Learning Academy Program Kingsway Park Public School

January 2019

Researcher: Dr. John A. Hodson & Nadine Hedican Maamaawisiiwin Education Research Centre, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Nurturing Capacity Founding Sponsor

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Preface

Nurturing Capacity: Documenting Community Success

Indspire supports communities to improve educational outcomes through the documentation and evaluation of their innovative practices. This community-led process is supported by an Indspire-funded Indigenous scholar, who works with programs on the ground to provide training on data collection and evaluation methodology.

For more info, please contact nurturingcapacity@indspire.ca | 1.855.463.7747 x230

Project Abstract

The Kingsway Park Public School Learning Academy (Academy) is based on a program model that integrates both Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Contemporary Western Knowledge. The Academy is a two-year (Grades 7 & 8), two-semester program that meets the specific requirements of the Ontario Curriculum. This study demonstrates that Indigenous students enrolled in the Academy have shown improvements in a number of academic indicators of success, including math, literacy, attendance, punctuality, and number of required disciplinary actions.

Project Holder

KINGSWAY PARK PUBLIC SCHOOL, LAKEHEAD DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

Contact person: Darren Lentz, Principal

315 Empire Avenue, Thunder Bay, Ontario CANADA P7E 4R9

Telephone: 807.623.6722 Fax: 807.623.7790

Project Lead

Darren Lentz, Principal, Kingsway Park Public School

Email: darren_lentz@lakeheadschools.ca Telephone: 807.623.6722

Additional Contact: Leslie Hynnes, Education Officer

Email: leslie_hynnes@lakeheadschools.ca Telephone: 807.625.5169

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Table of Contents

Learning Academy Program ....................................................................................... 2

Kingsway Park Public School .................................................................................... 2

Preface.......................................................................................................................... 2

Nurturing Capacity: Documenting Community Success .............................. 2

Project Abstract ................................................................................................ 2

Project Holder ................................................................................................... 2

Project Lead ...................................................................................................... 2

Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 5

Description of the Program ......................................................................................... 6

Context ......................................................................................................................... 8

School Populations in Thunder Bay ............................................................... 9

Kingsway Park Public School ......................................................................... 9

Brief History of the Project ....................................................................................... 12

The Learning Environment in Thunder Bay ................................................. 12

School Leadership & the Academy ............................................................... 14

Connection to Indspire’s Principles ......................................................................... 15

Activities Accomplished ........................................................................................... 17

An Example of Academy Curriculum ............................................................ 17

Logic Model Used for the Project ............................................................................. 18

Performance Indicator and Measures ...................................................................... 18

Evaluation .................................................................................................................. 19

Objective 1: Spiritual Well-Being .................................................................. 19

Objective 2: Emotional Well-Being ............................................................... 21

Objective 3: Mental Well-Being ..................................................................... 23

Objective 4: Physical Well-Being .................................................................. 27

Next Steps for the Project ......................................................................................... 29

Recommendation 1: Planning for Leadership Change ............................... 31

Recommendation 2: Issues of Cultural Appropriation ................................ 31

Recommendation 3: Continuing the Research ............................................ 32

Outcomes: Most Significant Accomplishments and Lessons Learned ................ 32

References ................................................................................................................. 34

Appendix A: The Logic Model Used in The Project ................................................ 35

The Purpose & Objectives of the Study........................................................ 35

The Research Study’s Methodology ............................................................. 35

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Executive Summary

Kingsway Park Public School is part of the Lakehead District School Board and

provides programming from junior kindergarten to Grade 8. Although Kingsway is not

considered an inner-city school, its Indigenous students mainly reside in Thunder Bay’s

Westfort ward.

Over the last five years, Kingsway’s student population has not experienced the

dramatic increase in Indigenous students seen in other inner-city schools. In the 2017-

2018 school year, 22% of the student population self-identified1 as Indigenous. Most of

these students self-identified as Anishinabe and indicated a heritage language of either

Ojibway, Oji-Cree, or Swampy Cree.

The Kingsway Learning Academy is a two-year experiential-educational program

designed to connect Indigenous students in Grades 7 and 8 to their community, their

culture, their language, and the land. The objective of this program is to ultimately make

education a more culturally relevant experience.

The academic data collected as part of this evaluation suggests that there is a

relationship between enrollment in the Kingsway Learning Academy and improvements

in students’ average math (2% increase overall) and literacy scores (8.64% increase

overall). In addition, this study found that absence-rate growth (from 101% to 38%),

lateness (from 25% to 10.75%), and number of school suspensions (100%) all

decreased among the Indigenous students who qualified for this research.

When these academic indicators of success are considered alongside the narratives

provided by the students, their parents/caregivers, and their teachers, a relatively clear

and accurate picture of the Academy’s academic and cultural benefits begins to

emerge.

Therefore, the authors suggest that it is reasonable to conclude that Indigenous

students enrolled in the Academy will experience positive and measurable outcomes in

relation to their spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical well-beings. Moreover, since

the Academy’s curriculum addresses the students’ needs on multiple levels, it may also

have a healing influence in addition to increasing the likelihood of future academic

success.

1 In 2007, the Ministry of Education released the Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework. Shortly after, the Ministry mandated a voluntary FNMI Self-Identification Program for each school board in the province. Self-Identification is at the discretion of families, who can choose whether they want to self-identify their child as First Nation, Métis, or Inuit.

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Kingsway Park Learning Academy Program

Description of the Program

For a generation, Indigenous researchers (Cajete, 1994; Battiste, 2013; Bishop,

O’Sullivan, & Berryman, 2010; Castellano, Davis, & Lahache, 2000; Hampton, 1995)

around the world have found that Indigenous school success depends on two factors:

• Access to Traditional Indigenous Knowledge; and

• Access to teachers who have been educated to teach Contemporary Western

Knowledge and who support the learning needs of Indigenous children in their

classrooms.

The Kingsway Park Public School Learning Academy (Academy) is based on a

program model that integrates both knowledge traditions and includes Indigenous and

non-Indigenous educators. The Academy is a two-semester, two-year program that

meets the specific requirements of the Ontario Curriculum, including:

• Participation in inquiry and/or project-based activities;

• The encouragement of active experience and reflection; and

• Applying learned lessons to various aspects of life.

These learning requirements are achieved through a holistic approach that uses

experiential learning activities to address the students’ spiritual, emotional, mental, and

physical realities. The activities used in this approach can be classified as follows:

• Outdoor, Physical, and Environmental Learning Focus: These activities include

various traditional and contemporary outdoor experiential activities that are

designed to enhance Indigenous students’ physical competencies and

achievements.

For example, participation in the Ontario Recreational Canoeing and Kayaking

Association (ORKA) Certification training program teaches students safe, competent,

and knowledgeable paddling skills, while participation in the Ontario Hunter Education

Program allows students to receive their certification in fire-arms safety, hunting

techniques, and conservation. Both certificates enhance students’ future employment

opportunities in Ontario’s recreation and tourism industries.

Other contemporary physical activities include downhill skiing, cross-country skiing,

and lessons in rock climbing, as well as more traditional Indigenous modes of

transportation, like dog sledding, and games, like lacrosse and hockey. Wherever

possible, programming is connected to Anishinabe ethnobotany or traditional teachings

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associated with the use of plants as medicines and spiritual supports. For example,

participating in canoe building includes traditional Anishinabe birch-bark and spruce

root harvesting.

• Exploring Arts and Music Focus: These activities are designed to engage the

Indigenous student’s creative mind and to enhance their spiritual realities

through creative experiences that are delivered by teachers from different

disciplines in the arts.

