'It’s really exciting': DEC approves first Indigenous Education Policy

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The Anglophone East School District will begin implementing its first Indigenous Education Policy after the district’s education council unanimously approved the policy during a meeting on Tuesday. 

The policy was developed by the district’s Indigenous Education team, which includes elder Noel Milliea, who called the policy a first of its kind when the group presented it to the council last month. 

Milliea said the policy could be used as a model for other districts.

“We are blessed with an amazing team of elders and a support team to guide our work,” superintendent Randolph MacLEAN told the Times & Transcript after the meeting. 

The policy includes 10 recommendations that ensure Indigenous students succeed and that Indigenize the curriculum. 

Recommendations include ensuring that every school has a well-supported Indigenous education champion, ensuring the district has an Indigenous advisory council that includes an elder and knowledge keeper, visual representation of Wabanaki languages in schools and central offices, and peace and friendship spaces within schools. 

MacLEAN said now that the policy has been approved the district staff with sit down the the Indigenous Education team to discuss next steps.

“We don’t want to bite off more than we can chew and we don’t want to overwhelm the system but at the same time, there are important pieces in this that we want to implement in the short-term, mid-term and long-term,” he said. 

The plan also includes providing support for teachers, who during the October meeting,  First Nation Education Coordinator Tracy Landry said are afraid of making mistakes because they aren’t familiar with the topics. 

“There are teachers that are really, really scared,” Landry said. 

She said the policy includes a section on mandatory cultural competency training for all staff members. 

MacLEAN said he’s thankful for the work Landry and other members of the team put in to develop the policy, which he said has been in the works for years.

“It’s really exciting it’s coming to fruition,” MacLEAN said.