Heritage College

Heritage College to make Indigenous education a priority

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , ,

By Trevor Greenway

Jenny Buckshot Tenasco was just six years old when she was taken from her family in Kitigan Zibi and placed in a residential school in Kenora, Ont., in 1958. 

The young Indigenous child spent three days on a train, travelling from Ottawa to Kenora, and said that after spending a year there, her culture had disappeared. 

“In that 12 months, my language was taken away,” said Tenasco during the signing of an Indigenous Education Protocol at Heritage College Sept. 19. “It was blocked. It’s still partially blocked. Some words are starting to come back that I remember hearing from my parents and my grandparents, but I’m glad to know that people are sharing the language now and making an effort to use it so the next generation can hear our language also.”

The English CEGEP has made a commitment through Colleges and Institutes Canada (CIC) to “recognize, value and honour the Indigenous Peoples and their cultures” at the school. Seventy-five post-secondary schools across Canada have now signed the Protocol. 

“This signing is more than a single symbolic act that represents our institution’s firm commitment to strengthening relationships with their Indigenous Peoples and to advancing truth, respect and equity in education,” said Heritage College executive director Lisa Peldjak. “The Protocol calls on us to recognize Indigenous Peoples and governance, to create welcoming and supportive learning environments, to integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives and to work in true partnership with Indigenous communities.”

Joelle Deschambault, the director of member services at CIC, told the Low Down that the Protocol is a commitment to “Indigenize and decolonize our institutions.” 

“In the Protocol, there are seven principles that colleges agree to live by, follow and put into action to not only help Indigenous education grow and get stronger and give more access, but also to foster environments that are inclusive, meaningful and respectful with Indigenous communities,” she said. “To really take into account their laws, their way of doing, their way of learning, their way of living, making sure that the students – the Indigenous learners – have the support they need and the commitment they need for higher-standard Indigenous education.”

Deschambault noted the growth of Indigenous communities in Canada and the need for an education strategy to ensure students are represented and have opportunities for post-secondary education. 

According to Stats Canada, the Indigenous population grew by 9.4 per cent, compared to 5.3 per cent for the non-indigenous population from 2016 to 2021. 

According to the CIC, the gap for post-secondary education between Indigenous and non-indigenous students is widening. Just 16 per cent of Indigenous Peoples hold a university degree compared to 36 per cent of the overall population. However, of the Indigenous students, 23 per cent have obtained a college credential and 11 per cent have completed apprenticeships – figures that surpass those of the general population. 

“[Indigenous communities] are the population that is growing the most quickly and they are the ones that need even more access to education,” added Deschambault. “And there’s definitely a discrepancy between the Indigenous population and the rest of the country.”

Among the seven principles are a commitment to making Indigenous education a priority, ensuring the college increases the number of Indigenous employees it hires and implementing the intellectual and cultural traditions of Indigenous peoples through the curriculum. 

Heritage College to make Indigenous education a priority Read More »

French laws hamper Heritage College’s expansion

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , , ,

By Trevor Greenway

Every school year staff at Heritage College take a “calculated risk” when enrolling students into classes to avoid hefty fines from the province, says its new director-general. 

Bill 96 – now Law 14, the province’s overhaul of the Charter of the French Language, passed in 2022 – places enrollment caps on English CEGEPS across the province, preventing schools like Heritage College from expanding its programs and growing its student population. 

Heritage College is capped at 1,198 students, and if the college accepts between one and 50 additional students, they face a $7,000 fine from the province. However, if they go over by 50 or more additional students, the fine doubles to $14,000 per student. 

“So you really have to be careful, right? Because you can’t let somebody in and then tell them that they can’t study here,” said Heritage College’s new director-general Lisa Peldjak. 

She explained the college’s dilemma under Bill 96: “You never know from one year to the next. It’s a calculated risk to think about how many students are going to stay on another year. How many are going to leave after that first year so you have an idea how many you can admit? And then, between the time they accept their letter of admission to the first day of class, how many do we historically lose? And then we are hoping that we’ve done the right calculation to be as close to that cap as possible.”

The enrollment caps have been a major barrier to the College’s growth, Peldjak said, as enrollment numbers used to be around $1,500 pre-Bill 96 – and growing. This allowed Heritage to grow in the past, adding programs like women’s hockey and ultimate frisbee. But the caps have stifled future growth, she said, as the fear of additional French classes for students made Ontario students initially reluctant to cross the river. 

Peldjak said the school has done a good job of sending the message that anglophone students are welcome at Heritage College. 

“There were students who were afraid of coming here, especially that first year – the francophones, the non-certificate holders, because there was a misunderstanding that they weren’t allowed to come here or how many French courses they have to take,” explained Peldjak. “But this year we had even more from the anglophone population. Once that first group went through, they were talking with friends and realizing it’s not detrimental to their successes.”

