MAEI Newsletter - Spring 2015 - Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative

Spring Issue 2015
2015 has been a significant year for the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative (MAEI)
and it has only just begun. We have visited three schools offering the Aboriginal
Youth Entrepreneurship Program (AYEP), had some very exciting results from our
Model School Literacy Project and the Accounting Mentorship Program is stronger
than ever. We have many more exciting things to come so please stay tuned!
We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support. None of
this would have been possible without your help.
We would also like to salute all of our students, principals and teachers in the
participating schools. Your dedication to our programs is inspiring and we
look forward to continuing our ongoing partnerships.
Mike Briggs of Bruce Power and Sonya Roote from Saugeen First Nation supporting the AYEP students of
Saugeen District Secondary High School
MAEI visits three schools offering The Aboriginal
Entrepreneurship Program (AYEP)
Over the past few months, MAEI visited three schools which offer the Aboriginal
Youth Entrepreneurship Program (AYEP). We first visited Alberni District Secondary
School in Port Alberni, British Columbia, followed by Fort McMurray Composite High
School in Fort McMurray, Alberta and Saugeen District Secondary School in Port
Elgin, Ontario.
During these visits, the students showed great enthusiasm. They shared what they
learned and experienced in the courses and discussed their plans for the future with
hope and determination. Their journeys are inspiring.
While visiting Port Alberni, the AYEP students offered Mr. Martin a t-shirt that had
one of MAEI’s most poignant messages: “We Stand Together”. Students continue to
wear their t-shirts at school during “Red Friday”, which takes place every Friday to
help ensure school spirit, since red is their official school colour. “They are doing
double duty promoting both school spirit and awareness” said Vice Principal Rob
Souther. MAEI would like to thank the Royal Bank and School District 70 for their
support during this entire process.
Alberni District Secondary Students with the Right Honourable Paul Martin and RBC sponsor Moira
Jenkins
At Fort McMurray Composite High School, the entire community has witnessed a
dynamic change in the AYEP students from the beginning of the program until now.
“My students really do enjoy this program, they enjoy coming to my class and
learning what I have to teach. Meeting business mentors has given the students a
greater sense of what life will be like once they leave high school. They see what is
being offered to them if they put in the effort.” Julia McDougall, AYEP teacher. MAEI
would like to thank Conoco Phillips Canada, Marathon Oil, Suncor and Fort
McMurray Public School District. Without you, none of this would be possible.
Fort McMurray AYEP students with sponsors from Conoco Phillips Canada, Marathon Oil and Suncor
along with the Right Honourable Paul Martin
In February 2015, there was a visit to Saugeen District Secondary School in Port
Elgin, Ontario. Bruce Power and the Grey Bruce Community Foundation
announced separate scholarships for Saugeen First Nation students. The
scholarships have been named in Mr. Martin’s honour and will inspire students to
aspire to a level of education they may never thought possible. “To have these
scholarships in my name is a great honour, but most importantly it recognizes just
how significant the education of young Indigenous Canadians is. That’s what really
counts,” said Mr. Martin. Thank you to Bruce Power, the Grey Bruce Community
Foundation and the Bluewater District School Board for all of the support.
The Right Honourable Paul Martin with an AYEP student at Saugeen District Secondary School in Port
Elgin, Ontario
Wiiji Kakendaasodaa (Let’s All Learn).
In 2009 MAEI initiated a five-year Model School project in partnership with
Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Walpole Island First Nation.
The Ojibway name for the project was Wiiji Kakendaasodaa (Let’s All Learn).
The project was planned and implemented in collaboration with First Nation
leadership, educators and the leading researchers in Canada with the goal of
improving students’ literacy skills. As a result of our work in the two schools, we
developed replicable practices that improved First Nations students’ achievement.
Dean Julia O'Sullivan of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the
University of Toronto was the chief advisor and researcher for the project. Vaughan
Stoyka led the project and provided her expertise and enthusiasm.
