Alberta signs deal to improve First Nations graduation rates

EDMONTON - Alberta has signed a deal with a group of First Nations in the hope of improving attendance and high school graduation rates.

Under the agreement, the province will help the Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council make its curriculum more culturally relevant by including traditional skills such as hunting and fishing.

Alberta Education will also help the council to bolster literacy, math and science skills, including protecting the environment.

The agreement will affect about 1,000 kindergarten to Grade 12 students from the Loon River, Lubicon Lake, Peerless Trout, Whitefish Lake and Woodland Cree First Nations in northern Alberta.

Attendance and high school graduation rates for First Nations students in Alberta are generally below the provincial average.

Education Minister David Eggen says the agreement, the first of its kind in the province, will serve as a framework for agreements with other First Nations.