Alexis takes over school, doubles attendance

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A long white clapboard building sits empty and silent on the Alexis Reserve. Its boarded-up windows and neglected playground make it a sad site, but no tears are shed

on the reserve for what was once their federal school.

A short distance up the road in another building, the hubbub and chatter of young voices spill out into the art deco-colored hallways. The children are breaking for lunch at the reserve's new $3 million school.

The two-year-old sandy brick building, with a stylized red tipi incorporated into

its design, stands as a tribute to the Alexis band's long struggle to wrestle control of education on the reserve from Indian Affairs. Alexis was one of the first Alberta bands to assume responsibility for its school. Now more than 30 of the province's 43 reserves have schools run by their local band council.

"It took us eight years to get the school approved. We went through four federal (Indian Affairs) ministers," said Ernie Schwarzat, the reserve's director of education.

Schwarzat first came here 12 years ago as community health director. The 35-year-old federal school, which only went to Grade 5, had outdated textbooks. Although they followed the Alberta provincial curriculum, the kids were behind, he said.

"When our kids went to the white system (in Grade 6) they were two years behind."

The new kindergarten to Grade 9 school opened in September, 1990.

There were only 50 reserve children attending the federal school. The new school has an enrolment of 172, including 110 reserve children who returned form the county of Lac St. Anne school in nearby Onoway or other off-reserve schools to try out the new school.

So far the results are positive.

"The attendance record has gone from 45 to 90 per cent," boasted Schwarzat. In Onoway it was too easy for kids to hop off the bus and never show up at school. On the reserve, about 80 km northwest of Edmonton, they are more closely supervised.

At first, says the education director, the kids were not overly impressed with their new school "in the middle of nowhere". There was no video arcade or coffee shop where they could hang out over the lunch hour.

But the students now know how to greet visitors with "Abahwastat", in their Native Stoney. And a morning computer class may be followed by an afternoon listening to an elder tell an old legend, one that was told to young Stoney children like themselves many years ago.

The band council chose to integrate their Stoney language and culture with the provincial curriculum.

The children learn Native and reserve history, traditional singing and drumming, arts and crafts. The Stoney lessons are taught by a Native speaker and the school is developing a Stoney language program which it hopes to have accredited by the provincial education department.

But as important as the Native language and culture components are, the band council and parents have other objections, in common with any non-Native community.

They want to see their children perform on a par with other Alberta children

-- "or even better," says Schwarzat. And they want to reverse the trend of dropouts among Native students. They want more of their children to complete their education.

Towards that end they hire the best teachers their budget from the federal government -- $4,775 per student last year -- can buy. Under the old federal system

they had no say in the hiring of teachers. They are keeping classes small - average student/teacher ratio is 14 to one -- and they have added remedial classes, tutoring, counselling and special education, all services they didn't have before.

For students 16 to 19 who have dropped out of school, there is a new alternative program.

The school has many unique features such as its novel approach to discipline, also aimed at keeping kids in school. When a child is a serious discipline problem, instead of sending the child home, the parents come to school. Parents work with the teachers and counsellors to solve the problem. Often prents will be invited to come and sit in the classroom with the child.

"Usually after two days the parents understand the problem and the child sees the parent is concerned," explained Schwarzat.

Student Howard Mustus likes the new school.

"My mom and dad wanted me to give it a try," said Howard, a Grade 8 student. "Most of the friends you know are here."

School principal Don Tessler thinks the reserve school will give the children the self-esteem and confidence they need before facing the white world beyond their reserves.

"There is a growing sense of pride - a sense that my mom and dad built this school. It belongs to them."

The school has brought additional benefits to the Alexis band. Although only one of the 13 teachers is Native, 12 support staff positions, the librarian, teacher aides and counsellors are held by reserve residents.

For next year the band is planning on bringing industrial arts and home economics courses to the school and extending the classes to Grade 10.

"Eventually, I'd like to see myself out of a job," said Tessler. The white principal says he'd like to see a day when the school's staff is totally Native. And he'd be proud if those teachers were future graduates of the Alexis reserve school.