ISSUE | 02 the Honourable Jackson Lafferty, the leaders met with WHAT’S NEW? teachers, administrators, and the Beaufort Delta DURING THE PAST SIX MONTHS The Amaujaq Education Council. National Centre for Inuit Education has been busy implementing the top four priorities identified by the National Committee on Inuit Education. The first priority is the development and implementation of a National Campaign on Mobilizing Parents. The goal of the campaign is to engage parents in improving attendance, and strengthen the level of home support for student success in school. The launch in Nunatsiavut is scheduled for November 6th. As Chair of the National Committee on Inuit Education I have also been profiling the national campaign through a series of speaking engagements including traveling to Yellowknife for the NWT Education Conference in April, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) Presidents forum in Ottawa this past July, the National Inuit Youth I launched the National Campaign on Mobilizing Parents Summit in Kuujjuaq this August and the Beaufort Delta in February in Iqaluit along with Nunavut Premier School Council conference in August that was held in Eva Aariak and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated Vice Inuvik. What I am hearing from parents is an urgency President Jack Anawak. about keeping our children in school and improving the supports that are needed for kids who struggle in school. THIS WAS FOLLOWED UP WITH a launch in Nunavik Our Government partners on the National Committee in April when I spoke to delegates attending the Kativik are also working on parent engagement initiatives that School Board Education Council (KSB) meetings in complement our work at the national level. Engaging Kuujjuaraapik. I also participated in a phone in radio show a new generation of parents to support their children’s held with KSB Vice-President Annie Alaku. needs in school is not a one - time initiative. It is part of a movement to develop education systems that work for In August, I took the campaign to the Inuvialuit Inuit and increase the number of graduates. Settlement Region. Working alongside Inuvialuit Regional Corporation President Nellie Cournoyea and More speaking engagements are planned for the ➡ the NWT Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, coming year. ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᖓᑦ NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INUIT EDUCATION 1 ISSUE | 02 a request for a call for two research proposals will be submitted to ArcticNet for consideration, the two research proposals will focus on 2 priority topics in Inuit education: 1. Increasing our understanding of grade transitions (i.e., Grade 7 to 8, Grade 10 to 11 or Secondary 1 to 2 in Nunavik) and specifically why students are leaving school at these transitions. 2. Measuring Success: An examination of existing Inuit- specific indicators, gaps and recommended measures to close gaps. Depending on the success of our fund-raising efforts, In addition, a proposal has been sent to ArcticNet for the we hope the campaign will include 5 components: Amaujaq Center to lead a plenary session and roundtable discussion on research in Inuit Education at the ArcticNet • Leaders roundtables in each region. Annual Scientific Meeting scheduled for December 2013 in Halifax. • The collection and development of parent engagement programs and learning resources for Inuit. A third priority for the Amaujaq Centre is the initiative to examine the feasibility of a standard Inuit language • The publication of a series of ‘Profiles in Success’ of writing system. This initiative is being led by the Atausiq families whose children have succeeded in school. Inuktut Titirausiq (AIT) Task Group made up of language specialists from each region and coordinated out of • A parent engagement pilot project in a specific Amaujaq Centre. community. This initiative is in its research phase that includes a com- • Advertising and promotion in support of the campaign. parative analysis of the writing systems in each region. THE SECOND PRIORITY WE ARE working on is The AIT Task Group is in the process of developing a increasing the Capacity to Measure Success in Inuit research framework for a comprehensive and detailed Education (Strategy Recommendation #10): It has gained study of Inuktut dialects in Canada. Next steps are to bring momentum during the past six months. together linguistics and other Inuit language experts and When the National Committee was developing the stakeholders to further outline details of the study. Creating Strategy, we discovered that there is very little data or these connections will lead to a stronger grant proposal to research on Inuit education. How do we measure success Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). in education? In February, 2013, the Amaujaq Centre and We are also determining a methodology for community the Inuit Qaujisarvingat: