Attawapiskat’s school woes
“During the construction there was an installation error,” he alleged. “It was unfortunately not detected. It lasted for two years, then it broke.”
Turner said students have been receiving take-home assignments in the weeks since the school closed, but did not know particulars of how they were being evaluated.
The head of the Attawapiskat First Nations Education Authority, Miriam Wesley, said she had “nothing to say” about the school closure.
Turner said repairs to the building are on track to be completed by Feb. 17, adding school was scheduled to be on a break the following week.
He said he hoped students could return after the previously scheduled holiday, but said the Education Authority was responsible for such decisions.
For some community members, the problem at the elementary school is the latest in a long line of disappointments.
Katrina MetatawabinSutherland said the school was greeted with much excitement when it opened its doors in September 2014. She said she was impressed by the gym with a stage, the bright, spacious hallways and the up-to-date facilities throughout the two-storey building.
Despite the significant upgrade, however, she said she plans to move out of the community before her son reaches school age so he can be educated in a larger centre.
She said Timmins, Ont., will offer more opportunities for extra-curricular activities, but said she has no sense that positive change in Attawapiskat will last.
“I guess that’s the other reason why. We got this nice new school but it didn’t even last two years,” she said. “I’ll want my son to be able to go to class every day.”
Attawapiskat has long occupied headlines for a rash of social problems plaguing the community on the shores of James Bay.
The community has grappled with a long-term housing shortage for years, and Turner said the original elementary school closed in 2000 due to a combination of “diesel contamination and structural issues.”
Last April, Attawapiskat’s chief declared a state of emergency after a spike in suicide attempts among the community’s youth. At one point officials said they thwarted what they called a suicide pact by 13 young aboriginal people, including a nine-year-old.
Social media posts show teachers in Attawapiskat still organizing arts circles and other activities for the children impacted by the recent flooding. None responded to a request for comment.