COMMUNITY WELLNESS AND SAFETY

Commitment 4.5.4 – We will build youth resiliency in schools by supporting school staff in using self-regulation instructional practices.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) is working, with support from the Department of Health and Social Services (HSS), to develop a new JK-9 Health and Wellness curriculum. The approach taken in this curriculum shifts from the teacher delivering information, to students researching questions of real impact to their lives. This approach is an integral part of building student engagement, resiliency, and wellness.

The updated JK-9 Health and Wellness curriculum aims to explore mental health, healthy relationships, the physical changes that young people experience through puberty, the use and abuse of alcohol and other substances. Strategies related to self-regulation (SR) and resiliency will be important elements of the approach that students will learn in taking ownership of their health and wellness.

During the 2016-17 school year, the development of a draft grades 4-6 curriculum was completed, and a small-scale pilot of selected components was undertaken (milestone 1).During the 2017-2018 school year this draft grades 4-6 curriculum is being piloted by teachers from all regions throughout the territory with full implementation beginning in the 2018-2019 school year.

Development of the grades 7-9 curriculum is currently being completed during the current 2017-18 school year (milestone 2) and development of the JK-3 curriculum will be undertaken in the 2018-19 school year (milestone 3).

In addition to this curriculum development, other work is being done to support the use of SR strategies in NWT classrooms. Over a two school year period (2015-2017), every region received intensive SR support and capacity building focused in the selected target school of their choice. All school principals have been invited to apply for SR implementation support that can take various forms - from on-site support, to funding for SR resources, to staff professional development.

Since 2015, all NWT educators have had access to the following:

• free online courses in mindfulness (foundational for SR);
• a territorial SR-themed online book club;
• monthly SR capacity building webinars where schools have had a chance to share their promising SR practices with each other; and
• each region has been invited to send staff to a summer SR symposium.

The strong participation of NWT educators in accessing these professional supports and resources speaks volumes to how important SR is to them in meeting the needs of their students.

Related Mandate Commitments:

Commitment 2.2.1: We will implement the Education Renewal and Innovation framework by:

• Implementing the renewed K12 Inclusive Schooling Directive which provides greater direction on roles and responsibilities, increases the number of Program Support Teachers, increases emphasis on training and increases accountability
• Implementing a renewed Aboriginal Language and Culture-based Education Directive in order to strengthen the role of schools in supporting Aboriginal language development and incorporate culture in programming
• Implementing a comprehensive accountability framework for the JK-12 education system with integrated program and financial reporting processes
• Developing options to increase the approaches available to students that lead to graduation, to improve graduation rates, and to provide greater linkages to post-secondary schooling
• Expanding the NWT distance learning pilot project to increase access for NWT senior secondary students in all communities
• Undertaking a planning study on options for shared service administration across NWT school boards