leanne Jose said the school has also been working on its communication with parents.
"We're doing a lot more positive phone calls home ... (which) is important for building relationships with parents," she said.
She also wants to work on attendance levels in the coming year. Attendance saw a three per cent improvement in 2014-15 but can still be improved.
"We're trying to think of ways to get our attendance up and target those chronic non-attenders, working more closely with parents, students and councillors," she said.
In the coming year, Bompas' school improvement plan includes a focus on improving mathematical skills as well as positive student behaviour to reduce bullying.
So far this school year, teachers have been introducing concepts of student self-regulation to teach students about their emotions, body and brain. The goal going forward is a 10 per cent decrease in the number of written referrals for at-risk students.
Mixed results for Thomas Simpson Secondary School
According to a report given by Thomas Simpson acting principal Neil Barry, Alberta Achievement test reading scores decreased 11 per cent in 2014-15, a result tempered by a 15 per cent increase in students who improved their reading scores on Basic Reading Inventory, a test the school administers.
Likewise, the school saw a 19 per cent increase of students meeting the standard for the school's writing test and an 11 per cent decrease in students who exceeded the standard.
"When you're dealing with low numbers of students, one or two students can raise something 15 or 20 per cent. Some grades have quite a few students who have repeated grades, for example, or have learning difficulties. Other grades don't," Barry said.
"I'm pretty proud of the results we've had ... but of course if we do have lower-than-expected marks we're going to try to raise that bar and say, 'What can we do to motivate those students? How can we teach a little bit differently to reach them in a better way?' "
Going forward, Barry said one of the school's major focuses is culturally relevant instruction. The school has been running a pilot project alongside Bompas, with culture instructors devoted to each school.
That means each student in junior high gets 40 minutes of language instruction per day.
Presentations at the annual general meeting were followed by a brief question-and-answer session before the meeting adjourned.
