< Previous10 ED ❚ Fall 2025 Inspir n an era where educational systems are being called to evolve beyond traditional paradigms, our Campbell River School District is doing so with heart, strategy, and innovation to meet the needs of every learner. As an educational leader, I have come to understand that real transformation does not begin with programs or policies – it begins with people. It begins with how we choose to see our students, how we support our staff, and how we respond in moments of challenge. In Campbell River, we have been on a journey to shift the narrative around student behaviour – from one of compliance to one of connection. That shift has required us to lead differently, think systemically, and act with compassion. In our district, we have made a conscious decision to view behaviour not as something to be managed, but as a form of communication. When a student is dysregulated, they are not giving us a hard time – they are having a hard time. This mindset has become the foundation of our work, and it has reshaped how we support students and staff alike. Our realization in creating lasting change was to develop a multi-tiered approach; one that would build capacity across our entire system while keeping students at the centre. At the foundation of our transformative practices, we implemented the Low Arousal Approach. This approach has fundamentally changed how we respond to students in distress. Instead of reacting in the moment – when emotions are high and reasoning is low – we focus on reducing demands, avoiding confrontation, and creating space for regulation. We do not try to change behaviour when a student is distressed. We wait. We connect. And when the student is calm and ready, we revisit the moment together. This shift from reaction to reflection has been powerful – not just for students, but for staff as well. A key tool we use from Low Arousal to guide our understanding and response is the Kaplan and Wheeler Cycle of Emotional Dysregulation. This model helps staff recognize the stages of escalation – from calm, to trigger, to agitation, to peak, and eventually to recovery. By identifying where a student is in the cycle, we can respond with the appropriate strategies at the right time. We are fortunate to have two certified Low Arousal trainers in our district, which has allowed us to develop a plan to have all staff across our system trained within three years, inclusive of support staff, teachers, and school leaders. This training culminates in its third day, which is a collaborative process where our trainers work with school teams By Brenna Ewing, Director of Inclusive Education, Campbell River School District Leading with Compassion: Transforming Systems and Supporting StudentsBritish Columbia School Superintendents Association 11 to develop individualized Low Arousal plans tailored to specific students. These plans are practical, student-centered, and deeply rooted in empathy. What really sets this approach apart is the implementation of the emotional debrief, which supports our staff’s wellness after an escalated experience. After collaborating with our colleagues in Nanaimo Ladysmith School District regarding a program they had developed in their district, we created our Inreach Outreach Team in the fall of 2023. This team works both directly with students and alongside staff, creating a bridge between immediate support and long-term capacity building, supporting students and staff to generalize new skills to the school and classroom environment. The Outreach component is where our team members work closely with students who communicate through behaviour. They build relationships, co-regulate, and help students develop the skills they need to thrive in their learning environments. The Inreach component is where the team works in schools with students and they support staff through modelling, coaching, and collaborative planning, helping educators understand the “why” behind behaviour and respond in ways that are both compassionate and effective in building skills. We think of this team as a bridge – one side anchored in direct student support, the other in staff development. Both sides work in tandem to span the gap between challenge and success. Another key piece of our transformation has been creating the role of our Lead Education Assistants (EA) mentor. We know that our EAs are often the front-line staff to support students who are experiencing distress. Our Lead EA Mentor works shoulder-to-shoulder with colleagues, offering support, encouragement, and guidance through a strength-based lens. Rather than telling others what to do, our mentor models, listens, and collaborates – helping staff build confidence and competence in their practice. This peer mentorship model has been incredibly effective. It creates a safe space for learning, fosters trust, and reinforces the idea that we’re all in this together. My development as an educational leader has shifted to creating conditions where compassionate work can thrive. That means investing in professional learning, encouraging collaboration, and making space for reflection. It also means being willing to challenge old narratives and embrace new ways of thinking. We have worked hard to build a culture of distributed leadership in our district – one where every educator feels empowered to lead change within their sphere of influence. For the past four years, we have been working closely with our school-based leaders to deepen their leadership capacity through the Compassionate Systems Framework. The Kaplan and Wheeler Crisis Cycle diagram. This cycle is a useful way of mapping the escalation of emotion to the point where we are unable to regulate it. The emotional