“To create a safe and caring school which gives students a sense of belonging and ownership in a community setting….community building, breaking barriers.”
It might sound like a contradiction of terms. But when St. Mary’s Outreach school sets its sights on community building, it begins with breaking – breaking barriers, that is – one of the many secrets to the school’s success. And it’s one of many reasons why the school has been recognized and applauded for its innovative ways. Last weekend, the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Outreach Education Council presented Principal Terry Lynn Cook with the first annual Excellence Award in Innovation and Achievement at a conference in Kananaskis. The award was for the school’s creation of what’s become known Kookum’s Den, a room that Cook describes as “a unique stable environment in which students are the focus of great attention.
“In the aboriginal culture, a Kookum is a grandmother and is to be respected and honoured at all times. This concept of a Kookum is transferred into the aspect if the Kookum’s Den,” the principal says in her report the OEC, “We wanted an environment in which the student would experience comfort, understanding, caring and ownership with more one-to-one with a staff member.
“The students enroll in an individual program which is challenging to abilities and yet at which success is evident.” About 10 students are currently in Kookum’s Den, she adds. It’s “a multiple grade, multiple level classroom that is spiritually based in balancing the physical, mental, emotional and social being, to ensure learning is a lived experience.”
Participants are encouraged “to deal with issues as they arise,” Cook continues, through “elder visits, tea smudging and prayer.”
The principal will offer an in depth explanation of the program at the OEC’s annual conference.
The concept is one of many success stories that have sprouted from within the walls of the Outreach school, and those are no accident.
“The St. Mary’s Outreach has found success in breaking down many barriers preventing student success,” Cook says in her description of the school. Part of the school’s strategy is “a focus of learning, not teaching. In order to have learning take place, we need to have students come of their own free will.” Administrators and teachers do that by encouraging a sense of belonging and ownership through strategies such as ensuring individual achievement, offering a family atmosphere, promoting community involvement and including parents as partners at the school.
“The open door policy is where parents are welcome anytime to phone or visit the school and all information on file concerning their child is open for them to view. The purpose is to build trust with the families concerning their child.”
The award is not the five-year-old school’s first. As well as being recognized as unique among its peers, St. Mary’s Outreach has gained the attention of the community and boasts 44 high school graduates in its short existence.
“We have seen a positive increase in student performance, attendance, staff-student relationships and community support at the Outreach,” Cook says with no small hint of pride.
“There is a feeling of ownership, caring and belonging.” Those are sometimes difficult to measure, she says, but “the evidence is in the atmosphere that is present at the building.”
The Outreach is located on 4th Ave. N.E. in Slave Lake.

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