Taryn Pelletier spoke to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday night about her very personal journey through school which led to graduation from the Urban Aboriginal School. She is pictured with (from left to right), Vice Principal Rony Dal Cin, teachers Crystal Kingston (from Indian Friendship Centre) and Fred Pelletier.
Taryn Pelletier spoke to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday night about her very personal journey through school which led to graduation from the Urban Aboriginal School. From left to right: Vice Principal Rony Dal Cin, teachers Crystal Kingston (from Indian Friendship Centre), Taryn Pelletier and Fred Pelletier.

Algoma District School Board trustees learned about the EQAO Grade 9 Math results for 2014-15 at Tuesday’s Committee Of The Whole.  It was announced that the success rate for Academic Math students in achieving or exceeding Level 3 was the highest it had ever been at 80 percent, up 4 percent from the previous year.  The provincial standard is Level 3, or 70 percent on the math test.  It was a different story regarding the success rate or Applied Math students, with only 46 percent achieving the provincial standard, down 5 percent from 2013-14.  But the Algoma District School Board is faring well compared to a number of other Northern boards, with success rates in meeting the provincial standard anywhere from 3 to 13 percent higher for Academic Math, and 7 to 21 percent higher for Applied Math.  The Rainy River District School Board matched the ADSB’s success rate of 80 percent in Academic Math.   No provincial figures were made available due to the dispute between the province and the teachers.

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Algoma District School Board trustees heard from recent Urban Aboriginal School graduate Taryn Pelletier on Tuesday.  Taryn talked about how excited she was to go to school until Grade 9 and a move to Elliot Lake, where she struggled to adjust.  She would eventually drop out of school after another move to Sudbury.  Everything changed two months ago when she first attended the Urban Aboriginal School, looking for advice on landing a job.  Instead, staff at the school encouraged her to get her diploma. Taryn credited the school’s unique structure and ‘smaller setting’ as factors in earning the remaining credits needed for her high school diploma.  At the school, Taryn was able to ‘be herself’ and still get her work done. Taryn is now planning to move on to the next chapter in her education next fall at Algoma University.  Director of Education Lucia Reece told Taryn that many students need to hear her story.