arousal cycle stems from “The Assault Cycle”, introduced by Kaplan and Wheeler (1983) (and later developed by Breakwell, 1997) as a way of thinking about an episode of aggressive behaviour that may be physically violent. The five stages are the trigger, escalation, crisis, recovery or de-escalation, and post-crisis depression. Educators participate in Low Arousal Approach training. Photo courtesy of Campbell River School District.12 ED ❚ Fall 2025 Inspir The Compassionate Systems approach encourages leaders to reflect on how they “show up” in their roles, how they build authentic relationships, and how they understand and influence the systems they lead. It’s not just about managing change – it’s about embodying it. Through this work, our administrators are learning to lead with presence, to listen deeply, and to foster environments where both staff and students can flourish. It aligns with Low Arousal and Inreach Outreach – because when leaders model compassion, it ripples through the entire system. I have seen firsthand the impact of this work. I have watched students who once struggled to be in a classroom begin to thrive because someone took the time to understand them. I have seen educators move from frustration to confidence as they learn new ways to connect with students. I have felt the shift in our schools – from reactive to responsive, from punitive to restorative. One principal shared how a student who had previously been suspended multiple times is now thriving, thanks to the consistent support of the Inreach Outreach team and the use of Low Arousal strategies. “We stopped seeing him as a problem,” she said. “We started seeing him as a person. That changed everything.” Another teacher described how her own mindset has shifted, noting, “I used to feel helpless when a student escalated. Now I feel equipped. I know how to stay calm, how to give space, and how to reconnect later. It’s made me a better teacher – and a better human.” These stories are not anomalies; they are becoming the norm in Campbell River. They are a testament to what is possible when leadership is grounded in empathy, equity, and a deep commitment to every learner. We know this work is ongoing. Systems do not change overnight, and neither do mindsets. But we are committed to the journey. We are continuing to reflect on our Inreach Outreach model, deepen our Low Arousal training, and grow our mentorship supports. We are also working to engage families and community partners in this work – because we know that true transformation requires a community. Along the way, especially during the challenging moments, Dr. Simon Breakspear words echoed in our minds: “Committing to incremental practice change allows you to meaningfully sequence small shifts, which add up to big gains over time.” In Campbell River, we have embraced this philosophy, focusing on the pebbles, not the boulders. Instead of trying to overhaul entire systems at once, we ask: What is one small thing we can do today that will make a difference tomorrow? Student behaviour and how we respond has inspired me throughout my career as an educator. The complexities we are currently facing in our classrooms and school communities motivated me to lead meaningful changes in our district. At the core, the shift in our district has been about valuing human dignity, it is about believing in the potential of every student – and every educator. Brenna Ewing, Director of Inclusive Education for the Campbell River School District, is a long-time educator in British Columbia. Trained as an elementary teacher, Brenna has had a long career in education both as a teacher and educational leader, most recently in her district position supporting students with disabilities and diverse abilities. She is an advocate for creating system alignment through a lens of equity to ensure students have access to what they need for success both inside and outside of school. 1. Breakspear, S. (2020). Boulders, pebbles, and sand: Leading meaningful change. Agile Schools. https://simonbreakspear. com/boulderpebblesand. 2. Kaplan, L. J., & Wheeler, M. (1983). Survival skills for working with challenging students. Boys Town Press. 3. Senge, P. M. (2021). Introduction to compassionate systems. Center for Systems Awareness. https:// systemsawareness.org/document/ introduction-to-compassionate-systems.British Columbia School Superintendents Association 13 ith humility, École Kelowna Secondary School (KSS) student and British Columbia School Superintendents Association (BCSSA) Grade 12 Scholarship recipient, Ava Cudmore, relates her connection to the school’s Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistant program as, simply, an opportunity to grow her own leadership and contribute to the school community by designing pathways for learners and staff to further their understanding of Indigenous cultural knowledge, truth, and reconciliation. In reality, Ava Cudmore and her team (Dilynn Scott, Kaylie Gross, and Libby Reis) of innovative student leaders co-constructed and implemented a transformative and sustainable practice that contributes to human flourishing for learners, school staff, and families, deepens collaboration across schools, and accelerated reconciliation in their school community. The École Kelowna Secondary School Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistant Program is remarkably simple. It removes complexity and embraces a practical and pragmatic approach to authentically and positively promoting Indigenous-focused content in a school community. It is invitational, meets students and staff where they are at, and produces brilliant Indigenous student leaders, as well as settler allies who engage more deeply in