PREFEREED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Lived experience related to Indigenous wellness
• First Nations, Metis, Inuit Studies - Intermediate, Senior or Part 1 (preferred)
• Special Education – Part 2 (preferred)
• Family Studies – Intermediate, Senior or Part 1 (preferred) 
• Knowledge & Belief in Restorative Justice Practices (preferred)

Purpose and Goal of the Learning Nest Program: 

The Learning Nest is an HWDSB secondary program for Indigenous learners.  The program is considered to be a Special Program based on the Ontario Human Rights Code, which states: “Special programs must respond to a proven need and real disadvantage.  Systemic discrimination is often hidden.  People from historically disadvantaged groups often do not have access to the same opportunities as others.  Special programs help level the playing field.”  (Special Programs and the Ontario Human Rights Code, OHRC).   

Indigenous peoples have an ingrained mistrust of Eurocentric education systems.  Education is synonymous with fear, trauma, and violence.  Church and state-run institutions, such as Residential Schools and Federal Indian Day Schools contributed to the destruction of kinship systems by forcibly removing children from their families, stripping away their identity, languages, worldviews, practices and beliefs.  The abuses the children and families had experienced continue to leave ‘soul wounds’, especially as survivors and their families must relive the trauma in filing their claims outlining the atrocities they had experienced and witnessed because of these schools.   

The Learning Nest program enables Indigenous learners to experience a quality education that is culturally immersive, one that provides rich and authentic learning experiences rooted in Indigenous Knowledge systems, languages, worldviews and ways of knowing, being, and doing.  Through a student-centred and student-driven approach, teaching and support staff will recognize, value and celebrate gifts, strengths and individualized learning needs in support of each learner’s educational goals. 

This program is designed to support Indigenous learners who are working through layers of their own intergenerational trauma and healing.  Indigenous learners and families continue to navigate structural/institutional/societal barriers (e.g., systemic poverty) and experience complex circumstances, unique needs and lived realities that contribute to their disengagement from schooling.   Thus, the Learning Nest intends to be a place that welcomes the most vulnerable, marginalized and disadvantaged Indigenous learners that have experienced challenges within their education experience. At the Learning Nest, Indigenous learner's educational wellness is nurtured and nourished within the palisades of the Learning Nest, protecting each learner's right to Education and Indigenous Cultural Safety. It is our understanding that once grounded in local Indigenous Knowledges and ways of knowing, being, and doing in a safe learning environment where Indigenous Cultural Safety is normalized, that we can then nourish their learning spirits holistically, contribute to their healing journeys and empower them to become agents of change in their communities and within the dominant mainstream society.

*Applications must include a one-page summary demonstrating how they will successfully implement Indigenous Knowledge into programming in a manner that connects to curriculum expectations.    

• • Humility and compassion in their approach to supporting the needs of Indigenous learners. 
• • An ability and ongoing commitment to establishing trusting and respectful relationships with Indigenous learners, their families, caregivers and the local Indigenous community.  
• • Engagement in student outreach to support a continuum/spectrum of supports as students move into and out of the program. 
• • Evidence of successful previous teaching experiences in a variety of classroom assignments.  
• • An ability and willingness to work with students who have complex needs and unique lived experiences based on colonialism to achieve positive outcomes and flexibility to respond to individual strengths and needs. 

• • Experience in the areas of Indigenous educational pedagogy and support of Indigenous learners. 
• • Experience developing curriculum and learning resources that reflects distinct and diverse Indigenous traditions, cultures, and perspectives (including cultural safety considerations/measures/lessons learned).   
• • A full understanding and acceptance that Indigenous Knowledges are implemented masterfully in a manner that leads to meaningful connections to curriculum.  
• • An ability and willingness to work as part of a team integrating community-based program experiences into the curriculum where Indigenous Knowledge systems are prioritized, valued and respected. 
• • An ability and willingness to work carefully and closely with our Indigenous Cultural Safety team as valuable partners to co-create programming for learners. 

• • An ability and willingness to match community-based, Indigenous experiential learning opportunities with curriculum expectations. 
• • Expertise and interest in inquiry-based learning. 
• • Evidence of successful experience differentiating instruction and learning to meet program needs of the students within an alternative learning environment. 
• • Successful teaching or related experience in an education program for Indigenous learners in a bicultural appropriate learning environment. 
• • The ability to program from a strengths-based perspective where all aspects of Indigenous learners (intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual) are thoughtfully and respectfully considered. 

• • Successful teaching experience in a continuous intake model. 
• • Successful experience in partnerships with Indigenous and non-Indigenous community agencies and programming. 
• • The modelling of technology to support student learning. 
• • Collaboration and facilitation skills, including conflict resolution and problem solving. 
• • A willingness to work with a flexible school timetable model based on a letter of mutual consent and to teach outside of areas of OCT qualification. 

• • A willingness to participate in the intake process. 
• • A willingness to attend meetings that are intended to bring Indigenous educators and community members together to support programming and initiatives, where possible (program team meetings, IEC meetings, FNMICAC meetings, etc.) 
• • Excellent oral, written and presentation skills. 
• • Familiarity with trauma-informed pedagogies.
  • Knowledge and awareness of Restorative Journey: Indigenous Educational Wellness (OCT, 2021).