Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to speak today about the recently published 1996-97 edition of Towards Excellence: A Report on Education in the Northwest Territories.
This report gives education staff, parents, students and the public a set of indicators to help measure the progress of our kindergarten through grade 12 system.
The first indicators report was published last February and includes data on the school system up to 1994-95. That baseline document introduced 30 indicators of community access to quality programs, courses and supports. Mr. Speaker, the indicators in this second edition are similar, and can be compared to the baseline to help assess how well our education system is working. In response to comments from educators, parents, students and members of this Assembly, some new indicators have been added to help measure student achievement.
The report includes data from the whole Northwest Territories as well as a breakdown for Nunavut and the West. In the future, it will be up to each territory to publish its own report. Publishing reports like this helps us to be more accountable to the people we serve.
I encourage Members to share these reports with your constituents. Copies will also be available from district education authorities and councils, community learning centres and libraries, and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's website. I look forward to hearing from Members and people across the north when everyone has had the opportunity to review and compare the reports. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause