While only six students are enrolled in the aboriginal school at Macdonald elementary, University of B.C. grad students have developed projects designed to help the fledgling mini school.
Jo-Ann Archibald, the associate dean for indigenous education in the faculty of education at UBC who led consultations for the Vancouver School Board on establishing an aboriginal school, charged grad students in a threeweek course this summer with developing projects that could advance the school that will start with kindergarten to Grade 3 students.
The aboriginal school will teach the same core subjects of math, reading and physical education as the regular kindergarten to Grade 7 school that will run alongside it at Sir William Macdonald elementary, but special attention will be paid to aboriginal learning, history, culture and values.
School board chair Patti Bacchus attended an indigenous education symposium last week and noted a repeated recommendation to teach students about the culture of Musqueam people on whose traditional territory Macdonald elementary school stands.
"One of the questions we had a lot during the consultation was which culture, because- in Vancouver the urban aboriginal population is really diverse," she said.
Projects included a lesson plan on indigenous storytelling and ways of welcoming parents and elders that could include intergenerational art projects and designated gathering spots.
"There's a staff room, which is mainly for teachers, and you have the classrooms, but when parents or community members come into the school, what do they have?" Archibald said. "Part of this school is also to have a community hub where there are aboriginal organizations who've indicated they want to be involved."
Other grad students proposed broader forms of assessment that could supplement regular report cards.
"Do they talk about the emotions that they feel, how might that help them deal with issues that they face?" Archibald said. "Sometimes it's the emotional impact of the intergenerational impact of residential school and how does that impact how students or parents feel in the school."
This is the second time Archibald assigned grad students to develop projects that could be used by an aboriginal school.
Last year students in a 13-week course developed projects that included a funding proposal for an intergenerational elders project.
Archibald plans to meet with the teacher or teachers at the aboriginal school to share the materials, if enough students register and the school goes ahead.
Archibald isn't concerned about slow enrolment.
"This school is a long-term project," she said.
The school board is preparing to send a welcome letter from Macdonald's new aboriginal principal Vonnie Hutchinson to parents of all the Grade 1 to Grade 3 students in the district who've self-identified as aboriginal and to parents of young Macdonald students to try to boost enrolment. The board plans to follow up with aboriginal groups involved in the development of the school, according to VSB spokesman Kurt Heinrich.
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