These activities expose students to a variety of Indigenous arts through interactions

with the Academy’s Indigenous Artists in Residence, as well as through attending the

Woodland Art Series Show and participating in an art show at the Thunder Bay Art

Gallery. The students also have an opportunity to work with musical mentors to learn

how to play a range of instruments, in addition to having a chance to compete in the

Lakehead Music Festival.

Students are given an opportunity to explore future education and employment

possibilities through the Confederation College Culinary Program and the Cake Boss

Challenge, which challenges students to design, bake, and decorate their own cake.

This culinary exposure is also connected to real-world issues related to social

development, particularly food security, through activities with Thunder Bay’s Regional

Food Distribution Association.

Finally, in an effort to promote a positive self-image, students are given a chance to

receive certification training in First Aid, babysitting, and bike safety through the

Success Certification Programming at Confederation College.

• Exploring Language: Language study emphasizes enhanced comprehension

through hand-on activities related to aspects of the curriculum.

For example, students are able to sharpen their media comprehension skills by

studying relevant local and national newspaper articles dealing with Indigenous and

national issues. In addition, the students also take part in developing and delivering

presentations and press releases for the local media promoting the Academy and

sharing their experiences in the program.

Reading activities are used to achieve curriculum objectives by linking poems and

literature to lacrosse, canoeing, or local or national history. Students also have a

chance to develop their practical writing skills by studying the biography and resumé of

the Confederation College Culinary Program’s Head Chef.

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• Exploring Science, Math, and Social Studies: Science and mathematics

comprehension is expanded by linking experiential learning to social issues that

are relevant to Indigenous students.

The politics of water purification are explored by studying the social impact of the boil

water advisories that are all too common for many First Nation communities in this

territory. Students learn about the science and math involved in water-quality treatment

through a water-study project that includes orienteering activities, GIS mapping,

running transits, learning to read compass bearings, and mastering various

measurements, such as ratios, fractions, and percentages. The student water-

treatment study blends traditional Anishinabe ethnobotany with contemporary science

in a number of ways, such as teaching students how to identify different plant species

and how these plants have traditionally been used by Indigenous people living in boreal

forests.

Context

Demographic shifts among non-Indigenous populations in Northwestern Ontario,

including an ageing population and the out-migration of younger populations,

contributed to a population decline of approximately 9% between 1991 and 2011

(Moazzami, 2015). In contrast, Northwestern Ontario’s Indigenous population grew

during this period, accounting for 13% of the total population as of 2011. On average,

the Indigenous population is younger, has a higher birth rate, and generally lives in

urban and rural areas.

These demographic trends hold true in Thunder Bay, which is the largest city in the

territory. Indigenous people account for approximately 13% of Thunder Bay’s population

(StatsCan, 2016), with the majority identifying as Anishinabe, including Ojibway, Oji-

Cree, and Swampy Cree. In addition, Thunder Bay is also home to a significant Métis

community.

However, many Indigenous organizations, agencies, service providers, and First

Nations and Métis communities dispute this population data—which is taken from

Statistics Canada’s National Household Survey—instead suggesting that a two-to-

threefold increase is likely more accurate (Bailey, 2008).

These organizations argue that Statistics Canada’s data may be inadequate for one (or

more) of the following reasons: Indigenous people often avoid participating in the

census or other self-identification initiatives due to a general distrust of government;

participation may be withheld as an act of resistance to Canadian nationalism; or the

data may fail to include Indigenous people living a more transient lifestyle. When

combined with the Federal Government's decision to discontinue the long-form census,

which has since been reinstated by the Trudeau government, these factors raise

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legitimate questions about the accuracy of Indigenous population data and, by

extension, provincial school data.

Indigenous people’s reluctance to be counted and/or identified is also evident in their

response to the province’s Self-Identification Policy in schools. The Ministry of

Education designed the Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy

Framework (the Framework) (2007) to encourage District School Boards (DSB) to

develop their own “voluntary, confidential Aboriginal student self-identification” policies

as a way of helping the Ministry and the DSBs improve the quality of their programming

and supports (p. 12). However, data collected by the 76 DSBs and school authorities

showed that only 44% of the estimated 64,000 Indigenous students attending

provincially funded schools had self-identified as of 2013 (Ontario Ministry of

Education, 2013, p. 11).

School Populations in Thunder Bay

Predictably, data on Thunder Bay’s Indigenous population is similarly unreliable.

Although the latest data from Statistics Canada suggests that Indigenous people make

up 13% of Thunder Bay’s population, the experiences of Indigenous agencies, service

providers, and schools suggest that this figure is inaccurate.

Certainly, the out-migration of young non-Indigenous people, an ageing population, and

a large influx of Indigenous peoples and school-aged populations has altered the overall

makeup of the student bodies at Thunder Bay’s Public and Catholic schools. As a

result, the proportion of Indigenous students at Thunder Bay’s inner-city elementary

schools (see Table 1.2) is rapidly approaching, or has already surpassed, 50%.

However, the leadership at many of these schools has suggested that these figures

may overlook an additional 10-15% of students who have not self-identified as

Indigenous.

Kingsway Park Public School

Kingsway Park Public School offers programming from junior kindergarten to Grade 8.

Although Kingsway is not considered an inner-city school, its students largely reside in

Thunder Bay’s Westfort ward, which has historically been a working-class

neighbourhood. However, Westfort has evolved in recent decades and now includes a

growing white-collar Indigenous population who work for a wide variety of organizations,

including the city’s various Indigenous agencies, service providers, and tribal councils.

In addition, unlike other areas of the city with large Indigenous populations, Westfort

does not have any major subsidized housing projects or low-cost rental properties;

rather, the residents either own their homes or pay market-value rents.

Over the last five years, Kingsway has not experienced the same dramatic Indigenous

student population growth that has taken place at other inner-city schools (see Table

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1.1). During the 2017-2018 school year, only 22% (see Table 1.1) of the entire student

population self-identified as Indigenous. Specifically, the majority of these students

identified as Anishinabe, and reported that their heritage language was either Ojibway,

Oji-Cree, or Swampy Cree. Nonetheless, Principal Lentz (personal communication,

2018) estimates that Kingsway’s student population may include an additional 10% of

students who have not self-identified as Indigenous, which means that at least one-third

of the student population may be Indigenous.

Table 1.1: Kingsway Park Elementary School Self-Identified Indigenous Population

# School

Year Total

School Pop.

Indig.

Pop.

Indig. % of Total Pop.

1 2012 - 2013 366 53 14.48

2 2013 - 2014 345 56 16.23

3 2014 - 2015 343 54 15.74

4 2015 - 2016 349 63 18.0

5 2016 - 2017 345 43 12.46

6 2017 - 2018 368 82 22.28

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Table 1.2: Indigenous Self-Identified Populations in Lakehead Public District School Board Schools

# School

Name

Total School

Pop.

2012/13

Indig.

Population

2012/13

Indig.

% of Total Pop.

Total School

Pop.

2016/17

Total Indig. Pop.

Indig. % of Total

Pop.

1 McKellar Park Elementary

300 180 60 179 125 70

2 Ogden Community Elementary

204 144 60 201 109 54

3 Sherbrooke Elementary

124 84 68 124 96 77

4 Sir Winston Churchill

Collegiate2

Not available

547 145 27

5 St. James Elementary

170 70 41 165 86 52

6 Vance Chapman

Elementary

Not available

270 66 24

7 Westgate Collegiate

Not available

775 109 14

2 Sir Winston Churchill CVI closed in June of 2018; the student population has now moved to Westgate CVI.

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Brief History of the Project:

The Learning Environment in Thunder Bay

At this point, it would be beneficial to provide an overview of the macro-environment of

the city of Thunder Bay and the micro-environment of Kingsway Park School. In

particular, this overview will examine aspects of the micro-environment that can

effectively be used to minimize the negativity that tends to characterize the macro-

environment.