learning historical truths and continue their committed journey towards reconciliation. Justice Murray Sinclair instructed us well when he taught that, “The road we travel is equal in importance to the destination we seek.” In this spirit, we share the story that brought the Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistant Program to life and the momentum that sustained its early success. Concerning reconciliation, Justice Sinclair also sited schools as a necessary contributor when he said, “Education got us into this mess, and education will get us out.” The École Kelowna Secondary School Indigenous Teacher Assistant Program is a small, but mighty, example of educators and schools teaching truth and leading reconciliation. This is a story about educational leaders growing and empowering student leaders. It is a micro, practical example of a macro leadership practice, namely, setting conditions for others to thrive. In this story, leaders create a spark through provocation and inquiry, empower students to follow their instincts, then make space for students to take action and to lead from where they are at; to bloom where they are planted. This is a story about learner agency and student leadership. This is a story about transformative leadership and human flourishing. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action include calls to build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect. The École Kelowna Secondary School Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistant Program actions this call. The Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistant Program is an eight- credit course (Teacher Assistant and Independent Directed Studies), Building Pathways Together By Jesse Bruce, Director of Instruction – Indigenous Education and Equity, Central Okanagan Public Schools, with support from Ava Cudmore, a recent graduate of École Kelowna Secondary School (KSS) and winner of the British Columbia School Superintendents Association Grade 12 scholarship Students Leading Reconciliation: 14 ED ❚ Fall 2025 Inspir collaboratively developed by Indigenous Leadership students and staff. At the heart of the course, Indigenous Leadership students are co-designing Indigenous- focused learning opportunities grounded in First Peoples Principles of Learning (FNESC), then co-facilitating lessons and activities alongside teachers. Following the design process, teachers are presented with a menu of lesson options, including lesson plans, and provided a structure to schedule an Indigenous Teacher Assistant(s) student facilitator into their classrooms. In the program’s infancy, Ava and her team provided cultural leadership in several broad categories: • Lessons and activities: Beading Drumming Traditional stick games • Local syilx (Okanagan) Protocol: Circle protocol Elder protocol Elder care • Support and presence: In-class support Supporting school assemblies and events Ava describes the Indigenous Teacher Assistant Program as a bridge between Indigenous Education and school-based classroom teachers. By facilitating Indigenous focused learning alongside teachers, teachers became more confident and competent in areas such as Elder care and circle protocol. Imagine a school whose teachers can confidently invite an Elder into their classroom and independently care for the Elder in a good way, honouring Elder care protocols. This is just one example of the cultural modeling and true transformational leadership that Ava and her team engaged in. This wasn’t just students teaching and leading students, but also students leading and teaching teachers and support staff. Further, Ava reports that teachers more confidently Indigenize their content and decolonize their spaces as a result of their time with the Indigenous teacher assistants. Imagine a school where Indigenous teacher assistants take classes to the land, teaching about local ethnobotany, and providing teachers with resources and mentorship so that they can continue to do the same independently. They are, metaphorically, teaching others to fish. As Ava shares, the program creates space for students to engage with the material, content, and their peers in meaningful ways, while also providing opportunities for staff to extend their knowledge and further their journey towards reconciliation. Ava Cudmore teaches her classmates beading. Photos courtesy of Central Okanagan Public Schools. From left to right: Dilynn Scott, Ava Cudmore, Kaylie Gross, and Aurora Nielsen attending the 2nd Annual OMRIE Student Leadership Summit (2024). The collaborative efforts of several leaders ignited a spark that gave light to this program. Like Justice Sinclair, Nelson Mandela believed in the ability of students and educators to mobilize the education system as a catalyst for positive change. Mandela candidly stated his view that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This weaponry was observable at the Okanagan Mainline Regional Indigenous Education (OMRIE) Second Annual Student Leadership Summit. The summit held up student voice, creating space for youth to engage in dialogue around racism, Indigenous- specific racism, and racism in schools. For Ava and her team, the conference reinforced the possibility and power of student leadership and invited these brilliant Indigenous student leaders to collaboratively develop actionable plans to promote reconciliation and contest Indigenous-specific racism. For this to happen, educational leaders made intentional and strategic leadership moves that positioned students to thrive. Mike Bowden, District Principal – Indigenous Education (School District No. 73 Kamloops- Thompson), and his OMRIE Student Leadership Conference team set the