The final draft of the 2024-2025 Annual Report for the Prince Albert Catholic School Division was approved during the board of education’s regular meeting on Dec. 16.
The report highlighted the division’s accomplishments. Director of education Lorel Trumier said the board is made aware of highlights as well as course corrections throughout the year.
“The annual report is a great opportunity to celebrate in a formal way all of these successes and share with our population and in a transparent form, the information (about) our school and how they’re functioning across our school division,” Trumier said.
Among the highlights for Trumier was the graduation rates and Grade 3 reading data, which was included in previous reports and the annual report. During her report to the board she also highlighted the works of the very active School Community Councils (SCCs) in schools and the division’s focus on Catholic education and social justice projects.
“We have our other reading, writing, math results. In particular, we’re very pleased about our reading results this year because it was an area of focus for us,” Trumier said.
Grade 3 reading levels are another data point that is monitored by the province. The division has experienced challenges in that area because of the COVID-19 pandemic and students not being in school. However, the report said the division is making progress.
Students in Grade 3 in 2024-2025 had 45.1 per cent of First Nations Metis Inuit (FNMI) reading at or above grade level, 66.2 per cent non-FNMI and a total of 54.4 per cent. Students in Grade 3 began school in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was still presenting challenges.
Trumier also highlighted the Mental Health Capacity Building Project at St. John Community School, which is now extending to St. Francis.
Kara Quirion will be transitioning from the Wellness Promoter role to the Wellness Coordinator. Previous coordinator Regan Jacobson worked with both the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division and Catholic Division. Quirion will be transitioning to a full-time role with Allison Cote becoming the new Wellness Promoter.
“We also have our mental health capacity building that’s occurring across one from one school and moving on to another one, and yet we’re still striving to maintain all of the good work that’s happening at St. John and branching it off to Saint Francis,” Trumier said.
She also pointed to the Specialized Support Classroom Project in St. John Community School. The division received notice in January 2024 that they had funding for the project. In March 2024, senior administration, educational consultants and St. John administration met to plan and develop the program structure.
In April 2024, they began collecting data and students began to work in the IM Classroom. Post intervention data was collected in June 2024 and shared with families and administration.
When the 2024-2025 school year began, the division assessed the results from the previous year. According to the report, the IM Classroom strengthens its reach to general education classroom while continuing to provide small group supports. The assessment and instructional practices are continuing for this school year.
The province monitors graduation rates for Non-First Nation, Métis and Inuit (non-FNMI) students, First Nation, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) students, and all students combined.
“I think the most celebratory, of course, is that our goal in education is to have our children graduate, and we know our graduation rates are, in my opinion, second to none. Our staff do great work, and the story of these students and the support of their families is so important,” Trumier said.
The graduation rates for Ecole St. Mary High School have met or outperformed the provincial results in all categories since the province started a growth plan in 2020 focused on eliminating the disparity between FNMI and non-FMNI students.
Roughly 55 per cent of Prince Albert Catholic School Division FNMI students graduate within three years of starting high school. That’s above the 48 per cent three-year graduation rate for FNMI students across the rest of the province. For non-FNMI students, 91 per cent graduate within three years in the Prince Albert Catholic School Division, while the provincial rate is 89 per cent.
Grade 3 reading levels are another data point that is monitored by the province. The division has experienced challenges in that area because of the COVID-19 pandemic and students not being in school. However, the report said the division is making progress.
Grade 3 reading levels are another data point that is monitored by the province. The division has experienced challenges with that because of the COVID-19 pandemic and students not being in school.
Students in Grade 3 in 2024-2025 had 45.1 per cent of First Nations Metis Inuit (FNMI) reading at or above grade level, 66.2 per cent non-FNMI and a total of 54.4 per cent. Students in Grade 3 began school in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was still presenting challenges.
The report still must be approved by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance. The report was expected to be delivered to the Office of the Clerk on Dec. 19 to be tabled and then to the Saskatchewan Legislative Library for deposit,
The Annual Report will be posted on the Government of Saskatchewan website at the end of January and will be available to the public at the Legislative Library.
Trumier said that there were many other examples of good work done in the division including another clean Audited Financial Statement.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