The Macro-Environment

• In 2018, Maclean’s magazine published a report on Canada’s most dangerous

places, which ranked cities based on police reports filed in relation to thirteen types of

crime. In the final rankings, which included 229 cities, Thunder Bay finished as the

58th most dangerous city.

• According to Statistics Canada, one-third of all Indigenous-targeted hate crimes

reported in Canada in 2015 occurred in Thunder Bay.

• In 2014, the Thunder Bay Police Service responded to 2,429 domestic violence

incidents.

• At present, the Thunder Bay Police Service Board is under investigation by the

Ontario Civilian Police Commission due to numerous complaints about the state of

civilian-police oversight and public confidence in the delivery of police services. The

final report was released in December of 2018.

• In its investigation into the 2015 death of an Indigenous man, the Ontario

Independent Police Review Directorate, which is a civilian oversight body, concluded

that there were “substantial” deficiencies that amounted to a “neglect of duty” on the

part of the Thunder Bay Police Service.

• Seven young Indigenous people died under questionable circumstances in Thunder

Bay between 2000 and 2011. In 2016, a coroner’s Inquest into their deaths was

conducted, producing 145 recommendations.

• In January 2017, an Anishinabe woman was hit in the abdomen by a trailer hitch that

was allegedly thrown from a passing car. Upon seeing that he had struck someone,

the young man who had allegedly thrown the hitch remarked, “Oh, I hit one.” The

woman subsequently died in July 2017.

• In May 2017, two high-profile drownings occurred in the river across the road from Sir

Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute. The victims of these drownings

were Indigenous youths, which served to add a sense of tragedy and sadness.

The above incidents paint a picture of a macro-environment that can reasonably be

described as hostile to Indigenous people. This is a significant problem because it

negatively impacts the lives of Indigenous children.

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The Micro-Environment at Kingsway The micro-environment of the school can offset the negativity in the macro-environment in two specific ways. First, experiential Indigenous Traditional Knowledge programming can help students develop a sense of pride in their Indigenous identity. Such programming teaches skills related to traditional Indigenous teachings and shows how they relate to key Western academic areas, such as language, science, math, social studies, visual arts, and music.

Second, the educational environment can be a great place to stress the importance of

the many relationships each student is a part of and to foster a sense of responsibility to

their community. For example, Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators who have

been trained to share their knowledges in a way that responds to, involves, and reflects

Indigenous culture can help students recognize and strengthen their relationships with

their teachers, fellow students, community, and the land.

In 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Education released the Ontario First Nation, Métis, and

Inuit Education Policy Framework (the Framework). The Framework was designed to

provide District School Boards (DSBs) with strategic direction, financial resources, and

specific goals in an effort to increase the academic success3 of Indigenous students

enrolled in provincially funded schools.

The Framework’s vision statement specifically commits to providing all Indigenous

students with “the traditional and contemporary knowledge, skills, and attitudes required

to be socially contributive, politically active, and economically prosperous citizens of the

world” (p. 7).

With guidance from the Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee, the Lakehead Public

District School Board has developed a number of educational programs in an effort to

achieve the goals outlined in the Framework’s vision statement and to improve the

academic outcomes of Indigenous students.

The Kingsway Park Learning Academy Program (the Academy) was launched during

the 2016-2017 school year to meet the learning needs of Indigenous students in Grades

7 and 8. The Academy’s curriculum provides students with a wide range of experiential

learning opportunities, particularly in relation to music, the arts, and Indigenous culture

and traditional skills. Although the Academy is open to all Grade 7 and 8 students, this

report only focuses on its Indigenous students.

3 There is very little accurate data available specific to Indigenous success in Ontario provincial schools. The Ontario Ministry of Education directed all District School Boards to track the 2011/2012 Indigenous high school cohort and report on the graduation rates four years later. To date, that information has yet to be released by the Ministry.

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The Academy’s indigagogic4 framework blends Traditional Indigenous Knowledge with

Contemporary Western Knowledge and provides a learning experience that is delivered

by both Indigenous Traditional Knowledge educators and Contemporary Western

Knowledge educators.

However, there is an unrecognized resistance to attempts to interweave both

knowledge traditions, which is largely due to an unconscious privileging of

Contemporary Western Knowledge over other knowledge traditions. As Britzman (2003)

explains, this privileging is rooted in educators’ learning biographies and it “accounts for

the persistency of particular worldviews, orientations, dispositions, and cultural myths

that dominate our thinking and, in unintended ways, select the practices that are

available in educational life” (p. 27). As will be discussed below, integrating both

knowledge traditions in the education of Indigenous peoples requires considerable

expertise.

School Leadership & the Academy

The key to the Academy’s success is a principal who possesses a unique skill-set.

Although Principal Lentz is not Indigenous, he is well connected to the Anishinabe

community through family ties, and his commitment to Anishinabe culture, language,

and traditional arts is well-respected by the community’s members. This respect has

allowed Mr. Lentz to bring his extensive knowledge, understanding, and community

connectivity to the Academy through his teaching and leadership.

In the authors’ experience, Principal Lentz is one of the few educators in Ontario who is

genuinely bi-cultural in his practice, and it is not an exaggeration to suggest that the

Academy at Kingsway would not be as successful without him. Certainly, leadership is a

critical element in creating and operating this type of unique school. However, Principal

Lentz’s leadership also carries a moral purpose at the school level. As Fullan points out,

a school’s leader is responsible for ensuring that,

all students and teachers benefit in terms of identified desirable goals, that the gap

between the high and low performers becomes less as the bar for all is raised, that

ever-deeper educational goals are pursued, and that the culture of the school

becomes so transformed that continuous improvement relative to the previous

three components become built in. (as cited in Bishop et al., 2010, p. 96)

This critical connection between the school’s leadership, the Anishinabe community,

and the Academy’s model will be explored in more detail later in this report (see Bishop

et al., 2010).

4 Indig-a-gogy noun: The method and practice of Indigenous teaching, learning, and research, especially

in relationship to the theory of healing and wellness of Indigenous children, youth, adults, and elders. “The successful pursuit of Indigenous healing and wellness is dependent on Indigagogy.”

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Connection to Indspire’s Principles

Indspire’s foundational guiding principles for Indigenous educational practice are based on opinions from two national consultations and reflect the values outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These seven principles serve as a guide and starting point for identifying and validating effective, innovative, and successful practices for the Institute; however, not all principles have to be applied simultaneously. These foundational principles do not prevent individual schools from adopting unique criteria in order to meet the specific needs and goals of the communities and nations they serve. An analysis of the Kingsway Park Public School Learning Academy Program reflects the following guiding principles: Principle 1: Indigenous peoples have the right to retain shared responsibility for the education and well-being of their children.

Kingsway’s Learning Academy has built many strong relationships with local Indigenous Traditional Knowledge educators and has encouraged them to be a part of the school’s learning community by inviting them to share their areas of expertise with the students.

Principle 2: As an expression of respect, reciprocity, and reconciliation, strengthened partnerships between Indigenous peoples, governments (federal, provincial, and territorial) and public institutions are the basis of working relationships, implicit in treaties, agreements, and other constructive agreements with Indigenous peoples.

