School District No. 42 (Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows) lies within the traditional territories of the Katzie First Nation and the Kwantlen First Nation. The Aboriginal 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 Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement. School District No. 42 was originally the third district in British Columbia to sign an Enhancement Agreement in July 2000 and, on May 23 2015, we became the first district in British Columbia to sign our fourth agreement. This new agreement will be in effect from July 1, 2015 – June 30th 2020 and contains the following goals:
- Continue to develop a strong sense of community for Aboriginal students and families in their schools and within School District No. 42
- Support and improve the quality of school achievement for all students
- Transition Aboriginal students into their future learning, employment, and life experiences beyond the completion of their secondary program.
The student supports provided by the Aboriginal Education staff are in addition to all instructional efforts provided by school staff. The Aboriginal 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 Aboriginal Education Achievement Awards where we recognize the strong efforts of many of our secondary students.