Monday's meeting of the Chinook School Division board had a lot to talk about.

Not only did it mark the first meeting after students returned to school, but it was an opportunity to sign a partnership agreement between the division and the Nekaneet First Nation to enhance the lines of communication between the two for the benefit of students.

Ostensibly an agreement to provide educational services to Nekaneet children, the new agreement actually delves deeper than a standard educational agreement, broadening the channels of not only communication but of Nekaneet involvement in the decision-making and in matters of curriculum.

Irene Oakes, Education Support with Nekaneet First Nation, looks at the agreement as a way to not only build better engagement with Nekaneet students in the school system but with all the parties involved.

"I think with this agreement we'll be able to have more dialogue with the school divisions. With the superintendents.  With the principals.  With the teachers, and get them to understand where we're coming from. What are some of the challenges that the parents have to face?  (That) children face?  And how can we best work together in order to make sure our students succeed?"

She says that some of those challenges have come from a seemingly difficult transition into the high school level, noting that many Nekaneet children excel at elementary school, but for whatever reason, struggle when entering high school.

"Maybe they're not being engaged. Maybe they don't feel welcome. Maybe they just aren't able to connect to the programs that are going on in the school, or maybe they are transient and they are moving back and forth."

She says that developing a strategy to keep those students excited about high school is something that continues to be a challenge, not only in Maple Creek and the Nekaneet First Nation but in Saskatchewan and Canada as a whole.

For Kyle McIntyre, the Director of Education with Chinook, the agreement is a unique opportunity to improve the lines of communication between the Nekaneet and the school board and sees it as something quite novel.

"We've got regular communication as needs to be at the school level. We've got annual communication between senior leaders of Chinook and the board, and senior leaders of Nekaneet. I think those are absolutely key to maintaining a good, sound working relationship and I think that it's unique. It's not something that exists in their template (treaty) agreement and I think we've created something here that's maybe a little bit special."

Prior to this agreement, Chinook had already engaged a number of initiatives to build engagement with the Nekaneet. Elders and Elders' helpers have been active throughout the school division, going into various schools to talk about the First Nation's history, the treaties and the ceremonies. But this new agreement expands on that, working with Nekaneet leaders to build something unique in the hopes of keeping students engaged.