The incorporation of both Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Contemporary Western Knowledge into the Kingsway Academy curriculum is a real demonstration of “respect, reciprocity, and reconciliation,” and it has had a measurable positive impact on the school success of Indigenous students. The Academy’s successes in this respect can help to encourage expanded partnerships between federal and provincial governments and First Nations, Tribal Councils, the Métis Nation of Ontario, or other Provincial Territorial Organizations.

Principle 3: Indigenous Knowledges (ways of being, knowing, valuing, and doing), which convey our responsibilities and relationships to all life is a valued and foundational aspect of the learning program for all children and youth.

Traditional Indigenous Knowledge is rooted in a wide range of land-based activities (harvesting birch-bark and spruce-root), land-related activities (hunter safety), or water-based activities (canoeing). In making these sources of knowledge a central part of its curriculum, the Kingsway Learning Academy is able to provide its students with a deeper appreciation for their relationships to others and the land, as well as their responsibilities to all life.

Principle 5: Learning is viewed as lifelong, holistic, and experiential, which is rooted in language and culture, is place-based, spiritually oriented, communal, and open to multiple ways of knowing the world.

The Kingsway Learning Academy provides an experiential learning journey that has been

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specifically designed to be compatible with an indigagogical curriculum. This curriculum makes great use of language and culture in order to embrace and support the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical needs of Indigenous students. Principle 6: Programs, schools and systems are responsive to both the aspirations and needs of Indigenous peoples.

The loss of culture and language among Indigenous populations in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario has been profound. In response, Lakehead Public Schools have made a number of strategic financial investments to build cultural and linguistic awareness and pride among Indigenous students. The Kingsway Learning Academy stands as an example of the early returns on these investments.

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Activities Accomplished

An Example of Academy Curriculum

The Kingsway Learning Academy has built numerous strong relationships with local

Indigenous Traditional Knowledge educators, and it has encouraged these teachers to

become a part of the school’s learning community by inviting

them to share their expertise with the students.

One example of

this occurred on a

warm and sunny

day in June in the

newly built Outdoor

Learning

Classroom, which

is located in a

large, grassy, fenced-in area on the school grounds. The

Outdoor Learning Classroom

features a large pergola with

benches, and it is

surrounded by raised, freshly planted garden boxes.

On this day, a group of Grade 8 students had joined

together with teachers, both Contemporary and

Traditional, to learn about birch bark baskets and how

to make them.

The lesson began with introductions being made around the learning circle. Helen

Pelletier, an Anishinabe artist from Fort William First Nation, and her teenage daughter,

Daanis, were the invited Traditional Knowledge educators. They were there to assist the

class, share their skills, and demonstrate this ancient art.

In preparation for this learning event, the teachers had explained the mathematics

involved in creating the basket pattern to the students during class the day before. In

addition, the teachers also discussed the respectful, traditional, and sustainable

methods used to harvest the materials, such as the birch bark, that would be used in the

basket-making workshop.

The atmosphere was ideal for learning—relaxed yet energized—and Ms. Pelletier

began the lesson by sharing verbal and visual instructions with the students. Most of the

students could not hide their eagerness to begin, and, after receiving Ms. Pelletier’s

instructions, they quickly set to work choosing their piece of birch bark and tools and

began laying out and cutting their individual baskets. The students were given the

freedom to work where and with whom they pleased; some groups set off to be in the

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sun, a few worked independently, but most stayed close to the pergola. The more

confident and skilled students progressed quickly with minimal assistance from the

educators. A few others held back and observed at first, but soon joined in after

receiving encouragement from their peers.

There was much laughter during this workshop, and everyone worked at their own

pace, receiving patient instructions, demonstrations, and sometimes hands-on

assistance from the teachers when required. In the midst of the joy of learning and

creating, we were all directed to look up. There, soaring above the outdoor classroom,

was an eagle waving with its wings and singing its approval in a high-pitched whistle.

Logic Model Used for the Project

The logic model used in this study aligns with the vision statement in the Ministry of

Education’s Framework (2007) by considering the impacts of Traditional Indigenous

Knowledge and Contemporary Western Knowledge, which combine to create the

Academy’s indigagogic framework.

This study used a culturally responsive, relational mixed methods design that drew upon

both qualitative and quantitative data to examine how the Academy’s indigagogic

curriculum impacted the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical well-being of the

participating students (see Appendix A for a more detailed explanation of the model).

Performance Indicator and Measures

This study’s findings are presented in four sections, with each one relating to one of the

areas targeted by the Academy’s indigagogic model: spiritual well-being, emotional well-

being, mental well-being, and physical well-being. Each section examines the relevant

performance indicators by analyzing narratives that emerged during Circles with the

Indigenous students, interviews with parents/caregivers and Traditional and

Contemporary Knowledge educators, as well as the research team’s field notes. In

addition, this analysis also examines quantitative data obtained from the students’

Ontario School Records. The end of each section features a discussion that integrates

all of the relevant sources and considers them holistically.

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Evaluation

Objective 1: Spiritual Well-Being

To qualitatively assess how the Kingsway Learning Academy’s cultural activities—including cultural/traditional teachings, the Woodland Art Series, and Elder involvement—have impacted the spiritual well-being of participating Indigenous students.

Rather than speaking directly about their spiritual healing, students tended to contrast

the Kingsway learning environment with the school(s) they attended in the past. In

particular, the Students expressed their appreciation for “more hands-on learning”

because they found that it “[makes] learning easier.”

Students were able to identify the connection between the improved learning

environment and their improved grades, and they described how this had also directly

contributed to improvements in their home environment. As one student remarked,

better grades had resulted in “less yelling by my parents.”

When asked to describe how Kingsway was different from other schools, the students

were quick to note how the learning environment at the Academy was defined by a

mutual respect between teachers and students. They described the Academy’s learning

environment as one where “teachers are less strict,” and that “you don’t get yelled at for

everything you do.” The students also appreciated that the Academy was a place where

teachers do not “send you to the office for every little mistake you make [as often].”

Most often, it is the people who love us who are able to most clearly see changes in our

way of being. Many parents and caregivers spoke candidly about their child’s difficult

past; however, these parents also noted how their child had experienced profound

personal growth since beginning at the Academy, especially in relation to their spiritual

well-being. As one parent reflected: “I see my child develop self-confidence, becoming a

young adult. He can verbalize himself, he can talk, he is not being pushed away [at

school].”

Another parent/caregiver described the changes in their child’s attitude since joining

Kingsway: “I especially see the change in my oldest child in the first year at Westgate;

he was very angry, a lot of that came from his past. Kingsway helped him out. He has

changed.”

One parent/caregiver spoke about how their child’s sense of identity had improved as a

result of participating in the Academy:

I just see self-confidence, and I see a change in the direction he wants his life to

go now. Now he is centered here. He’s going to [go] to [high school] and he just

feels that he belongs here. [It is] just a turn-around for him.

Page 20 of 37

A different parent/caregiver described their child’s personal healing as follows:

[H]e knows where he comes from, who he is. [He] was being bullied when he first

came here, he was at [another school] before and he was bullied there really bad.

When he came here, he was bullied for a little bit and this [Academy] program

came up and [the principal] told him to sign up for it and then it just seemed that he

is more-sure of himself now.

The teachers also noted the spiritual pain that many of their Indigenous students

struggled with when they arrived at the Academy, and how, little by little, their

educational experience there had helped them to heal. As one teacher remarked: “I

have watched kids with significant behavioural issues become better students, with

[improved] grades. Kids just respond to the Academy in ways that I have never

witnessed [before].”

