Increased graduation rates and increasing student reading levels beyond class expectations are two key goals this year for Sunshine Coast School District No. 46 (SD46).
“Our graduation rate with our aboriginal students in particular has climbed greatly in the last five years,” said Patrick Bocking, superintendent of schools. He credits innovative programming, supportive principals and better trained teachers for the change in graduation rates for aboriginal students, which have climbed to 70 per cent from about 40 per cent just five years ago.
Literacy is a key competency that the school district is determined to improve. Bocking said it is clearly understood that for children to be successful throughout their school years, they need to be literate. Being able to decode letters is not enough, Bocking said, pointing out that students need to “deeply understand the written word and to be able to produce it.” He said teachers and all staff undergo comprehensive training to ensure that they can meet the needs of students in terms of reading.
“Reading is such a key for all of us. It’s key for a student showing up in a Grade 8 math classroom, for instance – if that student can’t open a book and understand what the word problems are and they can’t understand instructions in a written form, then they will be challenged throughout their lives. It’s such a fundamental part of what we do, we need to make sure it’s done extremely well for our students.”
Bocking said meeting the needs of individual students is a priority that can also be challenging.
“We respect that each of … our students is a unique individual and we just embrace that and we’re very excited about being able to do that. Of course it’s a challenge to do that when you are a teacher with 20 or more students in the classroom and trying to meet those individual needs, but it’s offering that whole mosaic of opportunities for different students,” he said.
Early learning programs that are provided to parents on the Sunshine Coast before their children enter the school system are also noteworthy, Bocking said.
“We provide programs that support parents on brain development, on supporting their children to be good with oral languages, to help parents understand brain development, to help them deeply understand how to be particularly supportive for their young children.”
The school board got back to work this week too after a summer break. Bocking said the board is anticipating what the new provincial government brings forward as a budget and priorities for education.
