NANS aims to adapt practices at both the school and classroom levels to ensure greater success for students from disadvantaged areas and to decrease the academic gap these students often experience.

 

The social, economic and cultural conditions that define disadvantaged areas increase the risk of academic failure and social or behavioural difficulties, which increase the risk of dropping out of school and problems with integration among students. Research and experience in schools clearly show that the factors that make students vulnerable are more numerous in disadvantaged areas than elsewhere. The success of students in disadvantaged areas can be affected, for better or for worse, by different things, including the students' experience of school, personal and interpersonal issues, family, social factors and the school itself.

 

Since the Fall of 2002, 189 secondary schools with a socioeconomic milieu decile rank of 8, 9 and 10, belonging to 55 school boards, have taken part in the New Approaches, New Solutions intervention strategy (NANS). In the Fall of 2007, elementary schools ranked 8, 9, and 10 were also added. These schools, which serve concentrated numbers of students from disadvantaged areas, benefit from financial measures that allow them to implement or strengthen the measures, based on a portrait and analysis of the situation adapted to their context. Schools are required to submit an update of their success plan annually, reporting on the results of their monitoring and evaluation.

 

More information, links, and official MELS sites pertaining to NANS here .

 

 

A school or centre must base its educational project on an analysis of prevailing conditions - the governing board should seek the collaboration of interested persons under the coordination of the school principal - the educational project will also be based on the school board's strategic plan - it will set out specific aims and objectives for student success and be evaluated periodically - governing boards will continue the task of adopting the educational project.

 

To ensure the implementation of the educational project the school's administrative team will develop a success plan and submit it for approval to the governing board - an ongoing evaluation process will seek to ensure the school's advancement - governing boards will be accountable to parents and members of the community regarding the quality of the educational project and the measures taken in support of its success plan.

 

Find more information regarding success planning tools and samples here .

 

When preparing NANS planning, school boards may support and guide their schools in gathering and interpreting data, choosing promising measures for student success in disadvantaged areas, choosing instruments or mechanisms used to assess the impact of the measures on student success or on reaching the objectives each school has selected for evaluation of their planning.

 

must draw up its portrait and situation analysis using  the characteristics of disadvantaged areas. In future planning, NANS schools will use this analysis4 to identify their priorities, which will include a limited number of orientations and objectives to improve student success and adapted, recognized measures. Schools will then implement these measures, evaluate whether they have reached their objectives and make any necessary adjustments. 

 

Many documents have been drafted since NANS was initiated in 2002-2003. Secondary schools now joining the project can take advantage of this experience in intervention in disadvantaged areas at the secondary level. In addition, more and more documents have been drafted in order to support intervention in elementary schools. For further details, please visit the section dedicated to NANS on the MELS

 

Web site: www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/agirautrement/index.htm

 

 

This school success wiki is a work in progress. Containing information and links relating to school success, socio-economic disadvantage, and educational perseverance - so far, we are just testing the waters! To find documents distributed during a school visit, conference or workshop, please click on Documents (at left). Conference information is listed under Professional Development.

 

Why use a wiki?

Using a wiki allows us to rapidly update and share information, such as important links, handouts from visits, conferences and workshops, and other goodies. Use the menu at left to navigate, or click on Sitemap to see a list of all the pages.

 

What this site is intended for:

Right now, it wil be used to post the documents used in school visits or events. Links to the most important (and sometimes hard to find) information can be collected in one place. Articles, videos and other interesting information can be also shared - a wiki is easily modifiable, and visitors can add comments or contribute to individual pages. The calendar (at right) will also be updated with relevant dates, including PD opportunities.

 

What this site is not:

This site does not replace:

 

    * the official MELS site for NANS (general NANS documents, public site)

    * the NANS extranet (official documents, password required

    * the SCA NANS site hosted by LEARN (NANS section under revision)