As we build momentum, I would like to share a story of changemaking that reflects to us all what's possible when educators, school boards and school administrators, and community organizations work together.

While I Dream Library hasn't been allowed inside classrooms or to be part of professional development in Vancouver, BC District 39 Public Schools, we have been working closely with BC School District 78 and anti-racism community group Hope Inclusion Project. 

I was commissioned to write an anti-oppression curriculum for primary school educators in 2021, just weeks after the ban in Vancouver Schools District began. The shock and pain of the ban drove me to find healing in the curriculum writing and community building process. The next 3 years of weekly meetings (and many fun events) with a diverse group of collaborators and community stakeholders (including I Dream Library, Fraser Health, Vancouver based BIPoC skateboard organizations, faith leaders, teachers, students, District 78 Indigenous Education Committee, District 28 Board of Trustees, and more) created BC's first free intersectional anti-oppression curriculum for Kindergarten - Grade 12. Phase 1, Together We Thrive  (K-Gr. 4) was launched in April 2024, and is a testament to what is achieved when education and community leaders acknowledge that racism, queerphobia, transphobia exist and work together as a community to empower students with the knowledge and skills to making better decisions.  

The picture above is from the curriculum launch party which we celebrated with Grade 2 students at our pilot school in Hope, BC. I hope you find this story as inspiring as we do. Is possible in Vancouver?  We'll find out together, thank you for making change happen with us!