Mr. Speaker, this is Education Week. It is a time to focus on how our education system supports our students to gain the knowledge and skills required to live productive lives and to recognize the teachers that help them achieve their personal, academic and career goals.
We are mindful of the priorities set by the 18th Legislative Assembly and, in particular, the need to deliver effective education and training programs to improve opportunities for student success. Through the ten-year Education Renewal Framework: Directions for Change, we will target initiatives which will address the priorities of this Assembly.
Initiatives already underway include mandatory residential schools teachers’ resource for Northern Studies; Elders in Schools Program, resiliency pilots, and self-regulation in classrooms to name a few. These initiatives are improving learning for students and helping teachers.
Mr. Speaker, our education system needs to teach students in the way they learn, we must be mindful of our students’ strengths and teach our young people the skills they need to know in order to enjoy meaningful and fulfilling careers. Education Renewal is reworking the education system with that value as one of our guiding principles.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Members of the Assembly for wearing our pink boutonnieres today to support bullying prevention. Making our schools a safe and caring place for all students and staff is also a key priority for Education Renewal.
Today, building on the work of the 17th Assembly, I am pleased to announce that new Safe and Caring Schools Regulations, including a Territorial School Code of Conduct, will come into force on September 1, 2016. These regulations set a standard of behaviour for NWT students, teachers and the school community.
All schools will be required to offer healthy relationship programming to teach students about bullying prevention and intervention strategies.
Integral to all this work are the school leaders, our principals. Mr. Speaker, every year, a principal in the Northwest Territories is recognized by The Learning Partnership as one of 40 educational leaders across Canada. This year I would like to congratulate Ms. Courteney Lizotte, Principal of Range Lake School in Yellowknife, as the 2016 recipient of Canada’s Outstanding Principal Award for the Northwest Territories. Ms. Lizotte has worked with school staff, students and parents to create a safe and caring learning environment that is free of bullying, established an Enhanced Fine Arts program and promoted healthy lifestyles. Making healthy lifestyle choices is a vital part of being able to take advantage of learning opportunities both in school and in extracurricular activities.
Mr. Speaker, during Education Week, the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association, in partnership with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, will announce the winner of the Thank You for Making a Difference initiative.
This initiative, now in its 18th year, has been a source of pride and affirmation to teachers and underscores the importance of the relationships formed between students and educators, which are foundational for student success.
This contest encourages students to nominate the teachers that have encouraged, inspired, coached and supported them and made a positive impact on their educational experience. No matter who is nominated, it is my belief that all teachers make a difference and I thank them.
Mr. Speaker, education is a life-long journey. It begins in early childhood ensuring our youngest learners have the best opportunities right from the start, and continues well into adulthood. As we continue to make improvements across the education system, we know we are not doing this work alone. We are seeing successes through the partnerships forged with the education leaders and invested stakeholders across the territory.
I am confident that all of us working together will transform our northern education system into one of the finest in the country where we will provide the best opportunities for students to choose options for learning and employment now and into the future.
I wish all educators across the NWT a great Education Week. I encourage you to please say thank you to our educators today and every day throughout the year.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.