Teacher from Caledon making a difference in First Nation community

Written By MARK PAVILONS

A local educator has relocated to the far north, dedicated to helping students in a northern First Nations school, filling a void and responding to the need.

He's part of a group of 100 teachers through Teach For Canada, who are filling these much-needed roles. For some, it's the beginning of a two-year commitment to teach in a northern First Nation school. For others, it's a return to northern classrooms for the third, fourth, or even fifth year.

Bolton's Domenico Tatone, a former Peel board teacher, just completed a two-year commitment in Keewaywin, a First Nation reserve that is located about an hour hour's flight north of Sioux Lookout. It is only accessible by winter roads for about six weeks. The community is a Christian community that is dry (alcohol is prohibited).

Keewaywin has a population of about 500 people.  The elementary school serves a little more than 100 students in their JK to Grade 8 classes. Tatone explained that if students wish to continue to go to school to graduate, they must move away from their home. 

The former Mayfield Secondary School teacher wanted to teach in a different setting after his retirement. He taught at a private school, but “I wanted more.”

He found Teach For Canada and was hooked.  Teach For Canada doesn't just match communities and staff, they continue to support the staff emotionally and professionally throughout their stay in the north.

Tatone said he recently learned about Residential schools and the Sixty's scoop.

“While at Keewaywin I have seen the impact of that history first hand. We have heard much about PTSD, but the impact of trauma on an entire community is different. The impact goes beyond the individual, and it is passed on for generations. It impacts on family dynamics and how they behave.”

He simply loves his work.

“When I work with students, they are happy children. When I became the principal at the school, I became involved outside the community to a greater extent. The multiple factors impacting the students became more obvious. In spite of these hurdles, the kids show resilience. Unfortunately, those affected show less than ideal behaviors. The students' attendance is poor. Those parents are less likely to be supportive of school work or attendance.

“I have seen my role as a means to help students do their best and be their best.  The students were initially reluctant to work with me as they have seen teachers leave before Christmas.  When they noticed that I was going to stay, they became more receptive of me. The fact that I worked with them for two years showed that I cared.”

The school systems are under the auspices of Education Authorities.  These are funded by the federal government but the funding model is different, he pointed out. The funding per child is less than that provided by the provinces. All the Education Authorities are small compared to the school boards. The economics and the geography make the available resources sparse.

“Students need modeling to see education as relevant,” Tatone stressed. “If they are to see education as applicable to them, they need to see the adults in their community in those positions. In my school, three out of the six teachers were residents in the community. I also noticed that there were other educators that when they acquired the skills to become professionals, moved away from the community. They moved to seek greater opportunities.”

The schools are quite small and as a result, most classes are combined.  Some of these classes combine two grades; some may have as many as four grades. Most of the communities are too small to have a secondary school.  In order for students to earn a high school diploma, they have to leave their community. The Grade 8 graduates in his community must leave their family and fly to a different community. The cost of commuting between school and home is quite expensive.  It is difficult for the children to go back home if they need family support.

“This makes the transition to secondary school very difficult for these children.”

Tatone said the needs of the North are complex.  The elders in the north are content and while the younger segment of the population is aware of the larger picture, they're frustrated. Opportunities for the services that we take for granted are critical: education, health, nutrition.

Teach For Canada requires participants to commit to our post for two years. After Tatone's commitment was satisfied, he moved further north.

“I have met many other professionals that went north for as the experience, and decided to stay.  I found the north to be the land of opportunities. I went to Keewaywin as a teacher, I left as a principal. My story is not unique.”

He said many teachers in the south are “stuck” in supply teaching positions for many years. Some leave the profession in frustration.

“They would be welcomed in the north,” he said. “The schools in the north will enable teachers to teach classes that are relatively small. Both parties would benefit. The teachers will gain the experience they desire; the communities will get the services they deserve.”

The two-year commitment is an important one for northern First Nations schools where low teacher supply and high teacher turnover compound historical injustices and systemic inequities between First Nations and non-First Nations communities.

Ranging from recent graduates to seasoned teachers, to retirees re-entering the classroom, participants in the Teach For Canada program bring diverse perspectives and experiences from across Canada and even from countries around the world. 

Teachers are recruited through the organization's rigorous interview process that is designed in partnership with 18 First Nations in Ontario and Manitoba to ensure teachers have the right motivations, aptitude, and fit to support student success.

Once selected, teachers attend a three-week summer program facilitated by Indigenous leaders and education experts that focuses on First Nations histories, cultures, languages, culturally-responsive pedagogies, and land-based education to help ensure teachers are ready to meet the needs of students in their classrooms.

Teach For Canada is a non-profit organization that works with northern First Nations to recruit, prepare, and support outstanding teachers. Too often, teachers arrive in remote and Indigenous communities without the preparation and support they need to succeed (and stay) in the classroom. The twin challenges of teacher supply and turnover compound historical injustice and systemic inequities to produce an education gap between First Nations and non-First Nations communities. Teach For Canada works with First Nations communities to begin to close that gap.

For more information, visit www.teachforcanada.ca.