First Nation Student Success Program

Hello folks,

Here’s a quick little tale about my recent dealings with the Ministry of Education:

We’re in the process of developing a “Reach Ahead Program” that will allow grade 8 students in First Nation schools to acquire a grade 9 credit in GLS10 (Learning Strategies1: Skills for Success in Secondary School).

The Careers and Guidance Curriculum book (put out by the Ministry of Ed) has a small section in page 9 that states that full-credit courses may be split in half (Part 1 and Part 2) and students may receive a half credit if they successfully complete half the course AND the course is not a prerequisite for another course. I’m paraphrasing here… the actual wording in the document is not very clear.

My immediate thought was… This is great! We can maximise the opportunity for student success if we split this course. This would accommodate students who can/want to do a full credit, while still allowing students who don’t finish part 1 in time to continue working at it until the end of the school year.

I sent off an email to the Ministry of Ed describing this idea - and even quoted the caveat on page 9. They responded saying that they “could not recommend” this option. This started some back-and-forth where I quoted the document like it was a holy book (which I guess, in these circles, it is!). Finally, they asked to speak with me by phone. Well, just got off the phone a little while ago and it looks like we’re good to go! GLS10 will be delivered as Part 1 and Part 2 and students who only complete part 1 will still get a half credit. A small but important victory!

The moral of this story?


Have a good weekend,
Fernando