Beaver Creek Pilot Project (Grade 3-8)

Hello Friends,

Tomorrow is my birthday. That’s right! I’ve made thirty-seven trips around the sun and I couldn’t be happier with the trajectory of my life and that opportunities that have been presenting themselves on my path.

As many of you know, I have worked in the field of Education in some capacity for nearly two decades now. Six years ago, I left full-time classroom teaching in the public school system, because the environment did not align with my values and I did not see a viable way to maintain my health and have enough energy to tend to my family. I loved teaching, and I felt a deep sense of loss when I walked away.

Since then, I have been spending time furthering my studies in various branches of psychology, child development, and psychotherapy in order to regain my health and further understand the issues I was facing in the public education system.

The Emotional Literacy Movement was born, and I began plugging away at Emotional Literacy curriculum. I began integrating my findings with the arts, the principles of permaculture, and nature-based practices. I met regularly with a group of dear friends who encouraged me, challenged me, and discussed with me how we could further this movement and promote education reform through our own little acts of service (I am so grateful for these individuals - you know who you are).

- I believe that children deserve to fully embrace their childhood. They deserve to play, be curious, and be self-empowered in their explorations.

- I believe in teaching autonomy, body awareness, emotional processing skills, communication techniques, and self-sovereignty.

- I believe in the arts. I believe in the power of music, theatre, and movement as vehicles for expression and healing.

- I believe in Truth and Reconciliation and amplifying the voices of our Indigenous brothers and sisters, making space for their teachings, traditions, and art as determined by them and working in collaboration with our learners.

- I believe in the power of nature and the importance of spending ample amounts of time learning outdoors. She is our greatest teacher after all.

- I believe that there is no way that we can know what the jobs of the future will be, and so our best bet is to educate children as entrepreneurs, who can forge their own paths, resource their skills, and learn to adapt to our ever-changing world. Out-of-the box thinkers are valuable in all professions.

- I believe students should have a say in their learning and be included in the establishment of rules, boundaries, classroom set up/organization, and topics to be covered.

- I believe that it takes a village to raise a child and therefore community inclusion is essential to a well-rounded education.

- I believe children should learn basic life skills like cooking and nutritional health from an early age.

- I believe in healthy educators who are filled up and not burnt out by their job. The children in their care deserve them at their best.

- I believe that when we know better, we do better…and it’s time we did better.

For quite some time I preached my vision to anyone who would listen. As luck would have it, a few weeks ago I was offered a job at a private alternative school called Beaver Creek Academy and appointed the position of Lead Educator on a pilot program that will allow me to truly fulfill this vision.

We are in the early stages and rely very much on the support of our community and volunteers as we take on this very important task. Thankfully, we have an amazing team who diligently work to make this vision a reality.

As this job came on very suddenly, I was not in the position to apply for grants that could assist in funding this project (which I’m hoping we can access in the coming years). As such, I’m kindly asking that if you feel compelled, I would be so thrilled if you would make a contribution to my GoFundMe page to help support this initiative.

Funds will be used for:

- Bringing in artists, entrepreneurs and Indigenous advocates/knowledge keepers to work with our learners

- Purchasing supplies (like woodworking tools, building supplies, and materials for student-led projects)