Our student population and community are largely Indigenous from the Pacheedaht Nation. We have 93.8% of our students who self-identify as having indigenous ancestry; and 25% have a ministry designation identifying exceptionalities and are needing some form of social-emotional and/or academic support and/or accommodation.
Although it varies on particular days, students attend school on average of 70% of the time. Notably, attendance on Fridays is lower, possibly because families make trips to larger centers on those days and take their children with them.
As a staff, we understand that our learners at Port Renfrew Elementary are visual and kinesthetic learners who learn best with the use of visuals and learn by doing. Outside nature and play-based learning help our students learn and is a focus for our school. We know that our students learn best when they have a learning environment that is calm and predictable with routines and schedules.
We know that relationships with adults are key and that students need to have connection and feel safe and supported. Our staff works well as a team wrapping around students to support their learning- social emotional, self-regulation and academic, as needed.
When writing end of the year student Points of Progress, teachers reported their class language arts proficiency levels as follows: 3 out of 12 students are emergent at the end of their current grade level, 4 out of 12 were developing and 5 out of 12 students were proficient. In Math, 2 out of 12 students are emerging, 2 out of 12 are developiong and 8 out of 12 are proficient. Those who have attended regularly have improved significantly since September in all three subject areas.
We know that parent involvement in student learning is paramount. We need to build parent engagement and awareness on the importance of learning and attending school.
