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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
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Winnipeg School Division chief superintendent Matt Henderson.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody\u2019s coming with a silver bullet or a magic solution,\u201d said Matt Henderson, chief superintendent of the largest public school division in the province.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should all be leery of simple solutions to complex problems. This is a wicked problem and wicked problems don\u2019t have right or wrong responses \u2014 they just have better or worse (ones).\u201d<\/p>\n
Attendees will have the opportunity to reflect on the fallout of regularly missing school on children, pan-Canadian research and cross-sectoral responses.<\/p>\n
The crowd will be made up of principals, researchers, knowledge keepers, government officials and community leaders, among others. Roughly 200 people, including individuals who have lived experience with chronic absenteeism, are expected to attend.<\/p>\n
Following the event, organizers will compile recommendations, come up with a list of strategic actions and report on their progress to the public, Henderson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody\u2019s coming with a silver bullet or a magic solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Internal government documents detailing the troubling state of severe chronic absenteeism<\/a> were leaked last month by Mark Wasyliw, an independent MLA and former WSD school board chairperson.<\/p>\n The data show that seven per cent of elementary students and 16 per cent of high schoolers were deemed to have \u201csevere chronic absenteeism\u201d in the central division in 2023-24.<\/p>\n Kindergarten-to-Grade 12 students who self-identified as First Nations, M\u00e9tis or Inuit accounted for three quarters of them, despite only representing 30 per cent of the population.<\/p>\n (The education department\u2019s \u201csevere chronic absenteeism\u201d label refers to an elementary student who misses 20 per cent of all classes during a reporting period. A Grade 9 to 12 student is flagged if they have 20 or more unexcused absences in a core course.)<\/p>\n Vern Dano said it\u2019s important to acknowledge the reality that Indigenous students are more likely to be chronically absent for numerous reasons, including intergenerational trauma connected to residential schools and a lack of culturally sensitive support services.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The Student Absenteeism Summit isbelieved to be a first of its kind in Manitoba.<\/p>\n \u201cSystems need to truly support and rebuild by networking and partnering with Indigenous organizations (to) bring their voices to the tables as equal voices,\u201d said Dano, a grandfather-in-residence in the inner-city division.<\/p>\n Dano, who is Anishinaabe and M\u00e9tis and hails from Mallard, in central Manitoba, in Treaty 2, is one of the speakers taking part in Thursday\u2019s summit, which he called \u201ca step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n He was asked to sit on a panel exploring classroom climate and the roles school employees and parent advisory councils have when it comes to fostering student engagement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very organic, it\u2019s very unique and it\u2019s going to be a response from Winnipeggers, from Manitobans, by Winnipeggers and Manitobans,\u201d said Lesley Eblie Trudel, an associate professor and associate dean in U of W\u2019s faculty of education.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a school problem. This is a societal problem.\u201d<\/p>\n While noting truancy was an issue long before COVID-19, pandemic-related learning disruptions have renewed discussions about absenteeism and its numerous and often complex causes, said Eblie Trudel, a member of the summit\u2019s planning committee.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a school problem. This is a societal problem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The day-long conference, which has been in the works since January, will begin with an 8 a.m. pipe ceremony and run through 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Tanya Talaga, the award-winning author of Seven Fallen Feathers, is delivering a bonus lecture at U of W in the evening Thursday.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Talaga investigated the deaths of seven Indigenous high school students in Thunder Bay \u2014 located just outside Fort William First Nation, her maternal family\u2019s community \u2014 in her debut book.<\/p>\n The work of literary non-fiction, which explores themes of intergenerational trauma and systemic racism, has become assigned reading in classrooms across the country since its 2017 release.<\/p>\n Talaga\u2019s upcoming keynote is anticipated to delve into her thoughts on student belonging and the role education plays in equity and democratic participation.<\/p>\n maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Maggie Macintosh Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie<\/a>.<\/p>\n Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Education reporter
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