Last school year, six teacher-librarians from School District 68 Nanaimo Ladysmith came together to form a Teacher Inquiry Program project focused on making our libraries more welcoming, inclusive spaces for all students.

Twenty-one students sit in rows at xylophones and glockenspiels, mallets in hand, waiting to strike. While I teach them to wait for the conductor, they anticipate a count in and ready themselves to strike the bar with relative accuracy.

Nourish Cowichan has been providing students with accessible food at school for eight years. The founder, Fatima Da Silva, has led the expansion of the program to remove barriers for more students to access food at school without stigma.

After three decades as a middle-school teacher in British Columbia, primarily supporting students with diverse learning needs, I’ve experienced many educational changes and reforms.