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SouthSlaveschoolboardwinsgoldforliteracy18TuesdayApril12014EducationLiteracyByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheSouthSlaveDivi-sionalEducationCouncilSSDECisonceagainbeingrecognizedforitssuccessfulliteracypro-gramwinninggoldforeducationattherecentna-tionalPublicSectorLead-ershipAwards.TheawardshandedoutbytheInstituteofPublicAdmin-istrationofCanadaIPACandDeloittecelebratein-novationandexcellenceinthepublicsector.SSDECtookhomethetophonourforitsground-breakingLeadership4Lit-eracyinitiativewhichhasboostedstudentsuccessintheregionandresultedinleadingedgeAboriginallanguageinstructioninthecountry.ThoughstudentsintheSouthSlavewerealreadyachievingbetteracademicresultsthanotherNWTschoolboardsnearlyhalfwerebelowtheCanadianstandardsforreadingandmathwhichpromptedtheinitiativetobringstudentsuptothenorm.Whatfollowedwasthecreationofvaluablecom-munitypartnershipsandanewapproachtoAboriginallanguageinstructionthathaveresultedinnumerousawardssincetheprogramsinception.Severalschoolshaveseenaremarkableturnaroundinenthusiasmcommitmentandresultsandthepro-gramhasbeenembracedadoptedoradaptedbysev-eralotherjurisdictionsstatestheawardswebsite.ImportantlythisprogramhashelpedtheSouthSlaveDivisionalEducationCoun-cildevelopnewtoolsem-bracetechnologiessmartboardswhileapplyingotherevidence-basedtechniquesinAboriginallanguageinstruc-tionandassessmentwithim-pressiveresultstopreservetheindigenouslanguagesoftheSouthSlaveregion.TheawardwasacceptedinTorontoinFebruaryandmarksthersttimethatbothaschoolboardandanorgani-zationfromwithintheNorth-westTerritorieshavewonanIPACleadershipaward.SSDECsuperintendentCurtisBrownandassis-tantsuperintendentBrentKaulbackacceptedtheawardsonbehalfoftheschooldivisionthoughBrownre-markedthattheentirere-giondeservestoshareintherecognition.OurstaffDEAsandcouncilmembersdoanin-crediblejobanddeservetoberecognizedfortheirsuc-cess.Ouradministratorsde-servecreditforhavingcour-ageandtakingrisksinordertoensureabetterlotforstaffandstudents.Ourteachersparentsandstudentsneedtohearaboutandseethisawardasatestamenttotheirhardworkandourcollectiveimprovementhesaiduponreceivingtheaward.BothheandKaulbacknotedthespinoffbenetstoAboriginallanguagepromo-tionintheregion-anaspecthighlightedbytheawardscommitteeinmakingitsselection.Mostrecentlyrepresenta-tivesfromtheNunavutgov-ernmentwereintheSouthSlavetolearnasmuchastheycouldaboutmodel-lingtheLeadership4Lit-eracyprogramintheirownclassrooms.OurimprovementsinEnglishliteracyhavespilledovertonewtechniquesinAb-original-languageinstructionwithverypromisingresultsKaulbacksaid.ByMARIACHURCHTheNWTCourtofAppealhasreservedjudgementonacasethatwouldoverturnacourtorderrequiringtheterritorialgovernmenttoprovideFrenchschoolsinYellowknifeandHayRiverwithnewgymsandspecialtyclassrooms.RogerLepagelawyerfortheFrenchschoolboardCommissionscolairefran-cophoneCSFannouncedWednesdaythecourtchosetodelaytheappealrulingwhichsomearecallingadefiningcaseforFrenchfirstlanguagerightsintheNWT.WhenaCourtofAppealreservesadecisionthereisnosetdateforthedecisiontoberendered.Weanticipatethatitcouldbeanywherebe-tweenfourtosixmonthsbe-forewereceiveadecisionLepagesaid.NorulingonGNWTFrenchschoolappealLawyeranticipatesmonthsbeforeappealdecisionOurteachersparentsandstudentsneedtohearaboutandseethisawardasates-tamenttotheirhardworkandourcollec-tiveimprovement.Supt.CurtisBrownSouthSlaveDivisionalEducationCouncilTheGNWTisappealingacourtorderfrom2012thatdeterminedthegovernmentisconstitutionallyrespon-sibleforprovidingFrenchschoolswithequalserviceswhichareestimatedtocost26millioninadditionsandupgrades.Thecourtisalsohear-inganappealfromCSFonwhetherFrenchpreschoolisalsoaconstitutionalguar-anteeunderArticle23asarightforchildrentobeabletospeakFrenchbeforeen-teringkindergarten.InDecemberoflastyeartheterritorialgovernmentproposedaschoolswapsuggestingstudentsfromFrenchschoolsusethegymnasiumsandclass-roomsatnearbyEnglishschoolswherestudenten-rolmenthasbeensteadilydecreasing.BothEnglishandFrenchschoolboardsinHayRiverrejectedtheschoolswapproposalinearlyMarchafterhearingtheideaunanimouslycondemnedbyparentsatacommunitymeeting.TheYellowknifeschoolboardhasscheduledadiscussionwithparentsontheGNWTsproposedschoolswapinMay.OncetheCourtofAppealdoesmakearulingboththeGNWTandCSFwillhave60daystofurtherappealthede-cisiontotheSupremeCourtofCanada.TheprocesscanbefairlylengthyyethoweverwearesatisedthattheCourtofAppealheardallofourargu-mentsandthatwearelook-ingforwardtoafavourablerulingLepagesaid.Theprocesscanbefairlylengthyyethow-everwearesatisedthattheCourtofAp-pealheardallofourargumentsandthatwearelookingforwardtoafavourableruling.RogerLepageCommissionscolairefrancophonePhotocoleBoralecoleBoraleinHayRiverisoneoftwoFrenchschoolsghtingforequalservices.EducationSchoolsPhotocourtesyofSSDECSSDECsuperintendentCurtisBrowncentreandassistantsuperintendentBrentKaulbackaccepttheirgoldawardfromMarilynScottchiefofstaffatCentennialCollegeinTorontoandoneofthejurypanelmembers.