The new year is starting off strong for the Fraser Cascade School District 78 (SD78) who is reporting a completion rate of 74 per cent for its Indigenous students.
“I think those stats (show we’re moving in the right direction),” said Balan Moorthy the superintendent for SD78. “And it talks about all of our fields, our Indigenous students, and our kids with diverse abilities. And what we’re trying to do is to be a district that is as inclusive as possible.
“I think there’s been a lot of initiatives from our district teams of inclusive education — mainly our school based teachers and support staff who work with our kids every day, all working together, and the board having that oversight with our principals advice. So, that’s kind of symbolic of what we want to do through an effective strategic plan.”
The report, which came out at the end of December, shows “the six-year completion rate which is the percent of students who graduated with a Certificate of Graduation or Adult Graduation Diploma, within six years from the first time they enrol in Grade 8.” For the 2023 to 2024 year, SD78 reported a completion rate of 74 per cent for its Indigenous students which is the highest rate of graduation, for SD78 Indigenous students, over the past 15 years.
The current stat is a step forward towards SD78’s updated five-year strategic plan. Specifically, SD78 intends to ensure that, in terms of Indigenous support, both on-reserve and off-reserve students get equal opportunities to access support workers and resources.
The plan, which is still in the works, will also focus on improving literacy and numeracy, sleep hygiene among students, and addressing the needs of students in the school district.
In addition to its Indigenous students, SD78 reported a completion rate of 84 per cent for its students and a completion rate of 76 per cent for its students with disabilities or diverse abilities.
To read the report readers can visit studentsuccess.gov.bc.ca/school-district/078/report/completion-rates .
