Eliza Archie Memorial School (EAMS) has undergone its own important examination and passed with flying colours.
EAMS principal Barb MacLeod says every five years the school must undergo an assessment to retain its certification.
This enables EAMS to receive reciprocal funding from the Ministry of Education, as well as securing funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC).
“We’re very delighted to be recertified. Our elders, chief and council, families and others had a lovely big dinner with the community and external assessment team to celebrate the successful completion of the year-long analysis.”
First Nations School Association (FNSA) assessors Darryl Ashdown and Margaret Noble provided “glowing results” in their external certification report, MacLeod notes.
The assessors summarized some of these favourable impressions in the certification report:
“The entire staff is to be commended for their collective commitment to sustaining and enhancing the local community values and history in daily lessons … [they] devote incredible and unlimited time to provide high levels of learning opportunities….
“The community involvement is exemplary and far beyond what we have seen anywhere else.”
MacLeod explains that prior to the external certification, a self-assessment process over the course of an entire school year feeds into a lengthy report that is a learning experience and covering 18 required topics.
The report is reviewed by an assessment mentor before going before the Canim Lake Band chief and council, she says, and is then forwarded to FNSA prior to the external assessment and certification.
Components in the five-year plan include the comprehensive Professional Learning Community (for collaborative learning), and other significant new programs for reading and mathematics, as well as honing staff skills through extensive training, she adds.
The three tiers of the growth plan include technology, literacy, and language and culture.
A Smart Board interactive whiteboard learning tool was recently purchased with community-based funding, which also included two days of staff training.
The literacy element in the plan will develop the students’ skills through an extensive new school-wide reading program recently introduced.
The many important aspects encompassed under arts and culture, include having more staff trained in the Shuswap language.
MacLeod says an Arts Now grant recently awarded by FNSA will be used for traditional beading, archery and bow-making instruction next spring.
Additional FNSA funding has been received to aid the school in implementing its five-year growth plan.
She notes that since 2008, the certification also allows for funding any students living off-reserve to attend EAMS, whether they are of First Nations descent or not.
“We really deeply appreciate the support of chief and council, the families, the community, the children and the staff.
“The external team was very appreciative of the finite detail everyone went to, to prepare the documents and to be available to answer their questions and participate in the review.”
Everyone worked hard to evaluate and assess all of the programs and the special strengths of the school, and contributed a very thorough report of the school and community, she adds.
The FNSA assessors were very pleased at how EAMS had developed its previous growth plan from five years ago, MacLeod notes.
“As a result, we have a very busy five years ahead of us implementing our new growth plan and keeping the strong flow of education in the school.”
