Elephant Thoughts

1. Mission Statement     "Supporting the development of excellence in education, connecting communities to the educational program, ensuring that education is culturally relevant"

2. What is Elephant Thoughts?                     In the community I work for up north, Elephant Thoughts comes up around exam time in order to offer high school students additional tutoring and support mainly in the fields of math and science. These tutors work during school hours, after school and on weekends in order to help our students feel prepared for their ministry exams (Quebec) and assist them in graduating high school.

3. The Goal                                             Elephant Thoughts is a non profit organization that began working in northern communities in Canada in the early 2000's. Today, Elephant Thoughts sends teams all over the country in order to help students achieve their full potential. This organization mainly works in First Nations schools, trying to help students graduate and succeed.

3.1. Here in Ontario, this organization is helping to meet the goals outlined in the Aboriginal Education Strategy. The ultimate goal of the strategy, as well as Elephant Thoughts, is for all students to able to graduate and succeed in our education system.

4. Equity, Inclusion and Cultural Diversity      As already noted, Elephant Thoughts is primarily aimed at helping students in First Nations communities. Schools in northern Canada are well known for having high drop out rates, drug/alcohol issues and other social problems that can make finishing high school a very difficult task. Elephant Thoughts provides additional support to students in order to help them graduate and experience the same levels of success as Canadian youth in the southern parts of the country.

4.1. The support offered by Elephant Thoughts helps students living in more isolated parts of this country. This extra support allows for extra access to resources that students may not otherwise see, it offers the staff of these schools much needed support and increases cultural awareness. Students who graduate high school in northern communities have little choice but to come south if they wish to continue their education and meeting people from southern communities can help ease this transition.

5. Types of Services                                 First and foremost, Elephant Thoughts offers tutoring in First Nations Schools. In addition, this organization offers Science workshops and after school programs in schools all over the country. They have interactive lessons that they will present in your classroom and have worked to ensure Canadian curriculum standards are met during their demonstrations. In the summer, on March Break and even during PD days Elephant Thoughts offers science day camps for youth as well. Lastly, there is an online store full of science resources found on the Elephant Thoughts website!

5.1. I have worked with a number of different members of Elephant Thoughts over the past three years. I have met many dedicated people who are motivated by student success. The people who I have worked with have mainly been aspiring teachers who are working with this organization while applying to Teacher's College or while looking for employment with a School Board. In my personal experience, this organization provided me with a binder full of science experiment ideas for elementary students. These experiments were designed with an isolated community in mind so they require minimal or easily obtainable materials.

6. Accessing Resources and Programs             In order to access the many wonderful services Elephant Thoughts has to offer simply go to their website and use the contact information provided. The company's head office is located in Collingwood, Ontario but works all over the country. You can also sign up to become a member on the Elephant Thoughts webpage and there you can receive information about upcoming events and services.

6.1. https://www.elephantthoughts.com