Education Minister Marilyn More committed her department to move forward with 68 recommendations to improve supports and programming for African Nova Scotian students.
The recommendations, from a report co-authored by consultant Enid Lee and Clem Marshall, include addressing institutional racism, increasing student support workers, and better communication with the black community.
More did not have details yesterday on when all 68 recommendations will be implemented, saying some were already online. She also indicated that the majority can be accomplished with resources currently allocated by the department.
“We’re spending considerable money on supports for African Nova Scotian students currently,” she said. “This is a chance for all the partners, including parents, to be looking at what’s happening to make sure that that money is being spent to the best effect.”
Lee and Marshall’s report, submitted late last year, noted a “glaring absence of quantitative data about the performance of African Nova Scotian students.” More said in order to gauge the impact of the recommendations, her department must enhance the tracking of the province’s approximately 4,000 African Nova Scotian students. “We currently have a number of schools already started with our student information system,” said More, referring to an online database that tracks student performance. “That will help us better track information.”