table. April Strickland, District Vice-Principal – Indigenous Education British Columbia School Superintendents Association 15 (Central Okanagan Public Schools), got students to the table, and Christey Hughes, École Kelowna Secondary School Vice-Principal, as well as Rob Bennet (Indigenous Academy teacher), Heather Reid, (Indigenous Success Teacher), and Steve Kelly (Indigenous Student Advocate), nourished Ava and her team of leaders with encouragement, gentle guidance, and school-based supports that brought the Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistance Program to life. This is a large inter- and intra-district collaborative team of educators to come together to promote student leadership, ignite meaningful service, and nurture student risk-taking! Visionary leaders can transform systems. Education thought leader Will Richardson encourages educators to stop delivering the curriculum to kids. Instead, he implores us to start discovering it with them. We believe wholeheartedly that the notion of discovering with students is alive in the KSS Indigenous Teacher Assistant Program. Ava and her team found themselves connected to visionary leaders who made space for them to dream about how they could contribute to reconciliation in their school community. Visionary leaders create visionary leaders. School staff, including the Indigenous student advocate, Indigenous success teacher, Indigenous academy teacher, and the principals and vice-principals supported the competency- based Grade 11-12 Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistant proposal. Staff mentors provided technical expertise and a bounded frame, and co-created structures to launch and steward the program until it gained traction. Having recently graduated, the spirit of Ava’s leadership lives in hallways and classrooms at KSS and across Central Okanagan Public Schools. Truly, a mark of her leadership impact is the continued success of the Indigenous Leadership Teacher Assistant Program; it carries on. Nurturing human flourishing requires leaders to steadfastly pursue conditions that promote connection and learning. Being resolute in our determination to set conditions within which others can thrive is a noble leadership aspiration and impactful leadership destination. Leaders thrive when they are helping others to thrive. For leaders to flourish, those they lead must flourish. First Peoples Principles teach us that learning is relational; learning is focused on connectedness and reciprocal relationships (FNESC, First People Principles of Learning). Ava and her team of Indigenous student leaders flourished, in part, because they were connected to leaders who presented a provocation, gifted them with agency and time, nurtured their aspirations, and provided technical expertise along the way. Reconciliation is action (Justice Murray Sinclair). From Elder care to ethnobotany, circle protocols to beading, the École Kelowna Secondary School Indigenous Teacher Assistant Program is an impactful and transformative practice that contributes to human flourishing and deepens collaboration across schools and communities. With learners and learning at the heart of the work, students are designing, students are facilitating, and students are leading. This is the story of students taking action and living the call to build capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect. This is a story about students leading reconciliation and the leaders that make it possible. Leadership matters. Jesse Bruce and his family live and learn as guests, with gratitude, on the unceded and Traditional Territory of the Okanagan (syilx) people where he has serves as Director of Instruction – Indigenous Education and Equity. Ava Cudmore is a recent graduate of École Kelowna Secondary School (KSS) and winner of the BCSSA Grade 12 scholarship. While at KSS, Ava was connected to the Indigenous Academy, deeply committed to Indigenous leadership, and co-developed the Indigenous Teacher Assistance Program. Currently, Ava is completing a Bachelor of Arts at University of British Columbia (Okanagan) with plans to major in Indigenous Studies.16 ED ❚ Fall 2025 Inspir e all have stories within us. Sometimes we hold them gingerly, sometimes desperately, sometimes as gently as an infant. It is only by sharing our stories, by being strong enough to take a risk – both in the telling and in the asking – that we make it possible to know, recognize, and understand each other.” – Richard Wagamese, Ojibwe Canadian author and journalist from the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations in Northwestern Ontario. Across British Columbia, educators are seeking ways to expand their knowledge of Indigenous cultures and decolonize practices that have caused systemic inequities. In Surrey Schools, this journey has become both personal and professional for 13 Indigenous principals, vice-principals, and district leaders who have come together to share their collective stories of ancestry. While some school leaders have a rich cultural knowledge, having grown up with opportunities to learn about their Indigenous identities, others have recently discovered their ancestry and are working towards learning about their own history. Recognizing the power of connecting through story, Surrey Schools has created space for Indigenous leaders to form a leadership cohort. Carly Desouza, Matachewan First Nation, Principal of Bothwell Elementary School, says, “Through the formation of an Indigenous leadership cohort, we are finding ways to weave family experiences and Indigenous knowledge into educational leadership. As a queer Indigenous leader, I want to provide space for students to see themselves represented in school leadership.” The leadership cohort connects four times per year to learn from one another, engage in professional development, and find ways to weave Indigenous pedagogy into leadership. Creating space for this cohort has allowed leaders to share experiences, gain support from like-minded colleagues, and amplify Indigenous voices. When the cohort first came together in early 2025, each member shared their personal story. Some spoke of the impacts of residential schools within their family or of segregation at Indian hospitals. Others shared stories of hidden identities and their journey to reawaken voices that were once silenced. This rings true when I recall my own story [author Dr. Kristi Blakeway explains]. “My mom grew up believing she was Italian. My kids call her Nonna. