Keiran's World

British Columbia is a leader in developing education policies that make schools inclusive and safe for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI). The Province added gender identity and expression to the B.C. Human Rights Code in 2016 and, shortly after, the BC Ministry of Education adopted the SOGI principles and directed all B.C. school districts and independent schools to protect and support youth who might identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirited, or other, or who might be exploring their gender identity and sexual orientation.

Complying with the directive was not a big leap for SelfDesign Learning Foundation. The foundation and our two learning programs – the independent, online learning school SelfDesign Learning Community and the SelfDesign HomeLearners’ Network – are guided by a core philosophy that assumes that every single learner is a person with their own intrinsic value, talents and abilities.

Read the rest of this post that I wrote for SelfDesign.org

When families apply to enrol their children in SelfDesign Learning Community, two SelfDesign representatives they’re very likely to talk to – possibly more than once – are Michelle Quesnel-Tosney and Paul Tosney. Together, the duo, who are married, are SelfDesign Enrolment Team’s frontline. They receive, review and process enrolment and re-enrolment applications for more than 2,000 learners every year. They help guide families through SelfDesign’s enrolment process, answer their questions, and make enrolling in SelfDesign Learning Community as easy as possible for B.C. families.

Read the rest of this profile that I wrote for SelfDesign.org