Children and the Future: Indian Education at Wallaceburg District Secondary School

Abstract

Ontario's Walpole Island First Nation and neighboring Wallaceburg District Secondary School have cooperatively improved the educational environment for Indian students at the Wallaceburg school. In this case study, interviews and archival records form the basis for a description of improved relations between the school and the reserve and the creation of a climate for an observed improvement in student achievement. A great deal of the credit for the improvement is due to the vision and work of the Walpole Island education counselors who work in the school and to a school administration that makes visible efforts to make schooling relevant for Indian secondary students. Nonetheless, problems and unresolved is­ sues remain and are addressed in a series of recommendations in the conclusion.