Kasandra Migwi is in her second 12 months of research on the College of Alberta, and has about two and a half years left. When she’s completed she’ll have two levels beneath her belt, one in Native Research and the opposite in schooling.
However getting there wasn’t a easy journey.
It took over a decade to make the transition from highschool to post-secondary schooling. After graduating at age 16 in 2007 in Behchokǫ̀, NWT, she went by a collection of upgrading applications over the following few years.
“I want I had somewhat bit extra assist … throughout the faculty system. I imply, I respect my schooling. However then I felt like I simply lacked assist with writing after which with my math and my sciences,” Migwi mentioned.
“I believe that is why I upgraded lots after highschool.”
Migwi is much from alone.
There is no onerous information on what number of NWT college students find yourself upgrading their highschool grades earlier than getting into post-secondary faculty, however anecdotally, it is a frequent prevalence.
Migwi is one among dozens of people that spoke up on-line in a Fb thread began by CBC Path’s Finish host Lawrence Nayally, who requested about NWT-ers’ highschool expertise throughout the territory, and whether or not they needed to improve courses afterwards earlier than happening to post-secondary research.
The query prompted 50 feedback, with dozens of individuals sharing comparable experiences. CBC interviewed a handful of them to listen to extra about their journey.
Fredelle Deneyoua began her schooling in Hay River and completed in Yellowknife.
She initially dropped out of college in Grade 9 at about 15 years previous.
She determined to return round age 20. She sat down with the college principal and a few academics and got here up with a quick observe program to get her highschool diploma over the course of a 12 months and a half. This time round, Deneyoua mentioned she was dedicated to high school and she or he “aced” this system, graduating with honors.
However when she began making use of for post-secondary schooling, she discovered that regardless of having good grades, the programs she took in highschool weren’t sufficient to get accepted.
“I used to be so mad,” she mentioned.
Deneyoua mentioned when she returned to highschool, she wasn’t advised there have been totally different ranges of programs and that it might have an effect on her future.
She needed to spend the following two years upgrading these programs earlier than moving into post-secondary.
Now, she’s graduated from the Aurora School Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith with a diploma in enterprise, however she mentioned she needs issues had gone in another way.
“I want they’d have sat me down and advised me, ‘Hey, if you happen to’re happening this route, or this route, or no matter you wish to do, that is what you should do,'” she mentioned. “And I want they’d have guided me that means.”
Numerous paths within the NWT
The NWT’s schooling system has numerous course paths. For instance, math has three streams for Grades 10 by 12. When college students go on to Grade 10, they will both take 10 C (mixed course) or 10-3, a decrease degree.
After finishing the 10-C degree, they will both take 20-1 then 30-1 (the highest degree stream) or 20-2 then 30-2. For 10-3, they will take 20-3 after then 30-3, the bottom degree choice.
In line with the schooling division, to graduate highschool within the NWT you want a minimal of 100 course credit and English 30-1 or English 30-2. Nonetheless, college students do not should be in -1 or -2 for all topics to graduate.
The division’s web site additionally notes that college students ought to be aware that “the programs you absorb highschool will decide what your choices are after you graduate, as totally different faculties and universities have totally different entrance necessities for particular applications.”
The primary two streams are sometimes wanted for admission right into a post-secondary schooling throughout Canada, relying on the college and this system. In some circumstances, solely the primary stream is suitable.
Nonetheless, within the NWT, having access to the highest stream of programs is not simple, and in some circumstances, college students aren’t even conscious that it is an choice.
Within the 2020-2021 12 months, simply 120 college students within the NWT had been enrolled in Math 30-1, and of these college students, most handed (96 per cent), in accordance with the territory’s newest JK-12 Schooling System Efficiency Measures Technical Report. It reveals there have been simply 80 children enrolled in Math 20-2 and 95.2 per cent handed. The report doesn’t present the variety of college students registered within the -3 stream.
In line with Briony Grabke, an schooling division spokesperson, NWT colleges providing -1 programs fluctuate from 12 months to 12 months and from semester to semester based mostly on a number of elements, like college students’ pursuits, wants, earlier tutorial achievement, and their post-secondary plans, together with the “operational realities of faculties,” just like the variety of academics accessible.
When a college shouldn’t be in a position to supply the highest degree programs in individual in a given semester or 12 months, the spokesperson mentioned, the regional schooling authority can work with the division to rearrange for the supply of programs through Northern Distance Studying.
Convincing faculty to supply increased ranges
That was the case for Lianne Mantla-Look, who’s now a nurse based mostly in Yellowknife.
With the assistance of her household and a household buddy, she mentioned she self-advocated whereas in highschool in Behchokǫ to take the programs she knew she’d have to go on to post-secondary schooling, in order that she would not should improve later.
However that wasn’t simple both. She mentioned she needed to persuade the college to let her enrol within the distance studying program in order that she might take programs like Science 20-1 as an alternative of taking the decrease degree programs, like most of her friends on the time. She mentioned her faculty was additionally diverse when it got here to offering the -1 programs, and so as to not miss out on getting each her sciences within the -1 degree, she took them on the identical time.
“In Grade 11, I took science 20 and science 30 in the identical semester,” she mentioned, “simply in order that I would not should cope with the fallout of the college, catering to the mainstream college students.”
Mantla-Look believes that had she and her household not fought for entry, taking the decrease degree programs would have “hindered” her success.
“And, actually, my drive,” she mentioned. “It simply would have led to a poor end result for me.”
Christina Bonnetrouge, who went to high school in Fort Windfall, NWT, mentioned she was fortunate. Whereas she was at school, her academics went out of their solution to supply numerous experiences and additional programs past the fundamentals.
She mentioned preparations began early on. When she was in Grade 9, she mentioned her academics requested college students what they needed to do after highschool — they usually helped put together them for what they could have to do to get there. She mentioned usually, Fort Windfall did not supply the -1 and -2 programs, however her academics took on “the problem,” so she and others might have entry to increased course ranges.
Bonnetrouge’s academics additionally took the scholars on a subject journey to Edmonton, the place they visited a college and noticed numerous features of post-secondary life, like what and the place a registrar is, the dormitories, how one can put together meals and extra.
“I used to be fairly fortunate to have these academics who had been at my faculty on the time to supply these programs,” she mentioned.
“If not, then I most likely would have needed to improve.”
