Education
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
IFNA Education Services are designed to both support students and build educator capacity in the teaching and learning of indigenous students. We strive to support all students, in their home communities, and in secondary schools, in order to ensure that students receive their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and are ready for future success. We recognize that a successful education is the single most important building block to ensure future success and are committed to meeting the unique needs of each student on their educational journey.
PROGRAM GOALS
Our goal is to ensure that every single student is supported in ways that help them achieve success. We also work with teachers, school administrators and local Boards to provide advice, support, and professional learning and development services.
We strive to maintain close contact with schools and staffs to ensure that our services are individually tailored to meet the needs of each local school and community.
PROGRAM SERVICES
COMMUNITY SCHOOL SUPPORT | OFF-RESERVE SUPPORT | GUIDANCE & ADDICTIONS COUNSELLING | INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE | CONTRACTED SERVICES
The IFNA Education department provides overarching support to member community schools in the areas of:
- Leadership, coaching and mentoring for school Principals;
- Support for school operations and management;
- School improvement planning;
- Professional learning and development to teachers and other staff in IFNA supported schools;
- Student addictions and guidance counselling (see Guidance & Addictions Counselling);
- Indigenous language and culture programming support (see Indigenous Language).
The IFNA Education program provides support for secondary school students attending school off-reserve, including:
- Liaising with other organizations, boarding homes and parents to help support students;
- Planning student engagement and retention activities;
- Educational Partnership Program (EPP): under the EPP, IFNA consults with students and their families, communities and schools to develop and implement activities for students in partnership with District School Boards through funding provided by Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN). These activities are designed to improve student retention and student success and provide additional assistance and supports for First Nation students in secondary schools in the region.
GUIDANCE & ADDICTIONS COUNSELLING
The IFNA Education department has two trained and experience counsellors able to provide the following services:
- Addictions:
- Addictions counselling for students;
- Capacity building for counselors in IFNA community schools;
- Liaison with other organizations to best support students struggling with a variety of issues;
- Education to students and families around addiction.
- Guidance:
- Academic counselling, course planning and tutoring support for students;
- Liaison with provincial and federal secondary schools where IFNA students attend to keep track of student progress and help plan any necessary academic interventions;
- Support students getting ready to enter secondary school off-reserve including helping students in Grade 7 and 8 in their home communities to construct their Education Pathway Plan to secondary school success
The IFNA Education program employs a language teacher, certified by the Ontario College of Teachers, to provide the following services:
- Language support to communities and schools in language preservation and revitalization;
- Assist language and culture teachers in IFNA communities and schools;
- Aid teachers in developing effective language programming for their students.
The IFNA Education department can provide the following services upon request:
- Special Education Services: additional contracted services for student cognitive and behavior assessments and consultations, special education school services support, including oral language and speech language consultations.
- Literacy and Numeracy Support for Schools: consulting services for literacy and numeracy program development, evaluation and support.
- Teacher Recruitment and Retention: support for communities to find, hire and retain teachers.
PROGRAM STAFF
 |
SCOTT URQUHART |
 |
MEAGHAN MASAKEYASH |
|
BRIAN LOGAN |
 |
TOM HOPPE |
 |
NANCY KAMENAWATAMIN |
 |
STEVE POLING |
