The ultimate goal of Laura Tait, the new principal of aboriginal education in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district, is to work herself out of her job.

Tait said her goal will be accomplished when the district's 2,200 aboriginal students feel just as welcome and included in schools and the classrooms as the rest of the student population, and graduate at the same rate.

She said she has high hopes and expectations with the recent signing of the district's third five-year Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement. It involves the district, local native bands and the government working together to close the gap in success rates between aboriginal and other students.

Tait acknowledged that her job is not in any danger yet as aboriginal graduation rates continue to lag behind the rest of the student population and many native students still feel a sense of isolation in their schools.

"I don't believe we'll accomplish the goals we have set until there is a shared ownership of the issues around aboriginals in the school system," Tait said. "This isn't just about aboriginals and their problems in schools. These are societal as well as educational issues and there is still a lot of work to do to address them."

Tait is a member of the Tsimshian First Nation, near Prince Rupert, and attended school in Nanaimo-Ladysmith since Grade 1.

She achieved a bachelor of education degree and a master's degree in education from Vancouver Island University. She worked as an aboriginal education teacher in Nanaimo-Ladysmith for six years before being chosen last year to replace Stella Bates, the long-time principal of aboriginal education, who retired in January.

Tait is pleased that aboriginal graduation rates in the district are on the rise, with 52 per cent of aboriginal students graduating from Grade 12 in 2010-11 within six years of entering Grade 8, up from 44 per cent in 2009-10.

But with graduation rates among the rest of the student population ranging around 73 per cent, Tait is working hard to identify what is working among the programs and initiatives to help aboriginal students improve academically.

The district receives an extra $1,041 for each full-time student enrolled as part of the agreement, which is used to pay for schemes such as the increasingly successful aboriginal outreach program.

The outreach program is designed for First Nations students who left school prematurely to have the opportunity to reconnect with the school system and finish their educations.

"Any connections we can make to support these kids and get them back on track academically is fantastic, and we're evaluating the program to determine what more we can do to increase its successes," Tait said.

But Tait said one of the greatest challenges she can see in Nanaimo-Ladysmith is the lack of sufficient numbers of aboriginal teachers and teacher assistants to serve as role models for students.

There are only 12 aboriginal teachers working in the district and approximately 40 educational assistants, she said.

"I want to see solid, qualified aboriginal teachers and teacher assistants in all of our schools who can connect native students to their ancestries, as well as being able to provide an effective education for all the students in the classroom," Tait said.

"I rarely, if ever, see aboriginal students sitting on any student council in any school in the district. For that matter, I don't see many of their parents participating in each school's parent advisory council either and that's what I mean when I say that these problems extend far beyond the classrooms."

But Tait acknowledged that after more than a decade of implementing strategies to improve aboriginal education in the district, native students are "feeling more at ease" in their educational surroundings than before.

"More and more of them are identifying themselves as aboriginal when they never would before. I don't believe I'll work my way out of my job anytime soon, but I'm hopeful for the future," she said.

Jamie Brennan, chairman of the school board, said he has full confidence in Tait and her ability to do an exceptional job in her new role. Brennan said a future in which the district's aboriginal students are as academically successful as the rest of the student population is "within the realm of possibility."