SD57 announces new Indigenous Assistant Superintendent

Pam Spooner will be taking on the role as School District 57’s Indigenous Assistant Superintendent.

This is the first role of it’s kind in BC.

Spooner was the director of SD57’s Indigenous Education Department for the past three years, and noted that she’ll still be doing much of the same work, but she’ll now get a seat at the table to help make some important decisions.

“I think this is tough work. I think it’s also work that doesn’t just rely on Indigenous people, and our leadership team and the board realize that. And so, they’ve actually been taking on a lot of the work with me, and with the Nations as well. I think it’s important that everybody knows that, that we all have a role to play in reconciliation.”

She added that giving students more role models in places like her position is important as well.

“So having more of our students see role models in positions like this, so they know they can do it. Because I grew up in poverty, and had the abuses, and addictions, or whatever within your family. You can always break the cycle. You can always do what you want to do.”

Having an Indigenous Assistant Superintendent was one of the suggestions that came out of the Special Advisor’s Report last year that was commissioned by the Ministry of Education.

Spooner said that there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“Everyone’s at different levels in this learning, whether you’re in the beginning stages, or more advanced, and a huge ally. But we’re here to support and walk along with everyone to do this work so that they feel comfortable. We have to be able to have the difficult conversations to help us grow, that’s the only way everyone will grow in this work as well.”