School District No. 42 (Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows) lies within the traditional territories of the Katzie First Nation and the Kwantlen First Nation. The Indigenous Education department supports all students in our schools who self-identify as having either First Nations, Métis, or Inuit ancestry in their family line.
Student supports are provided according to goals outlined in our Indigenous Education Equity in Action Plan. After much consultation with rights holders representing the local Indigenous community and stakeholders of the school district, the Board of Education has recently approved the Equity in Action recommendations offered by the joint SFU and UBC research team who conducted the work. This is the next step towards identifying and addressing systemic barriers to Indigenous student success. The report is titled Deepening Indigenous Education and Equity – Supporting the Wholistic Success of Indigenous Leaders, Families, and Communities in Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District No. 42. You can read the report on the School District 42 website > Our District tab > District Reports.
- To foster a sense of connection and belonging, the Indigenous Education department will focus efforts on students at key transitions.
- Indigenous Education staff will continue to learn new strategies and/or teachings to support students in their social-emotional and cultural learning.
- The Indigenous Education department will focus our efforts on ensuring students and families feel connected to the SD42 Indigenous community.
The student supports provided by the Indigenous Education staff are in addition to all instructional efforts provided by school staff. The Indigenous Education instructional staff work closely with teachers and support staff in schools to provide meaningful supports, both academic and cultural, in ways that best meet individual student needs.
On top of these day-to-day supports our department organizes several special events each year including our Grade 6 IGNITE camp, grade 7 outdoor education experiences, our Grade 9/10 leadership camp, and visits to post-secondary institutions in the Lower Mainland. Each year we host our own Indigenous Education Achievement Awards where we recognize the strong efforts of our Grade 11’s and 12’s.