Ontario’s New Approach to Aboriginal Affairs commits the government to working with Aboriginal leaders and organizations to improve education outcomes among Aboriginal students.[32] The challenge for the Ministry of Education (MOE) in helping Aboriginal students and assessing progress “was the absence of reliable student-specific data on the achievement of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students across Ontario.” [33]
In March 2003, MOE provided funding to support an Aboriginal student self-identification policy research pilot project, an initiative of Northern Ontario Education Leaders (NOEL) and Northern Aboriginal Educational Circle (NAEC). The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board (KPDSB) was one of two boards selected to work together to develop a self-identification policy. Plans were for this policy to eventually be used by all of the NOEL boards, to give the MOE reliable data on Aboriginal students.
As a result of the NOEL pilot project, six school boards in north-western Ontario have developed a self-identification policy.
The KPDSB is one of the most geographically dispersed school boards in Ontario,[34] with 16 elementary schools and five secondary schools spread over 70,950 square km.[35] The KPDSB serves approximately 5,446 students,[36] 38% of whom self-identify as Aboriginal.[37] Estimates are that this figure will reach 50% by 2010.[38] Meeting the needs of this growing student population was one of the key factors that influenced the KPDSB to develop and approve the Voluntary and Confidential Self-Identification for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Students Policy (the Policy) in 2004.[39] In 2005, KPDSB asked all of its Aboriginal[40] students to self-identify on school registration forms, making it one of the first Ontario school boards to do so.
Many factors led the KPDSB to consider collecting self-identification information, including:[41]
KPDSB faced several challenges when planning its Policy, including:
To address these challenges, steps included:
On January 12, 2005, KPDSB mailed out student registration forms to over 6,200 students, accompanied by a cover letter and brochure explaining the Policy, why data was being collected and how confidentiality would be protected. Parents could answer the survey question on behalf of the student, particularly for elementary school-aged children. They were given a few weeks to respond.
Each school was responsible for tracking who had self-identified, and for following up when people had not responded. Families were advised to return the forms, even if the self-identification question was left blank.
The student registration form was later revised to ask whether the student is of “Native Ancestry,” with the choice of selecting either “First Nation, Métis, or Inuit.”[44] Revised forms were only sent to students who had self-identified in the student registration forms mailed out in 2005.
KPDSB estimates that just under 100% of elementary and approximately 80% of secondary Aboriginal students have self-identified on school registration forms.[45] The approximate sample size is 2,200 Aboriginal students. Key results from analyzing the data include:
The KPDSB will continue to collect this data on an ongoing basis. It asks for this data on registration forms for all new students. Secretaries and front-line staff continue to be trained on how to discreetly and respectfully speak to students and their families about the Policy and address questions. Other steps the Board is taking include:
[32] The Ontario Ministry of Education (MOE) defines “Aboriginal” as including First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples. According to MOE, “in keeping with the definition of Aboriginal peoples under the Constitution, all self-identification policies developed by school boards need to recognize and address the following four cohorts of Aboriginal students attending provincially funded schools in Ontario: one, First Nation students who live in First Nation communities but attend provincially funded elementary or secondary schools under tuition agreements; two, First Nation students who live in the jurisdictions of school boards and attend provincially funded elementary or secondary schools; three, Métis students who attend provincially funded elementary or secondary schools; and four, Inuit students who attend provincially funded elementary or secondary schools.” Aboriginal students who live in First Nation communities and attend federally funded elementary and secondary schools in First Nation communities would not be represented in the self-identification policies developed by provincial school boards. Ontario Ministry of Education, Building Bridges to Success for First Nation, Métis and Inuit Students (2007) at 9 online: www.edu.gov.on.ca at 9 [MOE Report]. According to the 2001 Census, more than 75% of the Aboriginal population in Ontario lives within the jurisdictions of provincially funded school boards. Ibid. at 7.
[33] Ibid. at 6-7.
[34] Ontario Ministry of Education, Unlocking Potential for Learning: Effective District-Wide Strategies to Raise Student Achievement In Literacy and Numeracy – Case Study Report Keewatin-Patricia District School Board (2006) at 13 online: www.edu.gov.on.ca.
[35] In a March 23, 2009 telephone interview with OHRC staff, Larry Hope, KPDSB’s Director of Education, states that, “in terms of square kilometers, [KPDSB’s operating area] is geographically equivalent to the size of France” [KPDSB Telephone Interview].
[36] In 2008, the KPDSP had a full-time equivalent of 5,446 students enrolled. This number may have fluctuated since that time. See Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, 2008 Director’s Annual Report (2008) online: www.kpdsb.on.ca [Annual Report].
[37] The KPDSB adopts the definition of Aboriginal endorsed by MOE.
[38] Annual Report, supra note 72.
[39] Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, Board Policy 315 (2004) online: www.kpdsb.on.ca [Board Policy].
[40] Please note that the term “Aboriginal” will be used to refer to First Nation, Métis and Inuit students throughout the remainder of the document, unless specifically stated otherwise.
[41] Board Policy, supra note 75 at 1.
[42] MOE Report, supra 67 at 6 and Ibid. at 2.
[43] “Where numbers are small enough so that individual information may be revealed, no such information will be communicated. The number is set at 15 or less students.” Ibid. at 3.
[44] The copy of the Student Registration Form found on the OHRC’s website is a revised form from 2007.
[45] MOE Report, supra 67 at 19.
[46] Northern Ontario Education Leaders (NOEL), “Oral Language SIP/LNS Oral Language Project” online: NOEL www.noelonline.ca/index.php?pid=39 [NOEL Oral Language]. See also Annual Report, supra note 70.
[47] Annual Report, supra note 70.
[48] KPDSB Telephone Interview, supra note 69.
[49] KPDSB Telephone Interview, supra note 69.