The data analysis conducted by Dr. O’Sullivan indicated that because of the training
and support provided to the principals and classroom teachers through the project,
there were substantial improvements in the quality of teaching and in student
achievement on standardized and curriculum-based tests. Her assessments of the
student data from the schools, combined with her on-site observations of teaching
practices, enabled the project team to determine which classroom strategies were to
be implemented and/or strengthened and the required next steps.
Her final assessment showed:
Student Achievement:
when Wiiji Kakendaasodaa began, most students did not meet the
provincial standards in reading or writing
when Wiiji Kakendaasodaa ended, most students met or exceeded
provincial standards
each school exceeded provincial achievement levels at times
Special Education:
the percentage of students identified for speech and language services
decreased from 49% to 19% (in Senior Kindergarten to Grade 3)
The percentage of students identified for special education services
decreased from 24% to 4% (in Grades 4 to 6)
Overall:
With effective teaching, First Nations students can excel as speakers,
listeners, readers and writers in two or more languages and enjoy the
associated cultural, social, educational and economic benefits
Photo at Model School Literacy Project – announcement of the results
The Accounting Mentorship Program reaches for success!
The Accounting Mentorship Program has achieved two very significant milestones in
the fall and winter terms.
First, we have opened programs in more schools in one school year than ever
before. We initiated programs in six high schools in four communities which are new
to our program. This brings more than twenty new students to our program. When
we combine these students with the students from our existing locations, we will
have almost ninety students actively mentored in 21 high schools.
I would like to give a special welcome and congratulations to the students and
supporting staff at the following schools and to the mentors and coordinators from
the accounting offices.
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Dover Bay Secondary and
John Darby Community Schools
mentored by
MNP LLP
Grande Prairie, Alberta
Charles Spencer and St. Joseph Catholic mentored by
High Schools
MNP LLP
Calgary, Alberta
Western Canada High School
mentored by
KPMG LLP
Ottawa, Ontario
Rideau High School
mentored by
KPMG LLP
Rideau High is also a special school in that some of their students are our first Inuit
students from Nunavut. These three Inuit students have left their homes in the north
to attend school in Ottawa. We are delighted to be able to offer them a mentoring
opportunity that is not yet available in their home communities.
The other very significant milestone is that we have added a regional coordinator for
Quebec. We are pleased to announce that Mario Torre, B.Com, CPA, CA of the
Montreal office of BDO LLP, has agreed to join our group. He will head up our efforts
to identify and bring Quebec students into our program.
Mario is a senior partner in BDO and the Director of its First Nations Community
practice in Quebec. We and the students in Quebec will benefit from his more than
thirty years of experience and knowledge of the First Nation Communities in Quebec.
We are delighted to welcome Mario to our team. We look forward to working with him
to provide opportunities to First Nations students in Quebec.
Join us!
Subscribe today at the Promising Practices in Aboriginal
Education Website
We invite you to register for the monthly outreach of our Promising Practices in
Aboriginal Education website (PPW) and encourage your colleagues to do the
same. You will find a growing collection of elementary and secondary
classroom-ready materials along with relevant resources and related links,
early childhood education material and resources to encourage greater
community involvement in Indigenous education. Here is some of the feedback
we have received:
Here is some feedback we have received about PPW:
“... Thank you for all the PPW items. I especially like the Grade 7 &
8 links! I have asked all the teachers to register. ”
First Nation principal
“…They help me to write program proposals with the research and
give our division wonderful ideas (the TB Aboriginal Handbook –
we are discussing developing one for our divisional staff based
upon the model). So they are appreciated! ”
Northern Aboriginal Consultant
MAEI Team News
MAEI would like to welcome three new staff members to our team!
Susan Aris - Education Program Coordinator
Amanda Katz - Administrative Assistant to Lucie Santoro
Mario Torre - Regional Coordinator for Quebec; Accounting Mentorship
Program
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