School works to meet student needs

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What a difference a decade-not to mention a lot of dedication from teachers, staff and students-can make.

In the early 90s, Nutana Collegiate had about 200 students and faced closure. Now it's bursting at the seams with over 700 students from all over the city.

When it looked as if the school would close its doors, a group of teachers asked the school board for a year's grace period, then set out to find out how to change the school for the better.

The answers they found matched the views of the provincial government, which was also looking at province-wide change. As a result, Nutana became the first high school in Saskatchewan to have integrated student services.

"We needed integrated services," said assistant principal Judy Acres-Yahyahkeekoot. "That message came across loud and clear from kids, parents, families, and other services. The direction education is going, province-wide, is to the School Plus model, and that is what Nutana is all about. It's about bringing all the services that young people need into one building rather than kids having to leave school to get that help."

Nutana has a half-time addiction counsellor, an on-site daycare, and access to a speech and language pathologist, a behaviour consultant, and a primary care nurse. The school also offers a number of programs aimed at supporting young parents who want to continue their education.

One of the things that makes Nutana popular with students is that grades 10 through 12 are on a quarter system rather than a semester system. There are two classes per quarter, with each quarter lasting 10 weeks. Students can enter in any quarter, and attendance is easier than for a five-month semester.

The school also benefits from numerous community partnerships, which allow students to connect with people and experiences outside the normal realm of school.

"My philosophy is to get healthy role models and expose students to positive things," said Sean Lessard, Nutana's stay-in-school co-ordinator. "If you find the gifts you have, you're more likely to stay in school. We've gone to plays, worked with artists and jugglers, done reading and mentoring. Tutoring is also important, plus we're setting up Web pages. With the Saskatoon Blades (of the Western Hockey League), we've done readings with different classrooms in the community.

"Most of our students are of Aboriginal ancestry, but do not self declare so we're doing cultural things like setting up a tipi and having an Elder talk about its significance. As the students become more self aware, they show awesome leadership," Lessard said. "I'm really proud of what they have done."

Another of Nutana's initiatives puts the students in positions of leadership. On Dec. 16 the Grade 9 class hosted students from Hugh Cairns elementary school and four Saskatoon Blades-Joe Barnes, Dalyn Flatt, Nicolaus Knudsen, and Wacey Rabbit-for the Double Blue Fantasy Camp, which gave a chance for the students to learn skills from the Blades.

Wacey is from the Blood Reserve near Calgary, and knows the importance of these camps. "The big picture is the inner city kids and the Grade 9s here can realize their goals and they can achieve them," he said, "and we're here being examples of what can be."

All the changes to the way Nutana does things haven't been lost on the students, Acres-Yahyahkeekoot explained.

"The kids really buy into it. They know this is home, a safe place where people generally care about them. This isn't just a place where you go to learn chemistry. It's where you go to learn about becoming a healthy young adult."