Southeast Collegiate celebrates construction of new state-of-the-art educational institute

WINNIPEG, Nov. 16, 2017 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring First Nation students have quality learning environments that celebrate Indigenous culture and promote academic achievement.

Today, Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, on behalf of the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services, and along with the Southeast Resource Development Council (SERDC), toured the construction site of the new building on Southeast Collegiate's campus in Winnipeg.

The Government of Canada provided a $10 million innovation grant to help fund the new building and is also providing $5.6 million in 2017-18 to support Southeast Collegiate's instructional and accommodation costs. This support enables SERDC to develop programs that support the unique needs of Indigenous students who are moving into an urban environment. Southeast Collegiate has developed innovative programming in areas such as Indigenous languages, cultural programming, and land based education, which contribute to high graduation rates and overall student success.

Quotes

"Southeast Collegiate's new school and lodge facility will provide First Nations students with state-of-the-art learning environments and new accommodations that will no doubt have a lasting positive effect on current and future students for years to come."

The Honourable Jane Philpott
Minister of Indigenous Services

"It's not just about a high school education, it's about a future of a people."

Sheryl McCorrister
Director/Principal, Southeast Collegiate

Quick Facts

• The new facility is expected to open at the end of February 2018 and will accommodate 156 students in grades 10, 11 and 12.
• The new building will include: a vocational high school building, a resource room for students with special needs, a vocational classroom for power mechanics; a gymnasium; and student residency.
• Southeast Collegiate provides high school education with sound academic standards and vocational opportunities to First Nation students whose home communities do not offer such facilities. The school currently enrolls 140 students representing over 16 southern Manitoba First Nations.
• Southeast Collegiate boasts a graduation rate of 89 per cent and due to growing demand, the collegiate now accepts all Manitoba First Nation students who live on-reserve and who qualify for funding outside their communities.

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SOURCE Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada