Education Equity

As some of you know, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission issued a report in 1985 called Education Equity. It expressed concern with the extremely high drop-out rate of students of Aboriginal ancestry before they graduated from high school.

At the time, some people questioned what business it was of the Commission to involve itself in the education system. The answer lies in Section 13(1) of The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code which states:

"Every person and every class of persons shall enjoy the right to education in any school, college, university or other institution or place of learning, vocational training or apprenticeship without discrimination because of his or their race, creed, religion, colour, sex, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, disability, nationality, ancestry, place of origin or receipt of public assistance."

It was quite apparent that students of Aboriginal ancestry were not benefiting from the education system to the same extent as non-Aboriginal students. Consequently, the Commission initiated the concept of education equity plans in those school divisions whose student body was comprised of 5% or more of students of Aboriginal ancestry.

These plans consisted of five components:

• hiring more teachers of Aboriginal ancestry;
• increasing Aboriginal content in the curriculum;
• increasing parental involvement in school activities;
• making sure school policies and practices did not have an adverse impact on students of Aboriginal ancestry;
• providing cross-cultural training for teachers.

Two additional components were later added:

• hiring Aboriginal people into the non-teaching positions;
• developing anti-racism policies and procedures.

The twenty school divisions that developed these plans submitted reports annually to the Commission.

1999-2000 Reports

Fifty percent of all K – 12 students in the province are in school divisions with approved equity plans. This excludes the Saskatchewan Rivers Division whose statistical report was not available this year.

What are the results of the equity plans? There are many positive outcomes.

We have seen concerted efforts to hire teachers of Aboriginal ancestry; some school divisions having more success than others.

We have seen the curriculum change to include a significant reference to Aboriginal culture. Work is ongoing in this area.

We have seen many innovative initiatives to involve parents in school activities, including the introduction of elders into the classroom.

We have seen the development and implementation of anti-racism policies.

These are a very few of the positive initiatives. There is much still to be done. In August 1997, the Commission along with its partners in education equity at the time: Saskatchewan Education, Saskatchewan School Trustees Association, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and the League of Education Administrators, Directors and Superintendents issued a document titled "Our Children, Our Communities and Our Future". Its subtitle is "Equity in Education: A Policy Framework". It calls on all school divisions to adopt a concept of education equity that allows all students to reach their full potential in the K – 12 system. Post secondary education institutions joined the Education Equity Forum in recent years. The Commission is pleased to work with the University of Regina, the University of Saskatchewan and Gabriel Dumont Institute along with its former education partners.

In this year’s reports, it is gratifying to see a number of school divisions expanding their equity initiatives. While maintaining efforts to make the school experience more rewarding for Aboriginal students, they are sensitive to issues in the community, gender issues and special needs issues.

2000-2001 And Beyond

Two big issues are currently being tackled.

How does a school division introduce this broad concept of equity?

To be successful requires support beyond those directly involved in providing education in the classroom. School divisions are taking tentative steps in a variety of ways, depending on the environment in which they function.

Prince Albert Roman Catholic Separate School Division has a Social Justice Committee that looks at many factors that affect the success of its students.

Indian Head School Division has a Community of Hope project that deals with a variety of issues that hinder students from succeeding.

Saskatoon Public School Division has several committees to deal with specific areas of concern. For example, there is an English as a Second Language Committee that will develop a handbook for classroom teachers on integrating ESL students and modifying curriculum and instruction. Another example is a Personal and Social Development Committee that evaluates resources that aim to support a caring community of learners.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the initiatives taken by school divisions that broaden the concept of equity as set out in the policy framework document. They are only examples of various initiatives that are heading down that road.

The second major issue is:

How does a school division measure success?

In order to know if initiatives are having the effect intended, there have to be some indicators of success.

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