Archived News Releases

February 7, 2001

Manitoba high schools will continue to be supported in their school improvement efforts thanks to a grant totalling $150,000 to the Manitoba School Improvement Program (MSIP) announced today by Education, Training and Youth Minister Drew Caldwell.

"The Manitoba School Improvement Program supports high school initiatives that assist all students, including those who find school difficult," said Caldwell. "Initiatives focus on making curriculum relevant to students, reaching out to parents and communities, and providing supports that help students succeed."

MSIP is working with 34 schools throughout the province and in the last year has provided financial support for new initiatives in five schools.

Some of the MSIP initiatives in place in Manitoba schools include:

• Flexible Timetables which helps students whose life circumstances do not allow them to follow a traditional school year;
• Skill Development which assists young people by providing positive conflict and mediation tools to solve problems;
• Community Action through which inner-city youth use drama to help elementary students deal with peer pressure, gangs, drugs, alcohol and abuse;
• Student Advocate Systems which develop relationships between students and teachers;
• School to Work Transition which helps students develop career portfolios based on identified skill shortages;
• Schools Within Schools which fosters relationships and an integrated approach to learning high school curriculum;
• Technology Application which makes learning more relevant to the workplace;
• Improving Assessment Practices which strives to increase student involvement in their own learning;
• Redesigning Curriculum and Instructional Practice which increases the relevance of the curriculum to students.

The Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation established MSIP in 1991 as a pilot program. It continues to be supported through the foundation and other education partners.

"I salute the partnerships that have been established with the Manitoba School Improvement Program," said Caldwell. "They have brought together many people to support school improvement."

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