Keewaytinook Internet High School

Keewaytinook Internet High School (KiHS) in Ontario was established to serve the First Nation communities in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN). KiHS was a pilot project for Grade 8 students in three communities but has now expanded to serve Grades 9 to 12 students in fourteen communities.

Further Information

Students attend a community classroom from 9 am to 4 pm and are supported by in-class teacher and teaching assistant and an online teacher. The programme is semester based with students able to take two courses in each of the four (9 week) semesters.

"The students complete their actual studies online. The programme is primarily asynchronous, with online teachers posting activities each Sunday and students completing those activities and assignments online as the week progresses. Online teachers also schedule synchronous sessions using Elluminate® or Adobe Connect, as well as using video conferencing, to work on activities that require more direct instruction."

(Keewaytinook Internet High School vignette from iNACOL'S State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada)

KiHS has achieved significant success in terms of completion and retention rates and progression to post-secondary education. Completion rates have increased year on year and whereas in the initial pilot year saw rates on a par with First Nation averages (19%) by 2009-10 these were 55% across the programme and up to 80% in some participating communities. Retention rates are typically 70% but with some communities achieving 90%.

Enrolment is also on the increase with a new high of 220 students active in KiHS during the 2009-10 school year.

References

See

• State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada, iNACOL November 2010
• http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/iNACOL_CanadaStudy10-finalweb.pdf