Strat planning on our education
The planning session involves three community schools (Survival, Kateri and Karonhianónhnha), as well as the students that attend institutions outside of Kahnawake.
The Education Center is inviting all community members to attend the meeting and express their ideas and opinions.
“There’s a lot that is happening in education, with the First Nations Education Act and with the current issues occurring within the community,” said Robin Delaronde, interim director of education.
“We really felt that now was perfect timing to embark upon a mini-plan, to hear from our community. Education has been at the forefront of everyone’s attention now, so we felt it’s our responsibility to ensure that we are providing the best education.”
The mini-strategic planning will take place next Wednesday, August 13, at the 207 Restaurant, at 9:00 a.m.
The session will include a short-term planning for three years that will serve as a stepping -stone for future long-term educational goals.
“It’s been a while since we have been in the process of delivering our educational services without a new strategic plan,” said Delaronde.
The last large-scale plan the education centre adopted was called “The Blueprint for Education.” The meeting for the blueprint was held in May 1998 and lasted for three days.
In April 1999, action teams were put in place to implement the recommendations and goals from that session and the plan was finalized in September 1999.
In April 1999, action teams were put in place to implement the recommendations and goals from that session and the plan was finalized in September 1999.
For this year’s plan, the goal is to begin implementation in September 2014.
“We cannot have too many goals. We have to be focused and not too overwhelmed, because it is for the next three years,” she said.
“We want to make sure that whichever goal we have identified, is attainable, that it reflects what the community’s decisions and needs are,” said Delaronde.
This year’s planning consists of three stages: It started with initial discussion this past May, where education centre employees examined if the goals that were established by the previous Blueprint in 2000 were still valid.
Then, they conducted a mini analysis in June.
“We did two sessions with our employees and now, after having an idea what are the key issues and areas that we need to focus on, we need to ensure that we hear from the community, from all its members, and compare these two perspectives,” said Delaronde.
Representatives from Kahnawake organizations, such as the Kateri Memorial Hospital, the Cultural Center and Kahnawake Shakotiia’takehnhas Community Services, have been invited to the session.
“We are sending out a general invite to the whole community of Kahnawake,” she said.
“We want participation from crosssection representation. We want participation from students that are in post-secondary education, we want to hear from young people that are not in school and want to hear their voice as well; we want elders, parents, and future parents.
“We also want to hear from parents who are not sending their students to Kahnawake schools.”
In Wednesday’s meeting, the committee will not be actually participating in the discussion. According to Delaronde, they want to ensure that the participants feel completely free to speak and express their concerns and needs.
However, the committee will be there to answer any questions and give clarifications when needed.
