I. General Information
School Name: SD68 Multi-School
School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith
Inquiry Team Members:
Kerri Steel: kerri.steel@sd68.bc.ca
Lindsey Watford: Lindsey.Watford@sd68.bc.ca
Shannon Apland: SApland@sd68.bc.ca
Melanie Dugas: Melanie.Dugas@sd68.bc.ca
Sue Kozielecki: Sue.Kozielecki@sd.68.bc.ca
Patricia Metheral: Patricia.Metheral@sd68.bc.ca
Gitanjali Mitchell: Gitanjali.Mitchell@sd68.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: kerri.steel@sd68.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Not applicable
Focus Addressed: Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Social and emotional learning, Transitions
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? From the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion lens, do families feel like they are valued and that what is important to them is also important to the school team? Our inquiry question was: Can every PARENT identify two educators who are listening with curiosity and empathy and truly believe in their children?
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: We interviewed parents of complex learners: students with and without IEPs, as well as ELL students. We noticed that our relationships with families are often strained and we were seeking to understand why. We noticed that there often seemed to be a disconnect between parent expectations and what we are able to provide in the school setting.
When the conversations were unpacked, we observed that this was often due to a misunderstanding early on, or that the parent had not felt heard in their initial interactions with us. We knew that we shared the goal of wrapping around learners, but needed more information about the barriers and disconnect. Knowing that learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place), we thought we would begin by examining our relationships and interactions with parents and caregivers.
Focus: The team wanted to know if families felt supported and/or knew where to turn if they were feeling isolated. It was our hope that, by deeply and intentionally listening to the stories of our families, we would form stronger relationships with them, and in turn, provide better support and intervention for students.
Hunch: Our hunch was that navigating the school system is complex for parents and they don’t always feel like their children’s needs are being met. Sometimes, as well-meaning school teams, we go to work addressing the needs of students without efficiently communicating with families and without allowing them the opportunity to voice their concerns, making sure they understand our concerns and ultimately ensuring that we are all on the same page. This disconnect can sometimes lead to tension or conflict between school teams and families.
New Professional Learning: A team in the district had developed a “Collecting Story Toolkit (SD68)” in the previous school year. We utilized this tool to help guide our conversations with families.
Taking Action: We interviewed 28 families from our elementary French Immersion or dual track schools, asking the following questions:
1) Were you able to participate in the __________________ (e.g. IEP meetings, formative conferences, other event at the school)? Were there any barriers or obstacles you had to overcome?
2) Did we invite/include everyone who should have been there?
3) Did you feel seen and valued as your child’s caregiver?
4) Did you feel the things you and your child feel are important and value were considered?
5) Is there anything else you would like to share that we haven’t already discussed?
Initial interviews were 15-20 minutes long with time after for families to voice what was on their minds.
We met 3 times over the course of the school year to reflect on our conversations, and surface important themes.
Checking: We have noticed a shift in our relationships with the families who participated in the interviews with us. Conversations are more open and comfortable, and it is easier to tackle the more challenging conversations. It is also impacting our approach to planning meetings and engaging with families outside of this project.
This is something we would like to continue exploring next year, and we will formalize our data collection in some way. For now, it is anecdotal and informally observational.
Reflections/Advice: Through this inquiry, we have learned that navigating the school system is complex for families. It’s scary when you send your child to school, to trust strangers with their learning, their academic success and their social and emotional well-being. It’s even harder when you come to find out that your child has some complex needs that impact their ability to learn, along with their social and emotional success. Families don’t always know where to go to get help and sometimes, unfortunately, begin to distrust the school team.
It is hard to be the parent of a complex learner, and to feel misunderstood or like you need to continuously advocate for your child. If you feel no one is hearing your advocacy, it is discouraging and disheartening.
We have learned that parents really just wanted the time to talk with us, and once they did, they felt better and were more relaxed in meeting with us. Relationships have become more open, and easy, compared to how they were in the past.
Giving parents voice is really key. Face-to-face over phone, conversation over email, whenever possible. This creates connection and leads to fewer misunderstandings, and allows us to read body language and other cues.
Participants are now preparing more detailed agendas for conversations with families, to ensure parent voice is included, and perspectives considered before we make judgements. We need to make sure that we have really understood what they are sharing, and not just the narrative we hear in our own minds. It’s important not only to listen, but to really hear what is being shared.
We intend to continue to ensure that all families’ voices are heard and to meet them where they are at with openness and a collaborative spirit. We now know that when we are experiencing tension with a family, our next step is to slow things down, really listen, and ask how we can help. Having a strategy makes us less anxious when approaching these difficult conversations. The conversations are not actually as difficult as we think sometimes.
Essentially, it should be Team Student, not Team School versus Team Family.