New cohort more prepared than COVID kids

Director-general Peldjak told the Low Down that the wave of new students entering Heritage College this year is far more prepared than the past few years of students who were feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and years of virtual learning. 

However, this new crop of students were in elementary school when COVID was at its peak, and while they lost some social time with their friends, they didn’t lose the full high-school experience that prepares teenagers for college. 

“They had more of their experience in high school and not that online component,” said Peldjak, adding that the school broke a record for the number of students who attended orientation day this year. “They seem to be more well-adjusted and not as dependent on waiting to be told what to do or where to go or being guided in every single direction. They seem very comfortable here; smiling faces – just the overall vibe between the students, the faculty coming back, the vibe has been great.”

Peldjak said she is a firm believer on day one of school being a positive experience, as that lays the foundation for a successful academic year. She said she understands that the “fear of the unknown can be crippling,” and the school does everything it can to make students feel comfortable and safe during the entire year but especially during that first week. 

Budget cuts hurt colleges

In June of this year, Quebec’s Education Ministry announced that it was cutting $150 million in funding for Quebec’s 48 CEGEPs – money that has forced Heritage College to cut contract workers. Peldjak said the school eliminated up to six contract positions but was able to keep all permanent staff employed through the cuts. 

“The $150 million cuts in post secondary education, the student cap, the capping of our total hours worked, as well as the recruitment freeze, has had significant impacts in services, some more than others. We can’t control that – it is our regional reality,” she said, continuing, “So [we’re] making sure that whatever it is that [students] need to be successful moving forward [they have], even in spite of the budget cuts.”

French laws hamper Heritage College’s expansion Read More »

Heritage College says Bill 96 unfair to students

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

By Trevor Greenway

editor@lowdownonline.com

Some Heritage College students will attend school on a weekend this year to prepare for Quebec’s French-language exit exam, a new requirement for those who don’t hold an English eligibility certificate. 

Heritage College’s academic dean Lisa Peldjak said the school is working on a mock exam for this October, where all non-certificate holders show up on a Saturday to measure themselves against the provincial standard in French. Those who struggle in the exam will have time to improve before the actual exam next spring. 

“This is going to be a real snapshot of what the French exit exam will look like,” said Peldjak. “They’re going to be here all day. It’s mandatory for the students to attend. And it’ll be worth grades. But they’re going to grade it like the French exit [exam] to give the students a taste of what the exam will be like.”

But Heritage’s director-general Terry Kharyati said he has no idea how many of these students will attend this mock exam in October, as the prospect of non-French speakers taking the same exit exam as their francophone counterparts has been a major deterrent for prospective students. 

“All students have the opportunity to feel welcome, first, and the accessibility to what is a great education,” said Kharyati. “But for some who’ve never taken French, it’s ominous. We see that already from students who are coming here from Ontario or who are from the Glebe High School [Ottawa]. If they come here, they’re considered non-anglo because they don’t have their English eligibility rights.”

“We’re recruiting students for basketball. We have students coming over from Ridgemont High School [in Ottawa],” added Kharyati. “But it’s getting more difficult to recruit from Ottawa schools.”

Part of the problem with the English eligibility certificates is that the Ministry of Education will only give them out to students who are currently enrolled in English high schools in Quebec. Those who have already graduated and request a certificate after they’ve graduated are being denied. Those who attend CEGEPs without the certificate will be required to write the province’s three-hour French exit exam, whereas those who hold the certificate will take an English exam.

The new CEGEP rules are part of the CAQ government’s implementation of Bill 96 – the province’s overhaul of the Charter of the French Language, which requires all non-English certificate holders to take the French exam. Bill 96 became Law 14 after it was passed in 2022, affecting how the charter applies to English CEGEPs in the province. Students who do hold English certificates will also have to take three additional French-language courses or three core courses in French, creating a two-tiered system for students. 

Peldjak explained that the college is using incoming high school grades in French, as well as a college assessment, to determine whether or not a student is placed in the advanced French stream. The advanced stream will allow students to take two French as a second language (FSL) courses, two complementary courses in French and one program-specific course in French. Non-advanced stream students will take a total of five FSL courses within their two years at the college. 

“Depending on the student and their level of French, they’re not all coming in being treated fairly or equally,” she said. 

Peldjak noted that students who are required to take the five FSL courses don’t have the option of taking complementary courses, which give them a “highlight into other interests that they might have.” These students, according to Peldjak, miss out on the entirety of other courses the college has to offer. 

The college won’t know how much of a deterrent these new rules will be on the student population until final enrollment numbers are reported in mid-September.

Heritage College says Bill 96 unfair to students Read More »

Scroll to Top