Empowering Voices: Cultivating Cultural Pride and Inclusion at Abby Middle School

Nicole Joseph is a middle school educator at Abby Middle School. This year, Nicole secured one of the 12 equity grants given out by the school district to assist her in exploring her inquiry question, “How can we identify and dismantle systemic barriers, including racism, which prevent students, parents, and staff from fully embracing their identities within the school community? Moreover, how can we foster a sense of belonging while empowering students to lead discussions on equity, inclusion, and cultural understanding?"

Nicole emphasizes the importance of using cultural language to connect students to their identity and cultural heritage, however, she noted this was missing for many of her students. Leaning into this observation, Nicole developed two extra-curricular language groups this year. A student-led Punjabi language group that ran for eight weeks after school. All students, staff and families were invited to participate. Nicole noticed that by the third class, the students had gained confidence and had taken full ownership of leading the sessions. “They were reflecting on what worked and didn’t work and adjusting to the needs of the group. It was a powerful way for the students to learn,” Nicole reflected. One of the student leaders offered, “We speak Punjabi at home, so we have the oral understanding, but we do not have the written experience. Sharing how the written language works, and the origins of names, was so important.” Another student shared, “This is the first time I have felt seen.”

As a stoic advocate for language revitalization and a Halq'eméylem speaker, Nicole ran the second language group. The group ran four sessions and was open to the participation of the full school community. An extra special event was having Evangeline Point from Sts’ ailes First Nation join the group on a Saturday to demonstrate the making of Bannock in Halq'eméylem. All participants enjoyed a hands-on experience making Bannock with a recipe shared in Halq'eméylem.

To end the conversation, Nicole was asked what she hopes for moving forward, “I hope the language groups and the events will continue to grow. It is important that we create opportunities that are sustainable and continue with the people we have shared them with.”  We express deep appreciation to Nicole and the student change makers for their contributions to the Abby Middle School community to cultivate cultural pride through connections to language.

Jennifer Ofeimu 
Equity Helping Teacher