The Louis Riel School Division (LRSD) follows a robust, transparent, and data-driven approach to educational improvement, grounded in Policy ADE and aligned with Manitoba's K-12 Framework for Continuous Improvement. This framework requires collaborative planning, measurable goals, and public reporting, which LRSD advances and extends through three core structures: the 2023-27 Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP), the Annual Report to the Community (ARC), and the Data Hub.
I am pleased to share details of our journey, as outlined in the Annual Report on Continuous Improvement below, in alignment with provincial reporting requirements.
The 2023-2027 MYSP, now in its second four-year cycle, guides improvement efforts across all 41 schools. Inspired by the Circle of Courage and principles of education for sustainable development, it sets evidence-based priorities in literacy, numeracy, Indigenous education, and student well-being. Developed through broad consultation and ongoing data analysis, the plan not only meets provincial expectations but also reflects LRSD's commitment to deeper equity, achievement, and student flourishing.
Progress is shared through the ARC, which reports system-wide results and provides division and staffing overviews, and the public-facing Data Hub, which offers enrolment data back to 2015-16 and allows disaggregation by Indigenous, ethnocultural, and linguistic identities. Interactive dashboards track attendance, achievement, engagement, well-being, and equity gaps, enabling real-time monitoring and strategy refinement.
Together, these processes embed provincial requirements for measurable targets, reflection, and communication, while cultivating a culture of transparency, shared responsibility, and continuous improvement that consistently reaches beyond mandated goals.
MYSP
LRSD's 2023-27 Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) establishes four division-wide priorities Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity. Progress toward these priorities is tracked and shared transparently through dedicated pages on the divisional website and informs school improvement efforts across all 41 schools.
- Strategic Priority 1: Belonging
Focus on inclusion and well-becoming to ensure all students and staff are welcomed, accepted, valued, healthy and safe while at school and in the workplace and to ensure parents and guardians are welcomed and valued as essential players. - Strategic Priority 2: Mastery
Focus on equitable teaching and clinical practices that consider an individual's circumstances so all students thrive and realize their full potential. - Strategic Priority 3: Independence
Focus on engaging students' innate abilities and curiosity to empower a love of learning, self-confidence and self-efficacy. - Strategic Priority 4: Generosity
Focus on the ethics of care and hospitality to support thriving learners and flourishing communities.
LRSD's MYSP for 2023-27 provides focus to our ongoing continuous improvement efforts. The development process for its co-creation was described in last year's continuous improvement report.
Dedicated pages on the divisional website inform the school community of ongoing progress toward each strategic action of the MYSP. The pages are updated on a continuous basis.
Data Hub
Our public-facing Data Hub also allows the community to interact with data related to:
- Enrolment data going back to 2015-16 (Data can be disaggregated with ease to get a closer look at our students' Indigenous, ethnocultural and linguistic identities, allowing the community to visualize the diversity of learners that make up each school or the division as a whole)
- Student achievement in literacy and numeracy
- Student engagement (attendance, active participation in learning, personal management skills, engagement in using French)
- Student social-emotional well-being (anxiety, depression, self-esteem, interest and motivation, sense of belonging, positive relationships, bullying and exclusion, and feeling safe at school)
- The impact of the Universal Full-Day Every-Day Kindergarten Program, implemented in 2024-25.
Additional reports available to senior leadership, administrators, teachers and support staff allow for disaggregation of multiple datasets to inform ongoing school improvement processes.
Here are some data snapshots that may be of interest:
- In the 2024-25 school year, 35 per cent of students missed 10 per cent or more of the school year. This is a drop from 38 per cent in 2023-24 and 42 per cent in 2022-23. The greatest improvement was seen in the earliest grades. Only 35 per cent of kindergarten students missed more than 10 per cent of the school year, down considerably from 48 per cent two years prior. Grade 1 students also saw a drop from 42 per cent to 30 per cent. This means our youngest students are missing less school, allowing for a stronger and more consistent start to their school careers.
- We continue to notice an achievement gap for self-declared Indigenous students. The gap is not simply consistent it is growing in many areas. For example, in English reading June report card results for Grade 1 through 8 students, 78 per cent of non-Indigenous students obtain a 3 or a 4, whereas this is true of only 57 per cent of Indigenous students. This 23 per cent discrepancy is larger than ever; in 2015-16, the gap was 14 per cent. In Grade 1 through 8 English writing and math skills, the gap is 26 per cent.
- The gap persists in high school. The percentage of students with final marks of at least 70 per cent in ELA courses is 79 per cent for non-Indigenous students but only 60 per cent for Indigenous students. In math courses, only 54 per cent of Indigenous students attain a final mark of at least 70 per cent, compared with 74 per cent of non-Indigenous students.
- Division-wide screening reveals 41 per cent of students are at risk in literacy skills. However, on any given literacy screener, an average of 20 per cent more Indigenous students are at risk compared with non-Indigenous students. The discrepancies are greatest in earlier grades.
- The overall gap revealed in the Early Math Assessment is also about 20 per cent, but the gap increases in later grades. For instance, while the gap in Grade 1 math skills was 16 per cent in spring 2024-25, the gap in Grade 8 was 29 per cent.
- Self-reported student anxiety and depression are more likely among female students compared with male students. However, 52 per cent of female Indigenous students' self-report being moderately to highly anxious, and 44 per cent of this same group report experiencing moderate or severe depression.
- Tracking changes in each student's English, Français, math, science and social studies report card indicators has proven helpful in pinpointing students on a positive or negative trajectory, regardless of achievement levels. For instance, 26 per cent of students increased one or more proficiency levels in English writing. The grade level with the largest proportion of students on a positive trajectory was Grade 2, while the grade with the largest proportion on a negative trajectory was Grade 5.
Data on academic achievement, attendance, and self-reported anxiety and depression consistently show a gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students over several years. The gap is growing. The disparity is increasing. To be clear, this isn't about students' abilities. It is about our collective responsibility to remove barriers, cultivate strengths, and refine our practices, if not reimagine our practices. It is about how we walk beside a child more intentionally. And how together, we ensure every student in LRSD knows they belong, that their brilliance is seen, and that they are supported to thrive. Our MYSP is how we move from words to deeds every classroom, every day. Each intentional act creates the change our students deserve.
Christian Michalik
Superintendent of Schools & CEO
