I. General Information
School Name: Lakes District Secondary School
School District: SD#91 Nechako Lakes
Inquiry Team Members: Cheryl Peterson: cpeterson@sd91.bc.ca
Steven Little: slittle@sd91.bc.ca
Amy Dash: adash@sd91.bc.ca
Antheia Gibson: agibson@sd91.bc.ca
Deb Koehn: dkoehn@sd91.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: dkoehn@sd91.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: Indigenous Education Impact Initiative
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology, Career Education, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Social Studies
Focus Addressed: Indigenous Focus (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Land, Nature or Place-based learning
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Developing student and community voice and agency in ways that allow for Indigenous students and community members to be authentic change makers and change leaders in their school.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: Our scanning process was complex as initiators realized that educators would benefit by viewing learning through a different lens, not only through the lens of educator, but also the lens of students and Indigenous community members. The First Peoples Principles of Learning plays an important role in this inquiry as staff weaves together the tapestry of curriculum and the hopes, dreams and expectations of learning from community and students. Educators saw examples throughout the year of students’ leadership and influence and pondered ways to make this strength a key component of moving forward while working to ensure a safe environment where all voices are heard. We are learning that students’ visions of success don’t always align with educators’ and communities’ visions and we are working to find common ground on which we can build success together. As inquirers, we are learning that creating positive change can be very challenging and there is a real need to develop a common purpose amongst all stakeholders. In this complex community, developing the common goals, values and beliefs is crucial to success. After much discussion and consultation with stakeholders, the school is ready to participate in a scanning focus in September. Questions have been developed and the tool is ready to be launched.
Focus: We chose to focus on student voice and agency with a focus of local cultural and traditional knowledge. We acknowledge that there are bursts of brilliance and leadership from the students – whether planning a gala to celebrate Indigenous identity or creating a health fair that included local resources to inform members of the student body of local health services and how to access resources when needed. Students constantly demonstrated their power and ability in a variety of unconnected ways.
We hoped to create strength in our education community through co-creation and co-planning of learning, beginning with cultural learning. LDSS is offering a cultural class in the coming year and we are hoping for students and community voice to help with the co-planning. This has already started, with a round table of the six Indigenous community members discussing and offering support for the upcoming class, infusing cultural similarities and differences into learning opportunities. Students will be involved, co-planning will be part of the learning process. We are hoping that having voice and agency will strengthen students’ feelings of belonging and identity and this will be reflected in increased participation in other areas of the school community. We are truly hoping that the success of this program will encourage all students to be more active in sharing their voice.
Hunch: We are still compensating for the effects of Covid, especially on our Indigenous communities. It has been difficult to maintain rigorous academic expectations when we are faced with the ongoing long absences of students. Communities are regaining their vitality as economic opportunities are being presented. These communities need educated citizens to make well informed decisions.
Another huge contributing factor is the number of educators working on Letters of Permission within this end of the school district. We see the effects of untrained, though well-meaning practice, on the academic growth of our students. Quality education for all students, particularly Indigenous students has been a district focus for a number of years and we need well-trained, inquiry based educators.
We have made inroads in isolated classrooms but need to have a whole school focus and include more student and community consultation. Our Indigenous communities still face racial biases and injustices through daily interactions and we are wondering how we are developing skills strengths and strategies in our students – not just to succeed in the school environment, but in a wider world. We are looking to build compassion, empathy, knowledge and strength for all community members.
Reflections for Year 1: It was an interesting year of learning – with constant change within the school environment. Educators committed to the inquiry found it difficult to commit time and energy when emergent daily crises took precedent, with accompanying trauma for educators, students and communities. A big question arose: How do we move from a community that responds to one that is able to respond and still direct daily, focused attention on valued goals and beliefs? When energy, time and attention is pulled from the inquiry, momentum is lost but this is a small staff that is stretched to create positive experiences. More time and energy needs to be spent on developing a deeper understanding of the Spiral of Inquiry and continuing to promote educator learning.
Plans for Year 2:
- gather a larger team of committed educators, set regular meeting times and arrange for monthly updates to be included in staff meetings
- continue working with team of local Indigenous community members
- call together a group of recent graduates to discuss ways to grow
- ensure students understand the goal of this inquiry and ways that they can contribute
- involve our District Aboriginal Principal
- continue to focus on student/educator/community well-being (it is hard to flourish when you are struggling to find emotional energy needed to support others)
- bring a lot of attention to this inquiry