Indigenous Services Canada renews commitment to fully fund Stoney Nakoda students attending Canadian Rockies school
A 'renewed commitment' from Indigenous Services Canada has resolved a funding issue that had threatened to halve the number of Stoney Nakoda Nation students able to attend a school in the Canadian Rockies school division.
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Without full and sustained funding from the ISC, the Canadian Rockies Public Schools board of trustees had made the 'difficult decision' April 30 to cut about 150 seats — from the current 306 — dedicated to Stoney Nakoda Nation students beginning in September, a decision that would have affected students at the kindergarten to Grade 8 Exshaw School. The Canmore-based school division had warned that further reductions were possible in future years unless the situation was resolved.
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But a Wednesday news release announced that Stoney Nakoda Nation students will continue to have access to Exshaw School, due to ISC committing to fully fund 'into the foreseeable future' an educational services agreement between the school division and Stoney Education Authority, which is responsible for administering the funding received from the federal government.
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All tuition costs for Stoney Nakoda Nation students attending CRPS will now be provided at the start of the federal government's fiscal year on April 1, providing 'much-needed consistency and reliability to support uninterrupted educational services.'
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'This is the news our families, staff, board, and community have been hoping for,' said Canadian Rockies Public Schools superintendent Christopher MacPhee in a Wednesday statement.
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'Our students and staff deserve stability, and this new commitment gives us the ability to move forward.'
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Partnership successful, but financial uncertainty remains
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CRPS says its partnership with Stoney Education Authority stretches back over 50 years, supporting students in Exshaw, about 75 kilometres west of Calgary, and Canmore, and achieving graduation rates among Indigenous students that exceeded provincial averages. Last year, 84 per cent of Stoney Nakoda Nation students attending Canmore Collegiate High School graduated within five years, a significantly higher rate than the Alberta average of 69.4 per cent, said Canadian Rockies in an April 30 news release.
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'CRPS' model of service to Indigenous students had been cited by ISC itself as an example for other divisions to follow,' it said.
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Despite the ISC's new commitment, MacPhee said financial uncertainty remains. That's due to the school division having no direct funding relationship with ISC, leaving the division with 'limited ability to respond to unforeseen changes — as was experienced earlier this year when federal monies were delayed for the 2024/25 school year.'
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