Chinook's Edge School Division is breaking new records.
Last month, Alberta Education released its Accountability Pillar, a public results report that measured high school completion rates.
The report showed Chinook's Edge students are completing high school at a 78.2 per cent rate, up from the division's own previous record of 77.7 per cent set last year.
Chinook's new record is well above the provincial average of 74.5 per cent.
Although Kurt Sacher, superintendent of schools, does not know where Chinook's Edge ranks against other higher-placed divisions in the province, he is nevertheless proud of his staff and students. He is now aiming even higher.
“We do expect that this pattern will continue and we do believe that we still want to do better. We would love to get up above that 80 per cent mark as a next target,” said Sacher.
“The key point we have made to staff is that 30 years ago it was maybe okay to get most of them through but with the way the world is changing now we need to go after all of them. So ultimately that is our goal. We want to really move towards every single student.”
Sacher said the division will continue to work on its excellence levels in both provincial achievement tests and diploma exams. He added the division wants to see even more of its students transition into post-secondary learning and participating in the Registered Apprenticeship Programs available through the partnerships with Olds College, Red Deer College and e-Campus Alberta.
“Although we will never become complacent about our service to students, our improvement across this division over the last few years tells a great story and we are very pleased,” said Sacher.
He said there are many factors contributing to the division's current success, but most notably its focus on literacy from kindergarten to Grade 12 and on student engagement across the division. Sacher said both flowed from previous Alberta Initiative for School Improvement projects. Funding has been discontinued for the program but the board has continued to provide collaborative time for teachers to continue the work, he said.
“We really believe it (success) starts at kindergarten when we have our teachers here so serious about literacy with young people right through to Grade 12,” said Sacher.
On Oct. 29, Sacher spoke to 1,200 staff members in Olds about the report and how proud he was of the achievement.
“I said to them this is something every single person in the room should be proud of, so whether you are a trustee, or working in a division office, a principal, administrator or support staff. It is a joint effort from kindergarten right through to Grade 12,” said Sacher, adding that the best is yet to come.
“We believe our focus, which is on continuous improvement, is not to just grab the next shiny fish hook that falls from the sky. Our staff really appreciate that,” said Sacher, adding division staff will never become complacent about its service to students. “They can just dig in, design their personal growth plans that help students learn and focus on improvement over time, and not have to worry that once they get started on something the rug is going to be pulled out from under them.”