Discussion

The depth of the spiritual pain carried by many Indigenous students can be described as profound, and that pain often contributes to behavioural and/or performance issues in the classroom (see Chandler, 2005).

Clearly, the source of this pain is different for each child and can include factors such as

familial instability, poverty, past educational experiences, violence, abuse issues, or the

overall community environment. These are just a few of the issues that shape the

spiritual well-being of Indigenous students in Thunder Bay.

Addressing the behavioural challenges that can result from such issues can often feel

impossible or overwhelming for educators. In turn, these feelings can lead to a sense of

frustration and hopelessness that, intentionally or not, marginalizes Indigenous students

and limits their learning opportunities. Fortunately, the Academy learning experience

combines Traditional and Contemporary Knowledge, which can be highly effective in

helping Indigenous students heal their spiritual pain and move back to the centre of the

educational experience. What’s more, there is also an added benefit for educators.

Since the Academy’s program model can help to reduce behavioural issues, teachers

are more able to focus on their strength and their passion: teaching.

Providing Indigenous students with opportunities to engage in their learning

preference(s) through a curriculum that combines both knowledge traditions—as well as

providing them with positive role models from their heritage culture—can establish the

initial level of a learning scaffold that can be extended to facilitate more complex

learning in multiple areas (Battiste, 2013; Chandler, 2005). Evidence for the

effectiveness of this scaffolding approach can be seen in the fact that 60% of Academy

students who participated in the Circle had actively taken up some form of instrument

(e.g., trombone, trumpet, flute), with some having gone on to compete in a city-wide

music festival.

Page 21 of 37

In Indigenous educational settings like that provided by the Academy, student success

not only leads to more student success, but it also reinforces a positive relationship with

teachers. This is a key point because positive and respectful student-teacher

relationships have been shown to have a direct and measurable impact on the spiritual

well-being of all parties involved (Bishop et al, 2010).

Objective 2: Emotional Well-Being

To qualitatively assess how the structured activities offered at the Kingsway

Learning Academy—including field trips, babysitting courses, working with role

models/mentors, and participating in music and music festivals—have impacted

the emotional well-being of participating Indigenous students.

The audio recordings of the Indigenous student Circle failed to capture the participants’

body language as they spoke of their Kingsway Academy experience. This is

regrettable because the students’ body language clearly reflected a sense of pride—and

often astonishment—as they described their improved academic performance, their

musical accomplishments, and their new sense of emotional well-being.

Although important in its own right, this enhanced sense of emotional well-being also

led to positive changes in the students’ academic performance. Parents and caregivers

were proud and delighted with their children’s improvements in the classroom, with one

parent/caregiver describing their child’s improvement as follows: “Math is going better,

[historically my child] struggled with math…Before we moved here… [they struggled

academically] …[now] their grades did a complete 180, academics shot right up.”

The students talked about how they had been able to establish healthy relationships

with their peers, a development they largely attributed to the group activities—such as

organized sports, hunter safety, rock climbing, and cooking—they had taken part in

while at the Academy. These mutually supportive relationships were especially critical to

the emotional resilience of the Grade 8 students who would soon be facing the critical

transition to high school.

The importance of developing healthy peer relationships was also recognized by the

parents/caregivers. As one parent/caregiver noted, “I think [that through] this program

they have already planned how they are going to help each other.” Another was pleased

with how “[the] Grade Eights [have] learned about networking in preparation for the

transition to [high school].” Another parent/caregiver expressed the comfort they felt in

knowing that “[my child] knows he won’t be alone when he begins [high school].”

The notion of preparedness was taken up by one parent/caregiver in the Circle who

shared their child’s thoughts about making the transition to high school: “I was worried

[about beginning high school] but as the year progressed, I have more tools. I’m good.

Page 22 of 37

I’m ready.” This parent/caregiver seemed to be pleased with this, adding, “He’s not

worried anymore; he’s got it set.”

This sort of testimony becomes even more powerful when it is accompanied by

accounts of the emotional distress that commonly characterized their prior educational

experiences. As told by one parent/caregiver,

When we first moved out here, we came from a very rough school. You are

supposed to go to school and feel safe. [My child] used to go [to school] and come

home with black eyes and busted teeth. When [my child came to Kingsway] he felt

it would be just another ‘mean school’. But I saw that turn around in him. [Now] he

was always smiling and eager to come to school, he has no worries about school.

He is still that way. [Being at Kingsway] totally turned [him] right around.

Discussion

It would seem somewhat repetitive to point out that many Indigenous students carry an

emotional trauma into the classroom that is unprecedented in magnitude. Although this

emotional trauma may stem from a combination of historical, socio-cultural, socio-

economic, or familial circumstances, the students and their parents/caregivers

universally identified negative prior educational experiences as a major source of

trauma.

On this point, the authors suggest that this emotional trauma

is not the result of teachers or principals acting in a malicious

manner. Instead, we believe that many teachers and

principals are simply not adequately educated to address the

learning needs of Indigenous students, which is a position

that is supported by the related literature (see Bishop et al.,

2010). This lack of appropriate education leads to emotional

trauma because it often locks teachers, principals, Indigenous

students, and their parents/caregivers into a destructive cycle

that ultimately victimizes everyone (Battiste, 2013; Hodson &

Kitchen, 2015).

Nonetheless, the responses from the teachers, Indigenous

students, and parents/caregivers provide reason for hope, as their positive remarks

indicate that the Academy’s program model has been successful in breaking this cycle.

At its core, the Academy is a hands-on learning experiment that engages all three

groups and, through this experience, gives each one the opportunity to resolve

elements of emotional trauma. This sort of engagement enables the Academy to break

the cycle, as the mutual respect and collaboration between teachers, students, and

parents/caregivers allows each group to leave their historic experiences behind to

varying degrees.

Page 23 of 37

Of course, this is not to say that the experience has been free from difficulties or “bumps

along the road.” One Traditional Knowledge educator admitted to being uncomfortable

with the inclusion of Traditional Knowledge within the Academy. When asked to

elaborate, this educator explained that, aside from their relationship with the principal,

they did not have any meaningful relationships with the other educators at the

Academy. In essence, this educator felt that the lack relationships between Traditional

and Contemporary Knowledge educators had led to a certain level of distrust.

Objective 3: Mental Well-Being

To quantitatively assess how the academic activities at the Kingsway Learning Academy have impacted the mental well-being of participating Indigenous students. Academic success is viewed holistically and is based on a number of indicators taken from the student’s Ontario Student Records, including literacy and math scores, absences, lateness, disciplinary actions required, and awards

The quantitative portion of this study examines indicators of school success as recorded

in each student’s Ontario Student Records (OSRs) in order to determine whether

participation in the Academy had a positive impact on their academic performance.

Specifically, the following indicators of success were considered: math and literacy

scores, attendance, lateness, number of disciplinary actions, and awards received.

Indigenous students were randomly chosen

from a list of students who had attended

Kingsway continually through Grades 6, 7,

and 8. Since Academy participation is limited

to students in Grades 7 and 8, the data for

Grade 6 was used as a control. In total, 10

Indigenous students met the selection

criteria. Provincial regulations limit access to

OSRs, so the Kingsway principal provided

assistance by collecting individual data for

each student who met the selection criteria

(see Table 1.3).

Numeracy and literacy scores are expressed as percentages, while attendance and

lateness are expressed as total whole days missed and total number of times a student

was late for school. Disciplinary data was also collected during the review of the OSRs,

but this data was ultimately limited and, therefore, not statistically meaningful.

