Sqwa First Nation/Chilliwack – On Friday, September 1, Sqwá First Nation’s Chief and Council and the Chilliwack School Board met at Sqwá First Nation to officially celebrate their ground-breaking partnership, by signing a Memorandum of Understanding related to the establishment of an Adult Education Centre.
The Centre is located at Sqwá First Nation, and is designed to meet the needs of the broader community. This collaborative commitment marks a very important step forward for Adult Education in Chilliwack because Adult Education will now make training for employmentpart of the Adult Graduation program, and therefore is free to participants.
It will also be free to students who graduated in June 2023 and were under 19 on July 1 st . The Centre will commence programming in September and is currently accepting applications.
Chief Lara Mussell stated,
“The establishment of the Adult Education Centre and our partnership with the Chilliwack School District represents a significant stride in advancing education, training and employment for Sqwá community members, and also other First Nations and non-First Nations, throughout the region. Adults now have an opportunity to fulfill their goal of completing high school, at any age, while concurrently obtaining valuable skills and training that will lead to gainful employment.”
Superintendent Arul-Pragasam stated,
“This partnership between the Chilliwack School District and the Sqwá First Nation will ensure we create opportunities for all Indigenous learners in our community to obtain their Dogwood Diploma while celebrating and honoring an important First Peoples Principle of Learning – that “learning involves patience and time.” The opportunity for ungraduated and recently graduated adults to receive free training in a trade or vocation, while completing or upgrading their high school diploma, will help our students thrive in an ever-changing world. Thank you to leaders from the Chilliwack School District and Sqwá First Nation, who worked tirelessly to make this vision a reality.”
Programs include:
Adult Upgrading
Carpentry
Education Assistant
Indigenous Entrepreneurial Cook
Office Administration
Building Maintenance
