Education News | Page 7 later , she was challenged by the pandemic and the movement to remote teaching . The pandemic , she says “ really opened my eyes to some of the inequities that community schools face , so I really wanted to become an advocate for these communities . That ’ s been driving me ever since .”
Photo credit : Shuana Niessen
To make the changes that are needed , Keilyn is active with her Division ’ s Diversity Steering Committee and an Anti-Racist , Anti- Oppressive Advisory Committee . “ All of these experiences over many years have put me in a place to speak and advocate for people in these communities , to advocate for the change that is so desperately needed in our Division , not only in community schools . The necessary conversations are being shied away from and I really want to be the voice to open those doors and make it seem less daunting to talk about what ’ s right , justice and equity , even with my young students .”
Now in her third year of teaching , Keilyn brings all of her personal and professional experiences , to her classroom of Grades 1 and 2 students at Thomson Community School in Regina . “ I just love it here . Being a person of colour is really helpful in a community school . The demographics in a community school are diverse and representation is so important . With my experiences , I feel I ’ m able to connect with these students and even their parents who might be new to the country , or who might have some generational mistrust of schools .”
In her master ’ s program in education , Keilyn is planning her thesis and anticipates exploring anti- Black racism in Saskatchewan . “ It ’ s such a big void , but it ’ s something I still personally experience and I ’ m from Saskatchewan so I can only imagine what other people are experiencing .”
Inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission model , Keilyn says , “ First there needs to be truth so we can get at what the issue is , how deep this issue is , what we even need to address , and then working on the action pieces to follow : How can we create these changes ? How can we create more safe and inclusive spaces ?”
With her work to make change in education , Keilyn hopes we can “ re-imagine education . I think we can use education as a tool to
schools face , so I really wanted to become an advocate for these communities .”