Finally, descriptive statistics were run for all data collected (math and literacy scores,

absences, instances of lateness, disciplinary actions required, and awards received).

Page 24 of 37

Descriptive Results

Math

Descriptive statistics for all of the collected academic indicators were reviewed. The

research team found that the participants (N=10) had an average math score of 70.4 in

Grade 6 (control year). In their first year in the Academy, Grade 7, the student average

fell to 69.3, but then rebounded to 72.8 in the second year (Grade 8).

Literacy

The participating students (N=10) had an average literacy score of 68.3 in Grade 6

(control year). In their first year in the Academy, the students recorded an average

literacy score of 71.7. Significantly, the average literacy score continued to rise through

Grade 8, increasing to 74.2.

Absences

The average number of absences recorded during the Grade 6 control year was 6.5

days, with this number increasing to an average of 13.1 days in Grade 7. In Grade 8,

the average number of absences increased again to 18.1 days.

Lateness

In the control year (Grade 6), the participating students (N=10) were late for school or

class an average of 14.9 times. In their first year in the Academy, Grade 7, students

were late an average of 18.6 times. However, this figure decreased in Grade 8, with

students only being late an average of 16.6 times.

Disciplinary Actions

Three of the 10 (30%) Indigenous students had been suspended during the Grade 6

year, with one of these students being required to seek professional support instead of

receiving a suspension.

In contrast, the Ontario Student Records showed no recorded disciplinary actions for

any of the students (0%) during their two years at the Academy.

Awards

Three of the ten (30%) Indigenous students in this study received awards at the

conclusion of Grade 8.

Page 25 of 37

Table 1.3: Descriptive Statistics for all Academic Indicators

Grade 6 – 2015/2016 School Year

Control Year

Grade 7 – 2016/2017 School Year

1st Year of the Academy

Grade 8 – 2017/2018 School Year

2nd Year of the Academy

# OSR

Math Lit

Attendance

Lateness Disciplinary Action OSR

Math Lit

Attendance

Lateness Disciplinary Action

Awards OSR

Math Lit

Attendance

Lateness

Disciplinary Action

Awards

1 70 70 6 32 70 82

24 32 71 69 13 1 ●●

2 70 70 4 29 65 60

14 15 69 74 38 48

3 65 60 3 15 ● 68 70

6 11 71 71 10 15 ●●

4 70 60 1 2 ● 70 70

4 11 70 70 47 23

5 65 65 4 3 ● 65 68

2 4 68 70 8 4

6 70 70 7 8 65 65

24 43 70 70 23 22

7 75 69 14 31 75 70

14 26 80 76 25 24

8 69 69 6 10 65 70

10 8 69 72 12 7

9 75 75 16 3 78 82

15 0 80 90 3 5 ●●

10 75 75 4 16 72 80

18 36 80 80 2 17

Abbreviation Codes: ● – Student Disciplinary Action. ● ● - Student Award.

Discussion

The relatively small data set used in this analysis makes it difficult to draw any definitive

conclusions about whether participation in the Academy has had a positive impact on

academic indicators of school success. In particular, the data related to the academic

indicators of success (i.e., math and literacy scores, attendance, lateness, and

disciplinary action) is too limited and does not lend itself to statistical analysis.

Furthermore, it is important to remember that the Academy is relatively new, and that

the Indigenous students who participated in this study are the program’s first cohort.

Given this, it is reasonable to suggest that the Academy’s indigagogical approach has

yet to fully become a part of the culture at Kingsway, though this will undoubtedly occur

over time.

Page 26 of 37

Overall, the students’ average math scores increased between Grade 6 (control year)

and Grade 8. Although the students’ math scores fell by 1.1% (from 70.4% to 69.3%)

during their first year at the Academy, they showed a healthy improvement of 3.5% in

the second year, increasing from 69.3% to 72.8%.

With regards to attendance, students missed an average of 6.5 days of school during

their Grade 6 year. This number climbed to 13.1 days missed in their first year at the

Academy, which is an increase of 101%. This number increased yet again during

students’ second year at the Academy, rising from 13.1 days missed to 18.1 days

missed. This represents an increase of 38%. However, despite the steady increase in

days missed, the size of each increase got gradually smaller as students progressed in

their education; while there was a 101% increase in absences between Grade 6 and

Grade 7, there was only a 38% increase between Grades 7 and 8.

The literacy scores of the students in this study followed a more linear pattern. During

the Grade 6 control year, the students had an average literacy score of 68.3%. In their

first year in the Academy, the average literacy score improved to 71.7%, which is an

increase of 3.4%. Significantly, this score improved once again during the students’

Grade 8 year, rising to 74.2%, or an increase of 2.5% over the previous year.

Lateness rates followed a similar pattern to the students’ math scores. In Grade 6, the

students were late for school an average of 14.9 times. This number increased by 25%

to an average of 18.6 during the students’ first year at the Academy, but fell by 10.75%

to 16.6 during their second year in the Academy.

The number of recorded disciplinary actions decreased by 100% (from 30% to 0%)

between Grade 6 and Grade 7, with no incidents requiring discipline being recorded

while students were at the Academy. Another highly noteworthy finding in this study is

the fact that 30% of the students who participated received awards at the conclusion of

their Grade 8 year.

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Objective 4: Physical Well-Being

To qualitatively assess how the physical activities offered at the Kingsway Learning Academy—including culinary classes, hunting safety, dog sledding, and outdoor traditional sports activities—have impacted the physical well-being of participating students.

It should come as no surprise that the students were enthusiastic about and

appreciative of the physical activities offered at the Academy. In part, this appreciation

was simply about being out of the classroom; however, it was also about participating

in activities that contributed to student successes in multiple areas.

Many of these physical activities complemented various academic lessons, and this

blending of methods helped to create a holistic curriculum that provided meaningful,

hands-on learning opportunities for the Indigenous students. For example, by

explaining the practical math involved in the geometry of birch bark baskets, the

teacher was able to bring the science of the forest into the classroom and show how

Contemporary and Traditional forms of knowledge worked together to make the art of

birch bark basket making possible.

Some of the other physical activities had a more practical relevance to the daily lives

of the Indigenous students and their families. For instance, the Academy’s culinary

arts program teaches students about healthy eating alternatives and the importance of

a good diet, while exposure to traditional sports, such as double-ball, lacrosse, sports

tournaments, canoe certification, skiing, fishing, and outdoor education, help show a

sedentary generation with stunning levels of diabetes that physical activity can be fun

and rewarding.

For some students, many of these activities were already a part of their traditional

lifestyle, and this allowed them to demonstrate their skills to their teachers and peers,

which further reinforced a positive self-image and school success. As one

parent/caregiver noted, “[these activities] were like normal to him, doing them at

school made him proud.”

A visible and strong Indigenous presence in academic institutions—and especially

post-secondary institutions—is a key element in ensuring positive long-term academic

outcomes for Indigenous children. Since many Indigenous children grow up in a family

environment where college or university has never been a prominent goal, seeing

others like themselves succeeding in such institutions can open a world of possibilities

and provide the motivation to pursue a degree or a trade. The Academy appears to be

doing a good job of promoting such goals, which was reflected in the comments of

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one Indigenous student who enthusiastically declared that “It’s cool to go to the

college.” In fact, all of the students who participated in this study firmly believed that

college was a future option for them.

