SD83 and BC PSI’s Reaching Out to Indigenous Students
SD83 Indigenous students have a chance this week to learn more about the educational options available to them in BC once they graduate from Grade 12. A group of Indigenous recruiters from seven of BC’s post secondary institutions (PSI) are travelling to the district’s high schools this week to talk about the academic, trades and technical programs they host. Recruiters from Okanagan College, UBC-Okanagan, Thompson Rivers University, Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, University of Northern BC, University of Victoria and Douglas College met with Salmon Arm students at SAS and JL Jackson today. Tomorrow, they are travelling to AL Fortune in Enderby and Pleasant Valley Secondary in Armstrong and then will visit Eagle River Secondary students in Sicamous Thursday morning.
TRU Indigenous Recruiter Sammie Hanson helped coordinate and resurrect the event with the other PSI. “There use to be something called ‘Strengthening Connections’ before the pandemic and we are trying to rekindle it,” Hanson said. In the fall, many PSI recruiters visited the district’s high schools in a single event open to all students. Hanson said deliberate acts of reconciliation that SD83 is doing with the Institutions in having specific events for indigenous youth are critical for those young people.
“There are a lot of barriers in Indigenous communities. Going from any community to a bigger city is hard for anyone let alone the challenges indigenous youth generally face,” said Hanson. “So, facilitating more of their needs in more of a one-on-one approach will make them more comfortable to consider a higher education option.” Although the numbers are improving in SD 83, Indigenous five and six year graduation rates still remain below the general school population.
If you have any ideas on career learning opportunities for SD83 students, don’t hesitate to contact District Career Education Coordinator George Richard via text or phone at 778-824-1188 or you can email grichard@sd83.bc.ca.