School division misses out again on Jordan’s Principle funding
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Hanover School Division has resubmitted their Jordan’s Principle funding applications after they were found to be missing information.
The school received a letter from Indigenous Services Canada recently that informed them that some of the applications were rejected based on substantive equality criteria, which is the legal principal that refers to the achievement of true equality in outcomes such as equal access and equal opportunities.
“The majority of these applications have been resubmitted by our school teams and student services with the additional information that they now require as per the updated criteria,” said superintendent Joe Thiessen.
“This is extremely disappointing for us obviously, we’ve observed first-hand the incredible impact that additional supports have had on our students so we’re committed to advocating for the necessary resources to continue this work…,” he noted.
This is the third time the school division has applied for Jordan’s principle this school year. The first time was in the summer where it unknowingly applied to the wrong office, which resulted in the layoffs of 93 EAs in December due to a short fall of more than $1 million. They then resubmitted the applications only to be told that more informaiton was needed.
The are currently 22 students who have had their applications approved under Jordan’s Principle. The division didn’t say how many applications were sent out this year. There are currently more than 700 self-identified Indigenous students in Hanover School Division.
Thiessen said as funding comes in EAs will be asked to come back.
“The workload or student needs that’s done on a case-by-case basis and by the school leadership in each school, so it’s not as simple as doubling up (on students per EA) or something like that. We are dealing with shared resources so if you have greater resources you have greater options.”
Some of the other resources that can be used by students are clinicians, learning support teachers, literacy support teachers, and leadership teams.