At Pathways Spryfield, the team is committed to continuously innovating program supports to amplify the strengths of the diversity of students they serve. And this includes examining ways to remove barriers to participation within their own programming space.

Terry Burke is part of Pathways Spryfield’s dedicated team of Student Parent Support Workers who work with youth to develop personalized success plans for their unique journeys in the program. Terry’s focus area is student wellness, and over the past year, he’s led a variety of initiatives to ensure youth have what they need to feel welcome at Pathways.

One example is the new mentoring group Terry started this spring to foster deeper engagement with students who are on a non-traditional learning path in school. “In Nova Scotia, students on Individual Program Plans have adjusted curriculum based on their learning needs. Many of these students may not have homework, so they have fewer opportunities to socialize during Pathways tutoring,” Terry explains. “Some students may also have sensory issues when it comes to noise, or it can be overwhelming to be around large groups.” Based on youth feedback, Terry created a personalized engagement plan to enhance their experience at Pathways.

Called Connections, the group meets weekly to participate in team-bonding activities in a quiet setting. It’s an accessible solution for youth to be able to build peer support systems and their confidence in public speaking, while creating a channel of communication for Terry and the Pathways Spryfield team to better understand their interests—a foundation that has already paved the way for new discussions around students’ career goals, post-secondary plans, and mentoring opportunities to bolster their independent living skills. Most recently, the team has been engaging the TBD group in cooking workshops, with the students preparing a large dinner to share with Pathways staff.

Seeing the confidence radiating from the students after the group’s accomplishment, Terry is proud of the supportive environment that they’ve fostered together: “There are some students that I’ve never heard speak during their time in the program who are now coming to this group and are completely comfortable participating in the discussion. It really gives us a good opportunity to get to know the students on a different level.” These critical conversations are foundational building blocks for helping students map a concrete path to their goals. By creating new avenues for meaningful engagement, Pathways Spryfield is ensuring that each young person has the tailored support they need to access their exciting futures.