Bridgeview Elementary 23-24
OUR CONTEXT
It is very important that all learners feel welcomed at Bridgeview. As Dr. Delon Gray says, "Students who feel a sense of belonging at school are typically more energized, more likely to spend time on-task and return to activities, and more likely to choose to be in the school environment. Students who don’t feel a sense of belonging, however, often struggle to devote their full cognitive resources to tasks and experience issues with emotional wellness. "
Our schools and classrooms are rapidly becoming more academically, culturally, linguistically, economically, and racially diverse… while such diversity creates challenges, it also creates opportunities to build true communities of learners, learning from and about one another. As the Carnegie Foundation described them, such communities are educationally purposeful, open, just, disciplined, caring, and celebrative. These characteristics establish a safe environment that promotes risk taking and enhances social development. (From the book Teaching Every Child Every Day)
Further, the BC Curriculum expects that all students will develop in their Personal and Social Core Competencies. This includes the domain of Social Awareness and Responsibility. People who are socially aware and responsible contribute to the well-being of their social and physical environments. They support the development of welcoming and inclusive communities, where people feel safe and have a sense of belonging. A socially aware and responsible individual contributes positively to their family, community, and environment; empathizes with others and appreciates their perspectives; resolves problems peacefully; and develops and sustains healthy relationships.
OUR LEARNERS
Bridgeview is a very diverse community. Students and their families come from all around the world and there are many different languages spoken at home.
We also have a significant percentage of our students identifying as indigenous. 21 of our 202 students (10.4%) are Metis or First Nations.
It is important that all of our learners feel like they belong at Bridgeview and "see themselves in the classroom" and as a school we have been working on this; however, we have, unfortunately, seen an increase in the incidents of racial slurs, jokes, and taunts being used at school. These incidents are occurring mostly outside at free play times where there is less direct supervision.
OUR FOCUS
The Surrey School District stands for all forms of equity and inclusion and strives for a respectful and safe educational system free of discrimination and oppression and dedicated to achieving and upholding racial equity and anti-racism and belonging for everyone. In alignment with the school district's policy, at Bridgeview, during the 2023/24 school year, we have implemented a number of actions, both at the staff and student level, to begin to address the issue of diversity and inclusion:
- Students and staff created EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) displays in the hallways
- Students participated in EDI discussions in classrooms
- There were EDI presentations in school-wide assemblies
- Special days and months acknowledged and celebrated. These dates were guided by the district EDI calendar.
- Students participated in a school-wide kindness challenge.
- Students participated in a gratitude month.
- Ten student leaders of colour participated in Blackathon
- Lunchtime workshops were done with select students that were having greater difficulty with inclusion on the playground.
- One staff member has accepted the role of Diversity and Inclusion Lead. This person attends district workshops and meetings and brings information and knowledge back to the school.
- At every teaching staff meeting there was an activity to connect to EDI.
- The staff participated in a book study with the text "This Book is Anti-racist"
- We continued to develop our teaching picture book library-- making sure that there were texts that represented students of many backgrounds and abilities.
Is it making a difference?
We have looked at data from three sources to see if our work is making a difference.
- MDI Data. The Middle Years Development Instrument is a survey done with Grade 4s each year. It is conducted at school and the data is collected by UBC. It is used to gain a deeper understanding of children’s social and emotional health, well-being and assets during middle childhood - from their own perspective. Four areas that were significant from the data this year are listed below:
The data shows that at Bridgeview the students' feelings of empathy, self-esteem, and school belonging are greater than the district average. (The district average is indicated by the short black line.). However, our students' sense of peer belonging is at 50%, well below the district average.
2. Staff Observations. Conversations about EDI work at Bridgeview were had with upper intermediate staff. Staff indicate that they have seen some positive changes throughout the school year. One of the greatest shifts has been in friendships and collaborative work groups. At the beginning of the year, students were less likely to be spending time with peers from a different racial background. By the end of the school year, one could see that friend groups were much more diverse-- representing not only different cultural backgrounds but also gender diversity.
3. Grade 6/7 Survey. A survey was conducted with all Grade 6 and 7 students about their observations of EDI at Bridgeview. Some highlights from the survey include:
EDI Statement | Percentage of Students Who Answered Often or Very Often |
Adults at my school respect students of all backgrounds. | 100% |
Adults at my school care about students of all backgrounds. | 85% |
Adults at my school treat students from all backgrounds fairly. | 90% |
Students at my school treat students from different backgrounds with respect. | 55% |
Students at my school care about other students of all backgrounds. | 49% |
Students at my school treat students from all backgrounds fairly. | 37% |
Overall, Bridgeview supports students with all different skin colours. | 90% |
Overall, Bridgeview supports students from all different cultures. | 92% |
Overall, Bridgeview supports students from all different religions. | 90% |
Again, the data indicates that when it comes to peer-to-peer connections, our students feel like there is some disrespect between people of different cultural backgrounds.
OUR NEXT STEPS
The data indicates that we have more work to do. Students are feeling like the staff at Bridgeview care for and respect them; however, there are some disconnects between students when it comes to equity, diversity, and inclusion. We need to:
- continue to have the students focus on their Personal and Social Core Competency, specifically, the domain of Social Awareness and Responsibility.
- continue working with staff to develop activities to address EDI in the classrooms.
- closely monitor the free play of students during recess and lunch--paying particular attention to the language that is used between peers. We could add an adult to the recess supervision schedule, as well as, train our noon hour supervisors on how to deal with racialized conflicts.
- continue to collect data on student perceptions of themselves and others.
- continue to prioritize EDI in the school as a whole through announcements/ displays/ assemblies etc.
Surrey Schools
Formed in 1906, the Surrey School District currently has the largest student enrolment in British Columbia and is one of the few growing districts in the province. It is governed by a publicly elected board of seven trustees.
The district serves the cities of Surrey and White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island.
