Welcome to the Indigenous Education Department of School District #42!
The Indigenous Education department is for those students whose family has Indigenous Ancestry. This can be First Nations, Metis, or Inuit. Proof of Ancestry is not required, and the Ancestry can go back several generations. The only thing we need from you is to fill out the Indigenous Education Self Identification form. This form Identifies your student as having Ancestry and gives us permission to connect with them. You can also indicate what types of support you would prefer; Language and Culture, Support Services, or you can choose both.
How do I Self-Identify?
There are 3 ways:
- Access the form from the Indigenous Education website print format. See the links below.
- Pick up a Self-Identification form at your school office in September.
- Contact the Indigenous Education Department to have a form mailed to you.
You can complete the form in the printable version, print it, fill it out by hand, then either scan and email it to ied@sd42.ca or drop it off at your child’s school.
Printable form: Welcome to Kindergarten 2026-27 Self-Identification Form
Printable form: 2026-27 Self-Identification Form
What types of support do we provide?
Indigenous Education support can take the form of additional academic support, field trips or cultural gatherings visits to post-secondary institutions as well as cultural activities, programs, and annual awards event for grade twelve students. In the updated self-identification form families can choose to have culture/language supports and/or academic support (or both supports) from the Indigenous Education Support Worker and/or the Indigenous Education Helping Teacher. In secondary schools, we track student progress from grades 8-12 to ensure each student is on track to graduate. If any students in K-12 require additional supports along the way, we work with other school support staff, so students receive the supports they need.
Will Indigenous students be pulled out of class for extra supports?
When we take students from class for support it is done in alignment with existing support plans that have been developed by either the classroom teacher or the school-based support team. You can request that your student remains in class for additional support. Some programs such as Grade 7 district cultural gatherings, secondary student leadership, and visits to post-secondary institutions require students to miss class. These types of activities require signed field trip permission forms, so your student will participate only if you agree.
Can I self-identify and choose to not receive extra supports
In some cases, parents and students choose to self-identify, but do not want us to provide additional cultural/language or academic support. Our funding regulations require us to maintain regular contact with all students who have self-identified through academic support and/or cultural/language activities. Our goal is to work with parents and students to determine the type and amount of support and/or contact that is useful for each student.
What is the Equity in Action plan?
Deepening Indigenous Education and Equity – In Fall of 2020, School District No 42 joined the Equity in Action project, lead by the Indigenous Education branch of the Ministry of Education and Child Care. 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. You can read the report on https://www.sd42.ca/ under the ‘Our District’ tab then to ‘District Reports’. 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”.
How can I find out who are the Indigenous Education staff members at each school?
You can ask at the school office, check on the Indigenous Education website, or call us at the Indigenous Education office (604-466-6265)
Who do I contact with other questions?
We work very hard to provide support that best meets individual student needs, and we are open to working with parents and school staff as a team to organize the best support. If you have questions or ideas about how we can best support your student, please contact:
Kathleen Anderson, District Principal, Indigenous Education
Phone: 604-466-6265
Email: Kathleen_Anderson@sd42.ca