The ratio of Indigenous staff to students in the city's public schools is on the rise, data shows – Winnipeg Free Press

The ratio of Indigenous teachers to students in urban public schools appears to be increasing despite efforts to diversify staff quarters.

Winnipeg's local executive group released its third K-12 report on Tuesday — a 33-page document that examines equity issues in the sector.

The findings indicate that 866 additional multi-racial teachers would need to be hired across Winnipeg's six school boards to reflect the percentage of students who identify as First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

In WIEC's 2020 report, the advocacy coalition estimates 600 to 700 Native teachers are underrepresented.

WIEC Education and Training Committee Chair Heather McCormick attributed the growing gap to fluctuating enrollment and the release of more recent statistics.

“The participatory data collection that school departments and universities in particular are doing, or in some cases not doing, really shows that Indigenous representation at all levels of education is still an issue. ” he said.

Since 2015, WIEC has called for policy, service delivery and systemic change to address the needs of its 26 member organizations, from Ndinawe to the Winnipeg Center for Aboriginal Sport Excellence.

The goal of the annual report card for local school boards and university education departments is to highlight the importance of hiring educational leaders, teachers and other staff with the same expertise as students to improve academic achievement.

The latest survey shows nine per cent of permanent teachers in the Winnipeg school division identify as Indigenous in the 2021-22 school year. The number of local students in the department was more than double that percentage.

The gaps in the St. James-Assiniboia, Louis Riel and River East Transcona divisions were 14, 10 and nine percentage points, respectively.

Neither Pembina Trails nor Seven Oaks provided demographic data.

In recent months, more departments have tracked data and launched anti-racism initiatives. Last month, elected officials from SJASD and WSD wrote to the province to let them know that increased local representation is a priority for them.

At a press conference at the Neeginan Center, McCormick highlighted the progress made since the WIEC released its inaugural report.

In addition, he noted that if the status quo is maintained – an average of 35 local graduates each year from Manitoba's two largest teachers' colleges over the past decade – it will take more than 20 years to close the current disparities.

The University of Manitoba was unique in revealing that it will set a 15 per cent enrollment target for First Nations, Métis and Inuit teacher candidates. Brandon University said it has no plans to take such a step. The University of Winnipeg and St. Boniface University did not respond.

“Historically, Indigenous people have not had a lot of success or experience in schools, so I think it's doubtful that people will get into some of these institutions.”– Heather McCormick

“Historically, Indigenous people have not had a lot of success or experience in schools, so I think people are hesitant to go to some of these institutions,” McCormick said.

WIEC encourages provincial and federal governments to support community-based programs to develop certified teachers with affordable tuition, living allowances and general support for participants.

The new report contains some of the same recommendations as a sister document released Jan. 25 by the Coalition for Early Childhood Education.

Both reports were compiled in collaboration with the Association for the Advancement of Public Education.

One of his unique calls to action is support for the creation of a special trustees group, with local residents representing five of the six city wards.

Eight of the 54 local governors who won a seat in 2022 identify themselves as Indigenous – up from two winners who worked for WSD in 2018.

“It's a beautiful idea,” said Betty Edel, a Métis trustee who has sat on the WSD board since 2018.

“It can be very isolating and you're only one person (as a trustee) and you're under a lot of pressure to think in the big picture, so I think it would be a great idea if people could sit together. and work as a team and share ideas.'

Edel said he enjoys participating in informal discussions with colleagues from other boards every quarter to build a sense of community.

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