Credit attainment continues to improve for Six Nations students the longer they stay in high school.
By June 2024, 70 percent of Six Nations students in grade 12 had achieved 24 or more credits and have graduated or were on track to graduate in one year.
The Grand Erie District School Board Indigenous Education Office released their 2023-2024 statistics at a Six Nations of the Grand River elected council meeting last week.
And the statistics show the longer students stick with their schooling, the more likely they’ll graduate.
The first year of high school, grade 9, shows the lowest credit attainment level and lowest percent likelihood for being on track to graduate.
Just 33 percent of Six Nations grade nine students had enough credits to be on track to graduate.
In grade 10, 41 percent of students had enough credits to be on track to graduate, by grade 11, 49 percent of students had enough credits to be on track to graduate and by grade 12, 59 percent of students had enough credits to be on track to graduate.
Indigenous education staff told council students need to be equipped in elementary school with good attendance habits to enable them to succeed in high school.
“We know that attendance and achievement have a strong correlation,” said GEDSB Director Joanna Roberto.
Deneen Montour, native advisor at the GEDSB, said it’s important to factor in culture to the success of Six Nations students, as well.
Respecting their culture can help them transition from elementary school on Six Nations, to high schools off-reserve and help them have a better sense of belonging, she said.
“If they don’t feel welcomed and don’t feel belonging, then they’re not going to attend or they’re not going to be engaged in class.”
She also said it’s important to teach non-native staff and students about Indigenous history and culture.
“We don’t want to miss another generation of students not knowing that cultural information of our history.”
The majority of Six Nations students attend McKinnon Park Secondary School in Caledonia, followed by Hagersville Secondary School, Brantford Collegiate, Tollgate, Pauline Johnson, and Cayuga Secondary School.
Future and current initiatives at the GEDSB include upgrading technology to support language development and curriculum support; a land-based learning initiative; and extending Indigenous language course registration through an online learning platform.
