Quakers support nature school
As a member of the Cowichan Valley Quaker Meeting, I am sharing the letter we have submitted to the School Board 79 Board of Trustees and the SD 79 Superintendent, located in the heart of the Cowichan Valley.
We are urging the SD79 Board of Trustees to reconsider its decision to close the Q’shintul Mill Bay Nature School (QMBNS), and to avoid the force-transferring of the current QMBNS staff. This school, with its inclusive, nature-based learning model co-created with Hul’q’umi’num elders, exemplifies the goals and objectives of the District’s Strategic Plan, as well as the research of educational experts and academics.
We are the Cowichan Valley Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers. Quakers have a long history in education, particularly education that is based on equity, inclusiveness, and building community. We strive to act and make decisions in ways that move us all forward together. We find when we come together in openness, trust, and community the best solutions arise. Thus, we are disappointed that members of the SD79 Board of Trustees chose to decide in a closed session after minimal consultation, and none with the Cowichan First Nation, to unilaterally close one of their schools, a school that exemplifies SD79’s stated values and ambitions. Doing so contradicts their assertions that the board will live by the values of equity, relationships, and inclusiveness.
QMBNS is a school that is deliberately and thoughtfully aligned with learning centred on community, environment and the land, and in integrating First Nations knowledge and practices into the lives of children and their communities. This fits with the SD79 Strategic Plan which states as an objective to “Embrace Indigenous perspectives and knowledge as part of our history and recognize Indigenous content…”. Further, the SD79 Superintendent and others have asserted that the district adopts the values of its community of equity, relationships, the environment, harmony, and inclusiveness.
The SD79 Strategic Plan is a brilliant and forward-thinking document and holds the District to a high standard. It closes with the following aims:
Create nimble and dynamic environments that embrace change and foster innovation to enhance student learning; Ensure all operational plans and procedures are cohesive and aligned with the strategic direction of the district; All decisions are evidence based, child focused, and culturally and environmentally responsive; Continue to enhance the capacity of the system where all members of our organization are committed to our primary purpose of supporting our learners.
We encourage the members of the SD 79 Board of Trustees to demonstrate commitment to their Strategic Plan by reconsidering their decision and collaborating with the QMBNS community, including parents, teachers, students and both the Malahat and Cowichan First Nations. Let’s move forward together.
Lillian Henegar
Duncan