By Tawnya Plain Eagle.
Files by Robin Lee Twigg.
Several leaders during the Chief and Council inauguration said how they take pride in the amount of people who have their post-secondary education in the community.
Education is a critical importance for people, especially at a young age.
According to a study conducted by Top 10 Zen, children who attend school regularly are being taught basic fundamental skills that can lead to a successful life.
Leroy Crazy Boy, Peigan Board of Education, is currently developing and fostering a tracking tool for student attendance.
The attendance tracking tool is to assist the Peigan Board of Education as well as Napi’s Playground Elementary School and Piikani Nation Secondary School by providing input on how students are performing in their attendance.
Crazy Boy believes this is a great indicator to know how a child is developing in their education.
Chronic absenteeism can have negative impacts when students’ mis 10 per cent of class time.
Those students who have exceeded that amount of absences are at higher risk of falling behind in their academics and not performing to the best of their abilities.
Crazy Boy has been working in different first nation student retention programs over the last 16 years and understands there are barriers that can prevent students from attending class.
Peigan Board of Education has partnered with Napi’s Elementary School, Piikani Secondary School and other school divisions to look for opportunities to address these concerns.