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I dug into our By Dr. Kristi Blakeway, Director of Instruction, and Dr. Lyn Daniels, Director of Instruction, Indigenous Learning, Surrey Schools Keep Diggin’: Indigenous Leadership Rooted in Story and IdentityBritish Columbia School Superintendents Association 17 genealogy and discovered our family is Métis. I hosted monthly calls with my mom and her siblings to help them relearn their identity. Learning my own story has lit a spark within me to amplify the voices of those who were once silenced and celebrate Indigenous brilliance.” Some principals had shared their Indigenous ancestry with their school communities, while others had not – some wondered if they were worthy of First Nations status or Métis citizenship if their story had been lost for generations. In this shared space, the question emerged: “What would your ancestors want you to do?” “I was hesitant to join the cohort, as I don’t know much about my ancestry,” explains Kristen MacDonald, Cree / Métis, Principal of Bear Creek Elementary School. “A cousin recently discovered our genealogy and recognized that our family is Cree and Métis. I’m at the early stages of learning, but I want to celebrate this part of my identity.” In the spring of 2025, the cohort travelled together to Winnipeg, Manitoba for the Canadian Association of Principals’ Meet in the Middle Conference. While the conference offered rich learning opportunities, the time spent together strengthened the bond of our Indigenous leaders. Vice Principal Michael Speak noticed an increased visibility of Indigenous People in Winnipeg, amidst the colonial architecture of the downtown sector. He appreciated the attempts to Indigenize the city, noting painted murals, Indigenous street names, painted crosswalks, and a monument celebrating the life of Louis Riel. Recognizing that the conference leaders did not acknowledge the territory on which it was held, Dr. Daniels decided to seek out the true history of Indigenous presence in Winnipeg. She began by visiting the Canadian Museum of Human Rights where she noted the absence of First Nations as founding peoples and a lack of recognition of Indigenous rights, enshrined in the Canadian Constitution. While Métis art was present, Indigenous stories were framed within a multicultural lens that suggested human rights abuses affect all cultures equally – an oversight that felt both ironic and offensive, given Winnipeg’s historical significance. She recalled Niigaan Sinclair’s writing in Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre, where he describes the 1817 Selkirk Treaty. He recounts that this Treaty, allowing European newcomers to settle along the Red River, included the exchange of a large quantity of tobacco, amounting to 100 pounds annually, as part of the agreement. Chief Peguis and other local leaders, Niigaan argues, included tobacco because it had long been a part of exchanges, representing the sacred trust that is engendered by such agreements. Niigaan understands Indigenous peoples’ frustration with continually explaining this practice to newcomers, that giving and receiving tobacco engenders a sacred trust that carries responsibility and commitment. Seeking out truth, she continued to explore Winnipeg, discovering the Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art gallery, where a graffiti piece stood out to her – a ghostly figure outlined in orange with the caption ‘Keep Diggin’ – a reference to the landfill searches for missing Indigenous women and for the search for disappeared children from Indian residential schools. It also can be associated to the general lack of public acknowledgment and understanding of Winnipeg’s current Indigenous presence. “As a Cree/Métis woman working in the K-12 public system, I do plan to ‘Keep Diggin’ for our memories and history,” says author Dr. Lyn Daniels. “Not just in museums, but with each other, we have to maintain a living memory. Public institutions want to replace our memories, however, we can’t depend on them, because they aren’t telling the truth.” The Indigenous cohort is digging into their family roots and preserving memories that may otherwise have been forgotten. For Aimee Boyer, Principal of M.B. Sanford Elementary School, Meet in the Middle became more than a conference name. She is in the beginning stages of understanding her Métis ancestry. Her mother, Wendi Stewart, now hosts the podcast Catching Frogs – Finding My Cree and Métis Ancestry. They recently met in Winnipeg to connect with relatives and learn about their Red River roots. Boyer says, “As the principal of a diverse school community, I want every student and staff member to feel proud of who they are. On my office wall, I have a print and quote The Surrey cohort is discovering their family roots and preserving memories that may otherwise have been forgotten. Photo courtesy of Surrey Schools. continued on page 20Next >