Communities can be made or broken depending on the strength of their leadership. Good leaders forge strong values and nurture relationships between people, while poor leaders fail to account for the needs of their people. Some of the strongest societies in history relied on an interconnected network of Elders, instructors, and knowledge specialists working together to get things done.
This is the approach we aim to take at the First Nation School Board in Yukon.
We work to support all learners and learning environments by supporting the whole child and understanding what really motivates and helps learners. Research has shown that a child’s ability to participate in their school and community is inextricably linked to the life experiences they’ve had, even from an early age.
If we do not understand the important influences on a child: from their culture to the curriculum we use, we can hardly hope to educate them.
Wisdom All Around Us
To make a difference, we have to seek the wisdom of many different people in the community. Only then can we craft a collaborative leadership style that puts learners first. Building on that foundation, we aim to strengthen our schools by helping educators reflect on what they bring into their interactions with students, and how they can be a strong link in the leadership web.
It is for this reason that we seek brilliant, diverse, and nurturing educators and staff members in all our educator positions. The people who fill these jobs are incredibly important.
Let’s take a look at why, starting with what it means to prioritize collaborative leadership, who participates in it, and how that helps us bring Yukon First Nations values to every learning environment.
What Is Collaborative Leadership?
Just as collaborative learning helps children come together to increase the chances of every child absorbing new skills, like those in literacy and numeracy, collaborative leadership brings decision-makers together with community and youth voices to inform the approach to instruction.
Collaborative leaders work across different departments and different environments. They rely on each other to solve problems; they seek out the help of others when their own skill sets or knowledge bases cannot answer a question. This is a shift from top-down leadership styles, in which the voices of the many are discounted in favor of the voices of the few.
In the context of First Nation School Board (FNSB) jobs, this means relying on parents, community Elders, administrators, and others to determine what classroom environments could and should look like. This is true whether it’s a traditional indoor classroom, a cultural experience, or time on the land.
No matter what, leadership must put learners first.
Who Participates in FNSB School Leadership?
We like to envision the organization of our schools like the rings of a tree. Nested within one another, they influence everything from how children learn, to how we interact with our families and community, to how we hire educators.
All voices have a role in school leadership, including:
- Learners and families: This is the centre of our educational community. If learners and their families are not fulfilled and engaged, then the instruction is not working.
- The land: The land is not something on which we simply sit or build. It is a living part of how FNSB learners interact with their world, and instruction must account for, and aim to fully integrate, land and language in everything.
- School teams: These include teachers, learning assistance teachers, educational assistants, and FNSB coaches.
- Administration: Our school board respects the role of school administrators in decision-making and governance. Unlike western or colonial models to school governance, our school administration teams are not alone at the top of a pyramid but are wrapped around and supported, in the same way they support the school teams, land, families and learners they serve.
- First Nations and Community Committees: First Nations and Community Committees are authentic co-governing bodies for the schools operating on their Traditional Territories. Community Committees help to ensure a strong connection between the school and local First Nation, they are representatives of the school community and they guide the management and operation of their schools. The local nation and Community Committee are integral to ensuring educators are accountable for teaching the values that matter to our learners and keeping them strongly rooted in their ancestors’ traditions.
In addition, FNSB also works collaboratively with the Minister of Education and the Chiefs’ Committee on Education, Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and any other community members who are engaged in their local school..
This approach helps us ensure we are always teaching Yukon First Nations values in our schools, which better prioritizes the whole child in learning environments. Again, we use the guidance we receive from the voices all around us to inform all decision-making, including how we appoint people to our educator roles.
Learn More About Yukon Education Jobs
Good educators must be good leaders, and being a good leader means you acknowledge and respect that you must lean on the advice of leaders around you. Yukon First Nations values are all about collaboration and understanding that someone else may have wisdom to share. The staff we hire at FNSB understand this and stay open to the communities who sit at the core of our school system.
In addition, good leaders are able to adapt and grow with time. Even if you are not originally from our communities, if you have these traits, then there is a good chance that you will make an exceptional addition to our public education model. We understand the value in wrapping around our educators, helping them build the strengths they need to thrive in our unique educational environment.
If you are interested in joining a FNSB school, we invite you to get in touch with us today.
