School Name: Island ConnectEd K-12
School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith
Inquiry Team Members: Kirsten Doucette: kdoucette@sd68.bc.ca, Kim Pepler: kpepler@sd68.bc.ca, Carol Cronin: ccronin@sd68.bc.ca, Melissa Juhasz: melissa.juhasz@sd68.bc.ca, Patrick Young: pyoung@sd68.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: kdoucette@sd68.bc.ca
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE
Focus Addressed: Increasing engagement and connections, specifically in our Grade 10 population.
Inquiry Story: Grade 10 students were surveyed both on- and off-line. The in-person survey yielded much more useful information than the online survey. Most importantly, it was determined through these efforts, that our students already did feel supported and connected to the school culture and staff.
Students indicated that they would:
1. like a centralized school wide calendar of events
2. enjoy a variety of guest speakers and workshops
3. like more intra-mural type sports to be offered
4. would benefit from “introductory” videos to our systems
In response we:
1. developed an electronic calendar on our LMS home page
2. a whiteboard was positioned in the front entrance outlining upcoming events
3. offered speakers and field trips throughout the year
We shifted gears during the pandemic. “Houses” were used to organize calls home to every full time ICE family, to check on their emotional and physical wellbeing, as well as their academic readiness in the face of COVID 19. This was generally a well-received effort. “Houses” appear to be a strong organizational tool on a multitude of levels. With the same teacher following the academic career of any given student, would come a level of understanding and knowledge about the student’s circumstances that is otherwise limited.
Also during this strange time, we expanded our survey to ALL full time ICE students and their parents. The results reinforced those found in the Grade 10 surveys.