School programs see success

The Kamloops-Thompson school district's career development programs are seeing high levels of student success in an effort to boost transition rates to post-secondary, but data shows Indigenous and diverse needs student are underperforming compared to their peers.

Rick Kienlein, SD73's director of instruction in secondary learning services, said students have been achieving steadily in various transition programs.

According to the district’s annual career development report, the district’s trades sampler program saw 91 per cent of students achieve a C+ grade or higher, while 89 per cent achieved foundation-level certification in the dual credit trades foundation program at Thompson Rivers University.

The Youth Work in Trades program saw its enrolment dip to 145 students, down from 220 the year before.

The district’s hairstyling program sees 12 to 15 students enrolled per year and saw 99 per cent of students achieve certification in 2023-24, while 100 per cent achieved a C+ or higher in TRU Start Programs.

The district's digital arts and technology academy continues to see high enrolment, according to the report, with 94 per cent of participants achieving a C+ or higher.

"We have 16,000 students — not everyone is going to be part of district programs," Kienlein said. "Nor should they, because district programs are those enhanced programs for students with keen interests."

The report states 72 Grade 12 students attended TRU’s foundation level trades training and occupational certification program and have begun transitioning to post-secondary, which represents six per cent of SD73 seniors.

Achievement gaps persist

SD73 Indigenous students on average transition to post-secondary at higher rates and perform better than their provincial peers, but transition less and underperform compared to the average for all SD73 students.

“We have seen that the achievement levels of Indigenous students and students with diverse abilities are often lower than those in SD73 non-Indigenous and non-diverse abilities student, and that is true for district career programs,” Kienlein said.

“We need to examine those through the lens of student achievement, inclusion and equity in an effort to further remove barriers to student participation and success.”

Kienlein said district staff have committed to continuing to provide support for Indigenous students at risk of not graduating, expanding outreach to Indigenous communities, expanding capacity for academic advising and supporting post-secondary transition, expanding opportunities for experiential learning and continuing professional development for career education teachers.

SD73 and TRU have created a joint transitions committee to boost transition rates between the two.

Over three years, SD73 saw the immediate transition rate to post-secondary for all grade 12 students decrease by six per cent. Although it was noted transition rates have been climbing since, based on anecdotal evidence.

Student satisfaction on par

According to a survey done by SD73, 29 per cent of grade 10 and 12 students felt satisfied school was preparing them for a job in the future, 33 were negative and 34 were neutral — about on par with the provincial average.

The survey found 38 per cent of students felt satisfied school was preparing them for post-secondary education, 23 per cent felt negative and 34 were neutral — about two per cent more negative compared to provincial peers.

The same survey found 62 per cent of students felt satisfied they were supported in their transition to post-secondary, 11 per cent were negative and 22 per cent were neutral — about three per cent more positive than the provincial average.

“We believe that does provide some evidence that the work that's being done is making a difference,” Kienlein said.

There are 405 students enrolled in dual-credit and district academy programs so far this year.

Kienlein said the mobile trades unit will be stationed at Barriere secondary starting next semester, the district’s new health sciences academy has also kicked off, and a BAA Health Career sampler 12 course will be available district-wide by 2025.

Next year TRU's Start program will add a certificate program for high school students in business foundations, as well as an education assistant and community support certificate. More individual courses have also been added and a new discover day will be offered in partnership with TRU's adventure tourism department.