Graduation rates go up, bus routes go down: SD57 Year in Review

It was a very public year for school district 57, full of highs and lows.

The issue that parents have been the most vocal about this school year, maybe this calendar year, is the ongoing bus shortage that the district has been facing since September.

Good news for everyone involved came earlier this week, as the district confirmed Diversified, their old bus provider, would be coming back on board to fill the holes left by First Student, the new bus provider.

First Student has been having issues since day 1, when a large portion of their staff quit their jobs just days before the school year.

Staffing shortages have also been a sore spot in 2022 – though Superintendent Cindy Heitman is confident that issue has, and will continue to get better.

“I am really happy to report that our staffing shortages have decreased,” she told My PG Now. “Since the end of October, we have hired over 100 new employees to SD57.”

She acknowledges that the problem is not fully solved, but says it is a priority and they have more interviews lined up in the new year.

One of the biggest highs for Heitman took a backseat in the public eye to these two main issues, which was a significant jump in graduation rates.

“That is something we haven’t seen in a while… in particular our Indigenous learners,” she said.

From 2021 to 2022, the district saw a 2.2% increase in 5 year graduates, which follows a general trend upwards that SD57 has been seeing since 2015.

The rate got up to 78.2% – which is still almost 10% under the provincial average of 87.4 that has also been on the rise.

Indigenous students in the district saw a massive year-over-year increase in 5 year graduations, from 55.5% in 2020-21 to 61.6% in 2021-22.

That provincial average was 64.7% in 21-22.

Another success was in the childcare space, which Heitman said will only get better.

“We have included a designated person to look at early learning and childcare within School District 57. We were able to already open a new daycare in McBride, and we are looking at opening other daycares throughout the school year.”

Childcare spaces are at a serious low in Prince George and around the province, and more spaces are a high need in the community.

Moving forward into next year, Heitman wants to focus on the learning agenda and catch kids up on what they may have missed during the pandemic.