The Government of Canada, Government of Ontario , and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote the success of Ontario First Nation students. This partnership agreement is designed to support and improve educational outcomes for First Nation students attending provincial and band-operated schools from participating NAN communities.
The focus of the agreement is on working collaboratively to support NAN students in reaching their full learning potential and in attaining achievement levels comparable to the general student population in Ontario.
The MOU identifies five priority areas:
- Student Support Services: focuses on student safety and well-being measures, transition and orientation programs, retention strategies and parental engagement initiatives, support mechanisms for students living away from home, extra-curricular activities, and anti-drug education;
- Curriculum: focuses on the inclusion and integration of First Nation history, culture perspectives and language in provincial curricula, and supporting staff in meeting the holistic learning needs of First Nation students;
- Governance and Administration: focuses on a review of First Nation involvement in provincial school board governance and advisory bodies, exploration of organizational options for delivery of second level services, improvements in communication between provincially funded schools and First Nation schools, and the development of a sample tuition agreement;
- Human Resources: focuses on increasing participation of First Nation staff and participation of Elders in provincial schools, examination of mechanisms for joint professional development and exchange between the First Nation and provincial education systems, support for cross-cultural training modules and joint teacher training; and
- Parental Participation: focuses on the development of strategies to improve communication and involvement of First Nation parents whose children attend schools away from their communities.
With this agreement, Canada, Ontario and NAN will continue the joint development of an implementation plan based on the five priority areas. Monitoring, evaluating and reporting will be completed annually on the outcomes of this plan.
NAN is a political territorial organization representing 49 First Nation communities in James Bay Treaty No. 9 and Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5 – an area covering two thirds of the province of Ontario in Canada. Communities in NAN include more than 7,000 First Nation students (K-12), attending either band-operated schools or provincially funded schools.
