Our History
1980
Eleven schools in the core neighbourhoods of Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert are designated as “Community Schools” by the Department of Education to address the issues of urban Aboriginal poverty. A budget is supplied to these school divisions under a budget line to hire Community School Coordinators, Teacher Associates, as well as establishing a nutrition program, after school and evening programming, support for the parent councils and a discretionary fund for extra costs related to community education programming for these designated schools. The Saskatchewan Community Schools Association (SCSA) was formed to support those involved.
1980 – 1996
The Community Schools program continues to improve and adapt to the needs of each community. Funding remains stable and there is recognition of the important role of community schools in the core neighbourhoods. There is much interest in Saskatchewan community schools from across Canada.
1996
Building Communities of Hope, Community Schools Policy and Conceptual Framework is released.
2001
Role of the Schools Task Force recommends that all Saskatchewan schools adopt the Community Education philosophy. The number of community Schools doubles and expands to include rural, K-12, and secondary schools.
2004
The number of designated community schools expands to 98, representing 12% of Provincial schools in Saskatchewan.
2006
The Ministry established School Community Councils in Legislation for all Saskatchewan schools to provide a province-wide mechanism for parents, community members, school staffs and students to be actively involved in local initiatives that positively impact student learning and success, including school-level learning improvement plans and career development initiatives.
2006 – 2008
Under the process of amalgamation, the number of school divisions are reduced from over 70 to under 30. The Continuous Improvement Framework is introduced. Community Schools move from “Children’s Services Branch” to the First Nations and Metis Branch” of the Ministry of Education. This branch is now known as the First Nations, Metis and Community Education Branch.
2009 – 2010
4 Pilot Sites are established to begin collecting data on the “Indicators and Outcomes” of community education.
2010 – 2011
The SCSA opens its’ membership to all Saskatchewan Schools as many non-designated schools become interested in the community education model.
2011 – 2012
Due to the dissolution of the FNMCE Branch in 2011, Community Schools move to the “Student Achievement and Supports Branch” of the Ministry of Education This move is cited as a result of the on-going Ministry re-organization. A new funding formula is adopted and the Ministry sends all education budget funds to school divisions to disburse at their discretion (as per
guidelines/vulnerability factors)
2012 – 2013
Most school divisions retain their community school model, including the retention of the Community School Coordinator position. Meadow Lake Tribal Council and Saskatoon Tribal Council become members of the SCSA.
The SCSA takes over the responsibility for administering the Prince of Wales & Duchess of Cornwall and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee High School Scholarships. This is a partnership with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. The scholarships are now open to students (meeting the
nomination criteria) in all Saskatchewan High Schools, including all First Nation Schools. (formerly only open to High School students in community schools).
2013 – 2014
(Dec, 2013) of the 134 member schools, 111 have retained the “Community School Coordinator” position, 10 have changed the title to “Outreach Workers”, 1 school has listed the contact person to be the “Nutrition worker” – 12 schools no longer list anyone in the “Community School Coordinator” position. 90% of our member schools have dedicated staff positions with “Coordinator” responsibilities.
2013 October
At a General Membership Meeting, The SCSA members vote to change the name of the Association to “The Saskatchewan Association for Community Education” (SACE). The move was made to reflect the reality that there are students and families in all Saskatchewan Schools that would benefit from the adoption of Community Education Principles and Practices. Guidelines for the implementation of the Community Education Model are made available to member schools at our In-service & Planning days and posted on the www.communityschools.ca website. 2013-14 will be a transition year for the Association as we undertake the work of establishing contact with all Saskatchewan Schools.
2014 – 2015
SACE incorporation process continues – the website address changes to: www.communityeducation.ca
2015 – 2016
Incorporation is completed, membership continues to increase. SACE focuses on providing information and support to all SK Schools through our new website, FB page and regional reps, host the annual CE Conference, host the annual In-service & Planning day, administer the POWDC & QDJ Scholarships & promote community education principles and practices. New Logo is adopted.
2016 – 2017
SACE takes on many new partners, developing a working relationship with the Saskatchewan Parks & Recreation Association (SPRA) to promote their Youth Community Education through Education Model (YCER). Our membership is expanding to include recognized groups and organizations that offer learning opportunities within the community such as SK 4-H, Dance SK, Big Sisters – Big Brothers, Saskatchewan Literacy Network, etc. The annual SACE Conference is hosted by Prince Albert with the first conference committee comprised of a broad spectrum of Community Education partners from community instead of all school based members.
2017 – 2018
SACE hosts a very successful conference in Saskatoon in the spring and a subsequent In-service & Planning day in the fall of 2018. The SACE Board passes a motion to merge the annual conference and In-service day for 2019 to create one event that combines the successful elements from each. Supervision of the Scholarship program moves from Student Achievement & Supports branch to Programs branch.