Discussion

The Academy expands the physical world of its students to include many new areas

outside of the classroom, such as the art gallery, Fort William Historical Park, and

music festivals. Although the students certainly gain from learning through

experiences in the community, the community of Thunder Bay also benefits, as they

get to meet and interact with the Academy’s students. As a result, community

members get to see a generation of young, bright, eager, and energetic, Indigenous

and non-Indigenous Academy students, and it is precisely this type of positive

interaction that will ultimately knock down the artificial walls that separate communities

and give rise to racism.

Lessons that employ land-based experiential learning physically connect the students

to the power of the land, which is fundamental to an Indigenous worldview. Academy

students also have opportunities to acquire practical skills through activities that result

in recognized certificates of completion. Some examples of these activities include

baby-sitting courses, ORKA certification, and the annual Academy Awards night.

The Academy experience has positively shaped the physical space of the school, and

this can be most clearly felt in the calm, joyful, and welcoming environment that greets

you the moment you enter the institution.

Page 29 of 37

Next Steps for the Project

At its core, the Kingsway Academy is a bold experiment that has been largely

successful in making the Ministry of Education’s 2007 vision statement a reality. As

noted earlier, this vision statement aims to ensure that all Indigenous students will “have

the traditional and contemporary knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to be socially

contributive, politically active, and economically prosperous citizens of the world” (p. 7).

The Academy at Kingsway brings the expertise of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge

educators and Contemporary Western Knowledge educators together for the benefit of

Indigenous students. The qualitative narratives provided by the students,

parents/caregivers, and educators, along with the quantitative data related to academic

indicators of success, all demonstrate that this experiment is working and should be

built upon.

There are several issues that need to be explored and addressed if the Academy

experiment is to continue—or, for that matter, be scaled-up to the same level as other

schools with significant Indigenous student populations.

Clearly, the province’s Framework sets the stage for this type of educational innovation.

However, if the Academy is to continue to grow and improve, the Lakehead DSB needs

to be willing to step outside of the educational box and commit to providing ongoing and

adequate financial support.

The 2007 Framework sets out a number of goals and funding recommendations that

DSBs can follow in order to increase Indigenous school success. While some of these

resources are to be used for in-service teacher professional development, the majority

should be used to incorporate Indigenous “cultures, histories and perspectives” into the

curriculum (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013, p. 43). Conversations between the

authors and local teachers revealed a general sentiment that the endless number of

required PD courses or workshops that focus on residential schools or the “Sixties

Scoop” do little to improve their ability to teach Indigenous students. Teachers are

pragmatic, have little time for educational theory, and often recognize the need for “tools

for their teaching tool box.” The existing professional development focus largely

overlooks the depth of indigagogical expertise that has been gained by the Academy’s

Contemporary Western Knowledge educators.

For example, Academy educators have consistently acknowledged Principal Lentz’s

pivotal role in the program’s success. In our thirty years of Indigenous education

experience, it has been rare to see a non-Indigenous principal who is so well-versed in

traditional Indigenous arts, culture, ceremony, and language, who is held in such high

regard by the surrounding Indigenous community, and who is so well-connected to the

community’s Traditional Indigenous Knowledge educators. However, this is not to say

that Principal Lentz is solely responsible for the fact that Traditional Indigenous

Page 30 of 37

Knowledge is taught at the Academy. Rather, Principal Lentz can best be seen as a

“switch-board”; that is, he uses his connections to the Indigenous community to find and

bring in experts in various areas of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge.

If nothing else, the Academy model is an example of the holistic leadership support that

is required to bring Traditional Indigenous Knowledge into schools successfully. Indeed,

the Academy model is supported by governmental policy, DSB investment, Indigenous

advisory, school leadership, teachers, and finally, the Indigenous community. The

Kingsway model of distributed leadership is mostly consistent with Elmore’s notion that,

“no one person can be responsible for all…leadership activities” (as cited in Bishop et

al., 2010, p. 99). If projects like the Academy are to be successful, leadership must be

enacted at all levels, including the policy level, the senior board administration level, and

on the frontlines at the schools. Bishop et al. (2010) argue that, to be effective,

leadership must be spread across wider areas of school: “although principal leadership

is critical, it becomes ineffective if it is leadership to the exclusion if all others” (p. 99).

Many of the Contemporary Western Knowledge educators appreciate the Academy’s

indigagogic focus and recognize that Principle Lentz is a major factor in ensuring that

the school’s focus has stayed so sharp. In fact, many of these educators feared how

this focus would change once Principal Lentz inevitably moved on. These concerns are

entirely reasonable, as it is an unfortunate reality that principals do eventually move to

other schools or retire.

These Contemporary Western Knowledge educators also recognized how their

classroom environment had changed since the inauguration of the Academy. They

noted how behavioral issues had all but disappeared, that Indigenous students’ grades

had increased, that the students were happier, that parents/caregivers had become

more involved in the school, and that permission forms were now being returned in a

timely manner. All of these were viewed as extremely positive developments, as they

allowed the teachers to focus on what they do best: teaching. The Contemporary

Western Knowledge educators agreed that these changes could be considered

significant “markers” of success, and they were quick to attribute this success to

Principal Lentz’s leadership.

Principal Lentz’s knowledge is rooted in his family relationships and a lifetime of

emersion, study, and service within Northwestern Ontario’s Anishinabe community. It is

not reasonable, nor we would argue ethical, to expect other non-Indigenous educators

to teach Indigenous culture, traditions, or ceremony at Principal Lentz’s level.

Given these observations, the following questions arise: how can the Academy’s

Indigenous focus be maintained? And, how can the Academy’s Indigenous focus be

scaled-up to the level of other schools?

Page 31 of 37

Recommendation 1: Planning for Leadership Change

The Academy’s model is unique among the schools in Thunder Bay because it is based

on a bi-cultural indigagogic curriculum that combines Traditional Indigenous Knowledge

and Contemporary Western Knowledge.

The loss of Principal Lentz is the greatest threat to the Academy at Kingsway’s sustained

success. If Principal Lentz were to leave, the Academy would potentially lose its

connection to the surrounding Indigenous community and its many Traditional Indigenous

Knowledge educators.

With this in mind, the authors recommend that the Lakehead DSB develop a plan that will

ensure the Academy’s ongoing success in the event Principal Lentz decides to move on.

This plan will likely require other Contemporary Western Knowledge educators to follow

Principal Lentz’s example and develop the same leadership qualities that have been so

critical to maintaining the Academy. In particular, each of these Contemporary Western

Knowledge educators will need to work to build and maintain strong connections to

Indigenous community experts whose areas of knowledge align with the curriculum.

• Consider developing a program that has Contemporary Knowledge educators “job-

shadow” Principal Lentz so they can develop connections in the Indigenous

community.

• See Recommendation 2.

Recommendation 2: Issues of Cultural Appropriation

There is a tension associated with the implementation of Recommendation 1 that must

be discussed, understood, and acted upon. This tension is related to the ongoing

concern held by many Indigenous people regarding the appropriation of Indigenous

cultures by the dominant society. The authors suggest that this concern is absolutely

reasonable and well-founded.

In order to understand the basis of this concern, one can look at the historic and

contemporary abuses suffered by Indigenous peoples in the arena of Indigenous

research, and especially Indigenous community research. The history of these fields of

study is filled with instances involving the theft of Indigenous stories, ceremonies,

genetics, and outright misrepresentation for financial or political gain. These abuses

continue to this day and, in many instances, they are the undeniable responsibility of

many universities and all levels of government in Canada.

At the same time, our discussions with Contemporary Western Knowledge educators

consistently revealed a reluctance that bordered on “fear” when it comes to including

traditional knowledge in their teaching. The reasons these educators gave for their

reluctance often related to one of three concerns: they felt the teachings were not

Page 32 of 37

relevant to contemporary education; they felt they were unqualified to speak on such

subjects; or they were afraid that teaching this subject matter would be an act of cultural

appropriation.

In order to successfully develop a curriculum that brings together Traditional Indigenous

Knowledge and Contemporary Western Knowledge, it will be necessary to begin by

building closer relationships between these two knowledge traditions and those who

teach them. The first step in this process will be to address the issue of appropriation,

carefully establish lines of responsibility, and develop ongoing lines of communication.

Next Steps

Acting on Recommendations 1 and 2 will be essential to sustaining the Academy model

at Kingsway.

• Financially invest and form a working committee that includes both Traditional

Indigenous and Contemporary Knowledge educators with the mandate to

develop specific curricula relevant to Grade 7 and 8 programming.

Recommendation 3: Continuing the Research

Although encouraging, the qualitative and quantitative data do not allow for any strong

conclusions to be drawn regarding Indigenous student participation in the Academy and

improvements in academic performance. While these data may display encouraging

signs of success, ongoing research will be required to confirm this relationship. This

research strategy should expand its focus to include high school performance as well as

senior elementary.

Given this, we recommend that an expanded research strategy be included as part of

the existing Academy.

Outcomes: Most Significant Accomplishments and Lessons Learned

This analysis has provided preliminary evidence that participation in the Academy has

led to increases in the average math (3.41% increase overall) and literacy scores

(8.64% increase overall) of the Indigenous students who met the study’s selection

criteria.

This data also showed that the average number absences from school increased each

of the three years that were examined (Grades 6-8). However, the rate of this increase

was significantly reduced between Grades 7 and 8, falling by approximately 63% (from

a 101% increase between Grades 6 and 7 to only a 38% increase between Grades 7

and 8).

Page 33 of 37

Similarly, the average number of times Indigenous students were late for school

increased significantly (25%) in their first year at the Academy. However, there was also

a significant decrease (10.75%) in lateness between Grade 7 and Grade 8.

The number of instances requiring disciplinary action and suspension from school was

significant during Grade 6 (30%). This finding supports the notion that Indigenous

students bring considerable emotional trauma with them to school, which often leads to

disruptive behaviours, such as acting-out (Chandler, 2005). However, disciplinary

actions, like suspensions, were totally eliminated in these students’ first and second

year in the Academy.

The authors believe that the narratives provided by the Indigenous students, their

parents/caregivers, and their teachers, along with the data related to academic

indicators of school success, render a relatively accurate picture of these students’

experiences at Kingsway, as well as the benefits they have enjoyed as a result of

participating in the Academy.

On the whole, it is reasonable to conclude that the Kingsway Park Learning Academy

has had a positive impact on the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical well-being of

its Indigenous students, and that this will help to nurture their future school success.

Page 34 of 37

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Ontario Ministry of Education. (2013). A solid foundation: Second progress report on the implementation of the Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit education policy framework. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/ASolidFoundation.pdf

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2007). Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit education policy framework. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/fnmiframework.pdf

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Appendix A: The Logic Model Used in The Project

The Purpose & Objectives of the Study

In part, this study has been developed to complement the vision statement outlined in

the Ministry of Education’s Framework (2007). To do so, this study considers how the

Academy’s indigagogic framework—which blends Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and

Contemporary Western Knowledge—impacts Indigenous students in relation to four key

dimensions: spiritual well-being, emotional well-being, mental well-being, and physical

well-being.

Specifically, the objectives of the study are:

1. To qualitatively assess how the cultural activities at the Kingsway Learning

Academy—including cultural/traditional teachings, Art Gallery-Woodland Art Series,

Elder Involvement—have impacted the students’ spiritual well-being.

2. To qualitatively assess how the structured activities at the Kingsway Learning

Academy—including field trips, babysitting courses, working with role

models/mentors, and learning music and attending music festivals—have impacted

the students’ emotional well-being.

3. To quantitatively assess how the academic activities at the Kingsway Learning

Academy have impacted the students’ mental well-being. Academic success is

viewed holistically using indicators from the students’ Ontario Student Records,

including literacy and math scores, absences, lateness, disciplinary actions

received, and awards.

4. To qualitatively assess how the physical activities offered by the Kingsway

Learning Academy—including culinary classes, hunting safety, dog sledding, and

outdoor traditional sports activities—impacted the physical well-being of the

participating Indigenous students.

The Research Study’s Methodology

This study employs a culturally responsive, relational mixed methods design that uses

both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods:

1. Qualitative assessment of student school success using data from individual Talking

Circles with Indigenous students, their parents/caregivers, and the Academy’s

Traditional Indigenous and Contemporary Western Knowledge educators.

2. Quantitative assessment of Indigenous student academic success was conducted

using data obtained from a thorough review of selected indicators in the students’

Ontario Student Records.

The key to successfully using a culturally responsive and relational research method is

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to establish a relational presence in the school. During the spring of 2018, the research

team had several meetings with Academy educators and the principal, and they

attended several Academy activities in an effort to demystify the study and establish

transparency by answering questions as necessary.

1. Qualitative Assessment of the Academy Community

The qualitative method relies on the Wildfire Research Method (Kompf & Hodson,

2000), which is a culturally responsive relational design that includes Indigenous

students and two circles of informants who have supportive relationships with those

students. The inner circle that surrounds the students are the parents/caregivers, and

the outer circle includes the Academy’s Traditional Indigenous and Contemporary

Western Knowledge educators.

The Wildfire Research Method

The Wildfire Research Method (Kompf & Hodson, 2000) creates a communal, and often

sacred, research environment that is respectful of the traditions and cultural beliefs of

Indigenous people. This culturally responsive relational research method includes:

• Developing relationships between the research team and the many circles of participants that make up the community where the research is taking place.

• Complete transparency, ongoing consultation, and meaningful engagement between the research team and the circles of participants that make up the community.

• A series of individual Wildfire Sessions dedicated to each circle of research participants within the community.

• Inclusion of traditional concepts within the research study, such as prayer, ceremony, tobacco offerings, honourariums, and/or food offered to each individual in the Circle.

Wildfire Sessions, or Talking Circles, are semi-structured discussions that invite each

circle of participants to share their experiences and observations about the focus of the

research study.

In this study, dedicated Wildfire Sessions were organized for individual Circles of

students, parents/caregivers, and Traditional and Contemporary Knowledge educators.

These Circles were held at a private location and were organized and conducted by an

experienced researcher/facilitator. Each session was digitally recorded and

subsequently transcribed.

The questions that guided the discussions in each of the Wildfire Sessions were

developed to complement the Academy’s indigagogy and the associated Medicine

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Wheel Teaching that supports the program model.

As cultural norms dictate, all student participants in the Wildfire Session received an

honorarium of a $20.00 gift certificate for a local retail store, courtesy of Indspire.

2. Quantitative Assessment of Student Academic Indicators

The selection criteria included Indigenous Academy students who had been at

Kingsway for the entirety of Grades 6,7, and 8. An analysis of all of the Indigenous

students attending Kingsway revealed ten (N=10) individuals who met the selection

criteria. These individuals formed the sample for this research.

The Academic Indicators associated with school success include:

• The academic progress (language & mathematics) of the student, as recorded in

their Ontario Student Record.

• The total number of days the student was absent, as recorded in their Ontario

Student Record.

• The total number of occasions the student was late, as recorded in their Ontario

Student Record.

• The total number of behavioral referrals the student received, as recorded in their

Ontario Student Record.