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Elmwood educator gets national recognition

November 26, 2021 News Story
Laura Buller Indspire Guiding the Journey: Indigenous Educator Award

Indspire Canada has acknowledged Elmwood High School teacher Laura Buller for being a role model and creating growth opportunities for Indigenous students through creative ways.

On November 26, Laura Buller received the 'Guiding the Journey: Indigenous Educator Award' and a gift of $1000 for the classroom at the 2021 National Gathering for Indigenous Education, a virtual event organized by Indspire.

"Laura is the social-emotional support lead in the Students Success Centre. Her positive energy is beneficial to all the students, including Indigenous students," said Mike Babb, Principal of Elmwood High School.

"She is also leading the Indigenous leaders' group and does a great job planning for that. Our Indigenous students have participated in the Paul Martin CPA Mentorship Program for several years. While many of the programs across the country folded during COVID, Laura helped the school run the program virtually. Her innovation and keenness make things happen. 

Students got valuable experiences and guidance through industry professionals at KPMG and from University of Manitoba Indigenous commerce students. Informative online sessions like resume-writing, how to prepare for an interview, career guidance in business accounting and finance sessions were organized. The University students also highlighted the benefits of post-secondary education.

Buller is always looking for development avenues and encouraged the Indigenous students' team to participate in the Asper School of Business Indigenous Ingenuity competition. After taking classes in preparing business plans, students created a business proposal for a non-profit organization called Lite. Each student spoke eloquently, and their presentation won the competition.

"This is my fifth year in Elmwood's Students' Success Centre. All students are looking for connections, and connecting with kids is one of my gifts. A lot of that comes with giving them time, building trust, and being able to show up for the kids is important," said Laura Buller. "I try my very best to do that, consistently ensuring they have a safe person to confide in whenever they need someone."

Buller said working in a Youth Rescue program to support students having attendance and behaviour concerns has given her the experience and empathy to deal with struggling students. The program primarily focused on providing the students with a safe space, creating facilities to address their challenges, and motivating them to complete academic programs.

Buller's career growth in WSD

Buller started working for Elmwood High School in 2006 as an Educational Assistant. Her career progress since then has been inspirational.

She completed her Bachelors in Education in 2014 through a Community Aboriginal Teacher Education Program (CATEP), where Winnipeg School Division (WSD) collaborated with the University of Winnipeg. WSD created this unique program in 2005/2006 to develop more Indigenous teachers to support Indigenous education.

"This was a program that broke down barriers for me, and the support I received from the University of Winnipeg and WSD helped me fulfill my dreams," said Laura Buller.

"While working full time as Educational Assistant, we attended University classes on Wednesday evenings and Saturdays. Sometimes, I had to take my children with me, and the University was very accommodating. Winnipeg School Division also gave us study leave from May to July to complete the courses and other requirements."

Now Laura Buller is giving back to WSD and the Indigenous community through her leadership role. Elmwood High School has 38 percent of the self-declared Indigenous students out of 833 students. The Students Success Initiative has helped Elmwood improve the average graduating class from 59 to 89 graduates per year during the last decade.

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