Fostering Opportunities for Accessibility and Inclusion - Burnaby Schools

Throughout the year, schools work to create a welcoming and inclusive culture that benefits learning for everyone. What follows are some recent examples.

The Leadership class at the BC Provincial School for the Deaf (BCSD) in the District organized activities to bring people together in the spirit of inclusion. They began with an accessible dance event, welcoming students in ASL classes at Burnaby South Secondary and South Slope Elementary. To support inclusive emergency response, BCSD students shared a video they made with the Burnaby Fire Department. It teaches basic sign language to firefighters who might need to communicate with Deaf individuals during emergencies. Burnaby South’s Inclusivity Club visited Lakeview Elementary to share how to work together to create more inclusive communities.

At Confederation Park Elementary, a whole Grade 2/3 class took part in a lesson from SET-BC on how to use Augmentative and Alternative Communication or AAC, along with their classmate who uses it to communicate. All classes at Maywood Community School read the book More than Words as part of a school-wide project. Students discussed the many ways of communicating and made a display that represented their ideas inside AAC devices, with sign language, speech and thought bubbles.

An EA-in-training at Second Street Community School noticed Theo’s love of ice cream. She built a stand with her husband so that the Grade 1 student could share and communicate with children on the playground – filling both bellies and hearts.