All Richmond high schools will offer Indigenous studies courses next fall.
And, in order to graduate, all students will have to take four credits of Indigenous studies, out of a total of 80 required credits.
The province mandated this graduation requirement last spring in order to work toward reconciliation with B.C.’s Indigenous population as it is an action item from the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
“This transformative change to the Graduation Program represents an important next step toward lasting and meaningful reconciliation…. to develop deeper understanding of the experiences, cultures, and histories of Indigenous peoples in Canada,” reads a staff report to trustees that is on the agenda for this week’s board of education meeting.
Starting next fall, English First Peoples 12 and BC First Peoples 12 will be offered at all secondary schools in Richmond as well as at secondary alternate schools and Richmond Virtual School. These are four-credit courses, so one course would meet the provincially mandated graduation requirement.
These Indigenous-focused courses are the equivalent of English Language Arts 12 and social studies courses.
Furthermore, secondary schools in Richmond have the option of offering two two-credit English First Peoples 10 to meet the four-credit requirement.
Students need to complete four credits of Indigenous courses in order to graduate – out of a total of 80 credits which are done in Grades 10, 11 and 12.
According to a staff report, consultation on these courses was done with the Musqueam First Nation, the school district’s Indigenous Success Team, high school administrators and teachers, the Richmond Teachers’ Association as well as other school district teams.
