London - A partnership forged “where the waters divide” will produce what is believed to be the largest group of Aboriginal students to ever graduate en masse from a Master’s program at a Canadian university.

On Friday, June 12, 15 students, who have successfully completed a Master’s of Education program with a special focus on Leadership for First Nations Schools, will graduate from The University of Western Ontario. Of the 15 graduands expected to convocate Friday, nine are First Nations, one is Inuk and one is Métis.

According to Rebecca Coulter, an award-winning professor in Western’s Faculty of Education, ”a focus on leadership for First Nations schools” is interpreted widely.

“It’s more than just being a school principal. It’s being an instructional leader, being a community leader,” explains Coulter, who also serves as the Director of Aboriginal Education in Western’s Faculty of Education.

In 2005, the Walpole Island Board of Education hired a new principal, Ron Richmond, and as a result of his vision for Aboriginal education, the university was asked to consider offering a graduate program in partnership with Walpole Island First Nation that would assist in supporting the professional growth and development of teachers in First Nation community schools.

The Master’s program started in the summer of 2007 and the students, teachers and administrators working in or around First Nations communities, completed classes at Walpole Island and online over the past two years. Walpole Island and the surrounding region is called ‘Bkejwanong’ or ”where the waters divide” by its Aboriginal community. It has been home to Aboriginal people for more than 6,000 years.

The students’ final research projects have been published in a book, The Gifts Within: Carrying Each Other Forward in Aboriginal Education, which will be officially launched at a reception immediately following the morning convocation on June 12 in the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory.

“The remarkable success of this group of students is only the beginning,” says Coulter. “Western’s Faculty of Education anticipates many more exciting partnerships with First Nation communities.

“The students really supported one another through the program and carried each other forward,” she continues. “The completion rate of 100 per cent is an extraordinary success for any graduate program.”

Richmond agrees: “From the launch of the program on July 2, 2007, the students and professors worked diligently to explore educational leadership from an Aboriginal perspective.”