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Proud moment for Lake Babine Nation

Lake Babine Nation chief, council and membership celebrated the certification of two of their local schools last week.
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Students from Lake Babine Nation’s Morris Williams Memorial Preschool joined in the celebrations last week at the Margaret Patrick Memorial Hall.

Lake Babine Nation chief, council and membership celebrated the certification of two of their local schools last week.

The announcement came at the end of a year long assessment process for both the K'ay Skak Higher Learning Centre, a Grade 8 to 12 school, and the Morris Williams Memorial Preschool, both are located on the Woyenne Reserve in Burns Lake.

Fort Babine Elementary School, Lake Babine Nation's third school located in Fort Babine, had already received prior certification.

According to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada the assessment process is rigorous and includes an external review component. Assessments also take into consideration all areas of the school's programming and supports the creation a future growth plan.

The First Nations Schools Association (FSNA) that conduct the assessments, say that many First Nations groups, like Lake Babine Nation are working hard to have their authority for the education of their learners respected and legally recognized through the certification process.

Certification now allows Lake Babine Nation to legally assume responsibility for the education of their learners and also allows graduates of the high school to receive a Dogwood graduation certificate in Grade 12, as well as a graduation certificate from the First Nation.

Judy Matthew, a Kindergarten to Grade 2 teacher from the Simpcw First Nation, Neqweyqwelsten School, was a member of the external team completing the assessment on the Morris Williams Memorial Preschool. Matthew said to Lakes District News that being certified means Lake Babine Nation Schools have met a high standard, they have sound practices and they have established a plan for future growth.

"Certification makes a good thing better," she said.

"Our role as an external assessment team is really looking at the schools with outside eyes, witnessing, verifying and certifying the schools," she added.

"As a visitor to the community I would like to say that it has been a wonderful visit. I witnessed excellent educational care and found that the Carrier language permeated everything, it was the school's greatest strength," Matthew said.

According to external assessment team member, Jeanie Kenneway, a Kindergarten teacher from the Chalo School in Fort Nelson the certification extends for five years, then the schools will be required to go through another re-certification process.

Karen Linkert, FNSA teacher certification principal said that as a team member assessing the K'ay Skak Higher Learning Centre she noticed the school had an extremely welcoming program for the students.

She said, "Lake Babine Nation and Burns Lake should be proud. They are putting a lot of good into the world [through their schools]."

Gary Klugie, principal and teacher of K'ay Skak said the school caters specifically for at risk students from Grades 8 through to 12.

The school has approximately 25 students attending and provides more one on one instruction than most public high schools would. They also offer individualized programs to suit the educational needs of the students.

"The students we have at the school are those that have typically dropped out of Lake District Secondary School [LDSS] and then the StoreFront School," Klugie said.

"We have a substantial amount of students that were enrolled in these schools, but just were not going," he added.

Klugie said the aim of K'ay Skak is to get the students back into mainstream schooling like LDSS and prepare them to succeed.

"We work on upgrading skills and getting the students back into school routines that they can maintain," he said,

"Academically we want them to go back [to LDSS]," he said, adding that it is also possible to graduate from K'ay Skak.

Klugie said the school's success rate has been positive. "Every term we have had one or two students go back [to mainstream schools], he added.

He went on to say that part of the success of the school is having a large amount of patience with the students, and an understanding and support of students who come from backgrounds of poverty, drug and alcohol addiction.

"These are the reasons for these kids not to go to school, but our patience level at the school is high. We are tolerant and we don't expel kids. We have also never had any violence at our school .... there has never been a fight," Klugie added.

According to Klugie, the certification process is important as now the school is able to access reciprocal funding for all the students that attend the school, even those that live off reserve.

"This funding helps to pay for support workers and provides us with the financial stability we need to be able to continue with the program," he said.

The school currently has a total of three staff members including Klugie. The other staff are Teanne Paulson, who is a teacher's assistant and Phillip Lacerte Jr. who is a youth worker.

Lake Babine Nation Chief Wilf Adam said, "I am very proud of our band owned school system and it speaks to the people we have in the nation. Council member Louise Lacerte from our education program has a masters degree in education and  is going for her doctorate in June of this year. Another of our educators, Tilly Williams of Fort Babine, has been there for 33 years in the service of our young people."

"This [certification] shows that we can provide for our educational needs and make sure that our young people have a better life than we did," Chief Adam added.