Inuit Knowledge Centre (IKC) consultations. These consultations will also look at how organized the 1st Forum on Research in Inuit Education Inuit language orthographies are taught in schools. and released a report on the Forum in May. The report outlines principles and research priorities in Inuit educa- THE FOCUS OF THESE EFFORTS is to provide the tion established by delegates to the Forum. AIT Task Group with evidence and comprehensive As a result of a meeting between the Amaujaq Centre information to make final recommendations for a and ArcticNet officials on the results of the Forum, standard (or auxiliary) Inuit language orthography. ➡ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᖓᑦ NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INUIT EDUCATION 2 ISSUE | 02 made by teams in the gathering of Arctic knowledge and their plans to implement this knowledge into real world applications for the benefit of the Canadian Arctic”. The first Arctic Inspiration Prize was awarded in December at the 2012 ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting. I want to thank our funders and partners who have collaborated with us and are making a difference in Inuit education. Nakurmiik. Merci. Thank you. ■ A partnership has been developed with Carleton Mary Simon, Chairperson University to assist with the work of this project. National Committee on Inuit Education The fourth priority looks at Early Childhood Education. The Inuit Early Childhood Development Working Group prioritized developing an inventory of Inuit Early Childhood Education (ECE) resources and curriculum ma- terials in April 2012. The idea is to have a central reposi- tory of all Inuit-specific ECE resources, teaching materials and products for educators to access and share. Since this time, Inuit Regional and National partner organi- zations have been asked to compile and send a list of Inuit ECE resources for the library collection to ITK. With help from a Summer Student, a master list of resources collected thus far have been compiled into an excel spreadsheet. The Inuit Early Childhood Development Working Group is currently working with ITK’s Inuit Qaujisarvingat: Inuit Knowledge Centre to prepare an Inuit Qaujisarvingat Library Needs Assessment and Options Report in order to most effectively develop this library. Once the report is complete, the development of the Inuit ECE library database will begin. We were nominated by the Coalition of Nunavut District Education Authorities for the 2013 Arctic Inspiration Prize For more information on the and received 12 letters of support. National Strategy on Inuit Education or to discuss funding partner opportunities, The Arctic Inspiration Prize is awarded annually “to please contact: recognize and promote the extraordinary contribution Peter Geikie, [email protected], 613 238 8181 Ext 268 ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᖓᑦ NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INUIT EDUCATION 3 ISSUE | 02 COMING EVENTS FOR PROMOTION/DISCUSSION OF NATIONAL STRATEGY ON INUIT EDUCATION: EVENT DATE Coalition of Nunavut District Education Authorities Annual General Meeting September 30, 2013 National Committee on Inuit Education Conference Call October 30, 2013 Parental Mobilization Campaign Launch, Hopedale and Nain, Nunatsiavut November 6 to 8, 2013 Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business & Amaujaq National Centre for Inuit Education November 19, 2013 Roundtable with Senior Executives, Toronto, Ontario ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotia December 9 to 13, 2013 NATIONAL STRATEGY ON INUIT EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Mary Simon - Chairperson, National Committee on Inuit Education Kathy Okpik - Deputy Minister, Department Education, Nunavut Andy Moorhouse - Makivik Corporation, Corporate Secretary Jodie Lane - Ilinniatunut UKautjigiaji/Education Counsellor - Nunatsiavut Natan Obed - Director of Social and Cultural Development, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated Jeannie Arreak-Kullualik (alternate) - Policy Analyst, Education and Language, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated Francoise Ducros - Assistant Deputy Minister, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Candace Morgan - Chief Human Resources Officer, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation Rita Mueller - Assistant Deputy Minister, Department Of Education, Culture and Employment, NWT Janet Vivian Walsh - Deputy Minister, Department of Education, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador tba - Services a\ la Communaute et aux Autochtones, Ministere de l’Education Harriet Keleuta - Secretary General, Kativik School Board Elizabeth Annahatak - National Inuit Youth Council Carole Simon - Inuit Circumpolar Council Rhoda Ungalaq - Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᖓᑦ NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INUIT EDUCATION 4.