Indigenous staff-to-students ratio in city public schools headed in wrong direction, data shows

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This article was published 13/02/2024 (625 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The ratio of Indigenous teachers to students is headed in the opposite direction despite efforts to diversify staff rooms.

The Winnipeg Indigenous Executive Circle released its third report on kindergarten-to-Grade 12 education — a 33-page document that delves into equity-related issues in the sector — on Tuesday.

The findings suggest 866 additional racialized teachers would need to be hired across Winnipeg’s six school boards in order to mirror the percentage of students who identify as First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

In WIEC’s 2020 report, the advocacy coalition’s calculations suggested there was an under-representation of 600 to 700 Indigenous teachers.

Heather McCormick, chairwoman of WIEC’s education and training committee, attributed the growing gap to enrolment fluctuations and the release of more up-to-date statistics.

“A lot of equity-based data collection that the school divisions and the universities, particularly, are doing — or, in some cases, not doing — has really shown that the representation of Indigenous people in all levels of education is still an issue,” she said.

Since 2015, WIEC has called for policy, service delivery and systemic changes that are more responsive to the needs of individuals who access its 26 member organizations, ranging from Ndinawe to the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre.

The purpose of its annual report card for local school boards and university faculties of education is to call attention to the importance of hiring education leaders, teachers and other staff with the same lived experiences as students to bolster academic achievement.

The latest survey shows nine per cent of permanent teachers in the Winnipeg School Division identified as Indigenous during the 2021-22 school year. The Indigenous student population in the division was more than double that percentage.

The gaps in St. James-Assiniboia, Louis Riel and River East Transcona divisions amounted to 14, 10 and nine percentage points, respectively.

Neither Pembina Trails nor Seven Oaks provided demographic data.

More divisions have begun tracking data and undertaking anti-racism initiatives in recent months. Last month, elected officials in SJASD and WSD co-wrote a letter to the province to express that increasing Indigenous representation is a priority for them.

During a news conference at Neeginan Centre, McCormick touted the progress that has been made since WIEC released its inaugural report.

At the same time, she noted that if the status quo persists — an average of 35 Indigenous graduates from Manitoba’s two largest teachers’ colleges every year over the last decade — it will take upwards of 20 years to address the current discrepancies.

The University of Manitoba was an outlier in disclosing it sets a 15 per cent enrolment target for accepting First Nations, Métis and Inuit teacher candidates. Brandon University indicated it has no plans to follow suit. The University of Winnipeg and Saint-Boniface University did not respond.

“Indigenous people, historically, haven’t had great success or experiences in schools, and so there is some hesitancy, I think, for people to enrol in some of these institutions.”– Heather McCormick

“Indigenous people, historically, haven’t had great success or experiences in schools, and so there is some hesitancy, I think, for people to enrol in some of these institutions,” McCormick said.

WIEC is calling on the provincial and federal governments to support community-based programs to develop certified teachers with tuition bursaries, living allowances and wraparound support available to participants.

The new report contains several of the same recommendations listed in a sister document released by the Newcomer Education Coalition on Jan. 25.

Both reports were compiled in collaboration with the Community Education Development Association.

One of its unique calls to action is in support of the creation of a special trustee caucus, now that five of six city divisions have Indigenous representatives on them.

Eight of 54 local trustees who won seats in 2022 self-identify as Indigenous — an increase from two winners, both of whom worked in WSD, in 2018.

“It’s a beautiful idea,” said Betty Edel, a Métis trustee who has sat on the WSD board since 2018.

“It can be very isolating and you’re just one person (as a trustee) and you’re feeling a lot of pressure to think from a broad perspective so I think it’d be a great idea if people could just sit down together and work as a collective and share ideas.”

Edel said she would happily take part in an informal discussion with colleagues from other boards on a quarterly basis to build a sense of community.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

WIEC Equity in Education report