Community Articles
General News · 15th April 2023
Michael D. Datura
To the Cortes Island community,
Greetings, my name is Michael Datura and I have applied to the recently posted principal position at the Cortes Island School. I would like to share some brief introductory details about myself and invite parents, teaching staff, students, members of the Klahoose, Tla’amin, and Homalco First Nations, and any other interested community members to a meet and greet Zoom session on Thursday, April 20th at 5pm. This will, I hope, provide an opportunity to share some of my previous work, hear from you, and share ideas about educational possibilities on Cortes Island.
Zoom Link: https://sfu.zoom.us/j/83922942346?pwd=YkszZEF0TzVCK2FjOEU1SC9QRDk2UT09
A few points of interest: I was born and raised in K'ómoks territory and I am currently a teacher in both the Comox Valley and Campbell River School Districts. I lived on Cortes Island in 2004 and I am a proud graduate of the Linnaea Farm gardening program. I volunteered on the island with Power of Hope for over 5 years, which ultimately led me to pursuing education. And, most recently, I have just completed a PhD in Imaginative Ecological Education from Simon Fraser University with a focus on the complex interface between place-based education and First Peoples Principles of Learning.
For the last ten years, I have combined teaching assignments in various school districts with research positions in several innovative school projects in rural BC. Two of which may be of some interest for Cortes Island: first, the Maple Ridge Environmental School Project (https://es.sd42.ca)—a place-based, outdoor elementary school with no actual school building—where I worked as a researcher shaping the principles and curriculum for 5 years. And second, a project we have just finished with Gabriola Elementary and Snuneymuxw First Nation, which attempted to introduce more place-based content and Coast Salish ways of knowing to the school and wider community. I will discuss both of these projects in more detail and how they might be of relevance to Cortes on April 20th.
I am a huge proponent of the potential for rural community schools, particularly those island communities within the Salish Sea, to become national models for academic excellence, local revitalization, and reconciliation. Please feel free to join the conversation.
Respectfully,
Dr. Michael D. Datura
Zoom Link: https://sfu.zoom.us/j/83922942346?pwd=YkszZEF0TzVCK2FjOEU1SC9QRDk2UT09
Greetings, my name is Michael Datura and I have applied to the recently posted principal position at the Cortes Island School. I would like to share some brief introductory details about myself and invite parents, teaching staff, students, members of the Klahoose, Tla’amin, and Homalco First Nations, and any other interested community members to a meet and greet Zoom session on Thursday, April 20th at 5pm. This will, I hope, provide an opportunity to share some of my previous work, hear from you, and share ideas about educational possibilities on Cortes Island.
Zoom Link: https://sfu.zoom.us/j/83922942346?pwd=YkszZEF0TzVCK2FjOEU1SC9QRDk2UT09
A few points of interest: I was born and raised in K'ómoks territory and I am currently a teacher in both the Comox Valley and Campbell River School Districts. I lived on Cortes Island in 2004 and I am a proud graduate of the Linnaea Farm gardening program. I volunteered on the island with Power of Hope for over 5 years, which ultimately led me to pursuing education. And, most recently, I have just completed a PhD in Imaginative Ecological Education from Simon Fraser University with a focus on the complex interface between place-based education and First Peoples Principles of Learning.
For the last ten years, I have combined teaching assignments in various school districts with research positions in several innovative school projects in rural BC. Two of which may be of some interest for Cortes Island: first, the Maple Ridge Environmental School Project (https://es.sd42.ca)—a place-based, outdoor elementary school with no actual school building—where I worked as a researcher shaping the principles and curriculum for 5 years. And second, a project we have just finished with Gabriola Elementary and Snuneymuxw First Nation, which attempted to introduce more place-based content and Coast Salish ways of knowing to the school and wider community. I will discuss both of these projects in more detail and how they might be of relevance to Cortes on April 20th.
I am a huge proponent of the potential for rural community schools, particularly those island communities within the Salish Sea, to become national models for academic excellence, local revitalization, and reconciliation. Please feel free to join the conversation.
Respectfully,
Dr. Michael D. Datura
Zoom Link: https://sfu.zoom.us/j/83922942346?pwd=YkszZEF0TzVCK2FjOEU1SC9QRDk2UT09