Education partnership to boost grad rates for Indigenous students

Pathways to Education Canada (Photo: pathwaystoeducationcanada/Facebook)

SASKATOON — Pathways to Education, an education charity, has partnered with the Saskatoon Tribal Council in an effort to improve Indigenous graduation rates.

The program will offer Indigenous students one-on-one support, focusing on academic, financial and social issues.

Chief Felix Thomas says he hopes it will result in young people having an opportunity and choice in what jobs they want to pursue.

He says at the moment, without a high school diploma, they don’t have much choice.

The program will accept 60 to 80 students and offer a $500 scholarship for each student at the end of the program.

According to Thomas, the high school graduation rate for Saskatchewan sits at 40 per cent.

He plans to raise that statistic to 80 per cent by 2020.

(CTV Saskatoon)