Rupert high schools score above the provincial average for graduation rates to further education

It might be hard for the Fraser Institute to square the circle, but the stories of doom and gloom surrounding the students of School District 52 might need a bit of tweaking.

A study completed last year, shows that high school graduates from Prince Rupert are far more likely to move on to a post education program than students in other parts of the province.

The study will provide a bit of a boost to the local schools who felt the wrath of the Fraser Institute in recent surveys from that think tank.

The Daily News provided full details on the study and its impact on the local education system in the Wednesday paper.

Rupert students excel at taking it to the next level
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

All the negative press about student achievement in Prince Rupert doesn’t seem to matter where it counts.

According to a study from late last year, high school graduates in Prince Rupert are far more likely to attend some form of post-secondary education than their counterparts in the rest of the province.

“I have to give credit to our high schools,” said Brian Kangas, superintendent of schools.
“I’ve said it before and we’ve said this as a community before, that many of kids do come to school with significant vulnerabilities and behind where you would expect kids to be coming in at Kindergarten.

“But the work that our elementary schools do in helping get those kids caught up is pretty amazing, and so is the continued work that the high schools do to get the kids through to graduation. If you look at the two significant cohort groups — non-First Nations and First Nations — both our grad rates, the trend has been to be above the provincial average.”

In the three years that the data was collected, between the 2001-02 and 2003-04 school years, 51, 52 and 50 per cent of B.C. high school graduates attended a B.C. public post-secondary institution including universities, university-colleges, colleges, institutes or agencies. However, locally 58, 59 and 60 per cent of students continued to pursue their education.

“That’s pretty significant when you think about it. Kids are getting out of our high schools and those that graduate are taking advantage of post-secondary,” said Kangas. “I think the good news is the work that our counsellors and secondary teachers are doing in making sure kids are aware of the opportunities there, and also the college, which I think is doing great work in recruiting the kids to take advantage of college courses.”

The school district is hoping to further improve its already strong numbers by inviting the college — which is in need of additional space — into some of Prince Rupert’s empty public classrooms. Next year, NWCC will be offering college-level carpentry and electrical trades courses at Charles Hays and seats will be available to high school students.

“Kids will get the opportunity for advanced placement in those trades and currently we also have some of our students taking advantage of the welding certificate program at the college,” he said. “The more opportunities students have to ensure they can get the courses that are of interest and meaningful to them, the more prepared they’ll be for post-secondary.”

Local schools have also decided to move to a common timetable next year, allowing students the opportunity to take classes at either of the city’s high schools to broaden their ability to get the courses they want and presumably increase their odds for success. Kangas added the district is even looking at providing bus services for students, so they can travel between Charles Hays and PRSS to get to class.

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