Education

Enhancement Agreements

What is an Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement (EA)?

An EA is a working agreement between a school district, all local Aboriginal communities, and the Ministry of Education. EAs are designed to enhance the educational achievement of Aboriginal students. The EA establishes a collaborative partnership between Aboriginal communities and school districts that involves shared decision-making and specific goal setting to meet the educational needs of Aboriginal students.

EAs highlight the importance of academic performance and more importantly, stress the integral nature of Aboriginal traditional culture and languages to Aboriginal student development and success. Fundamental to EAs is the requirement that school districts provide strong programs on the culture of local Aboriginal peoples on whose traditional territories the districts are located.

Enhancement Agreements . . . .

• are intended to continually improve the quality of education achieved by all Aboriginal students;
• support strong cooperative, collaborative relationships between Aboriginal communities and school districts;
• provide Aboriginal communities and districts greater autonomy to find solutions that work for Aboriginal students, the schools and the communities; and
• require a high level of respect and trust to function.

What is an Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement (EA)?

Enhancement Agreements address specific performance and delivery expectations for all Aboriginal learners.

1. The Aboriginal communities must be represented by a unified body whose authority to speak for the Aboriginal communities is accepted by the Aboriginal communities.
2. Shared decision making by the Aboriginal communities and the school district must be an established practice.
3. Both the Aboriginal communities and the school district must support participation in the Enhancement Agreement.
4. Joint consultation and collaboration between the Aboriginal communities and the school districts will enable vision and goal setting in all areas of education for all Aboriginal learners.
5. The Aboriginal communities and the school district track key performance indicators at the student level.
6. The Aboriginal communities and the school district must be committed to regular reporting of results. This would include an evaluation and reporting process on the outcomes of the Enhancement Agreements.
7. The scope of the Aboriginal Education program must include a focus on continuous improvement in the academic performance of all Aboriginal students.
8. Meeting the cultural needs of Aboriginal students in all aspects of learning. This includes resources, strategies and assessment.
9. Focus on increasing knowledge of and respect for Aboriginal culture, language and history, which enables a greater understanding for everyone about Aboriginal people.