Jackson Lafferty

We are closely monitoring the Alberta AATs. There have been some changes that are happening and we are working very closely with them. My department is currently looking at replacement of the assessment and including Alberta’s new tools for student learning assessment. That’s a new tool that they have developed which was piloted in several schools in the NWT this fall as well. We’re working very closely with Alberta. It is too soon to know if the new Alberta assessment is a good fit for the NWT, but those are areas that we will continue to push forward with Alberta and see what’s best for the...

Yes, these are some of the additional activities, extracurricular activities that the coaches get involved in, and the teachers, volunteers at the community level. The after-school physical activity program is also part of the GNWT Healthy Choices initiative. Obviously, there is some funding attached to it to provide schools with after-school physical activities, upwards of $765,000. That is $650,000 for after-school physical activity programming and $150,000 for the healthy snacks component of the program. We feel this is very important for students to be actively engaged in sports and...

We will provide the latest update of all those we have engaged because it’s very important that we hear from the day home and the daycare operators from their perspectives and their concerns that are brought to our attention.

I’m not sure what leaving right away would mean in the school system, whether that is during class or when they leave school. We want each and every child, 8,000 students across the Northwest Territories to graduate with the credentials that they can move on to further education with. There are some challenges we are faced with today. That’s the whole reason we are developing Education Renewal and Innovation, so we can capture those individual students who may be struggling, whether it is with issues at home or personal issues they have encountered. Part of the ERI is to capture the wellness...

That particular review, I’m just getting some information here that it is due in March. Obviously, since we’re discussing that the overall review, we want to be on the right track.

Also, within the review process we want to touch on all funding aspects as well. What the Member is referring to will be captured. We’ve been hearing from the day home and daycare operators their concerns and opportunities that we may consider. Those are discussions that we are currently having.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of the process is that we have heard over and over from the parents, the grandparents and the educators that we need to have those individuals along with their peers. At the same time, we are currently working with the parents. We have to deal with attendance and various areas of improvements within our educational system. We are doing what we can as a department. We need to reach out to the parents. If students aren’t attending schools, they fall behind. When they fall behind, they fall behind in the curriculum, the areas of study and way behind in their homework...

Most definitely. These are discussions that we need to have at a higher level as well. CanNor could be a partner in this. They have been a partner in various initiatives within the GNWT. So I will be presenting that, as well, where they stand with a northern university.

I believe it was around 2008-2009 when we presented the idea of a university in the North. Obviously, they want to focus on the program delivery, the federal perspective. We need to get an updated status on that. If we can expand on that, by all means, I’ll be pushing that Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

I fully agree that we have to do better. That’s what we’re eyeing and focusing on in the Educational Renewal and Innovation. We want to make some changes along the way. Literacy coaches, as I stated before, have been very successful, and we want to capture that in other schools, as well, because we want our students to succeed throughout the Northwest Territories. Those are the discussions that we are currently having. We’ll continue to do so with our key stakeholders and our partners. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

As I stated, there’s a variety of parties that we need to work with. With the college campuses we have in the Northwest Territories, obviously we deliver degree programs, we deliver master’s programs and Dechinta also offers university programs. So we are doing very preliminary work with the work that Dechinta has done to date and what programs the college is offering at this point. There is a variety of partners that we have in southern institutions and how can we best put that into perspective as a northern university program deliverer. Those are some of the areas that we are currently...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to educating our community members, obviously literacy plays a key role at the community level. We work closely with our partners, as well, the NWT Literacy Council. We provide funding on an annual basis and they work very closely with the community. They’re always in the communities promoting literacy, whether it be in schools or at the community level.