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C O N N E C T E D N O R T H : A J O U R N E Y O F T R A N S F O R M AT I O N & W E L L- B E I N G 25 Teachers Teachers are critical to the success of Connected North and provide the most local direct contact person situated between the content providers and the students. Within Connected North, teachers are conduits for lessons by facilitating the connection with the technology to enable lessons while also complementing and integrating the content from these lessons into the curriculum. Teacher contacts provide leadership within the school and their communities through their involvement in Connected North. For Connected North programming to work, there needs to be a shared approach to creating a positive experience for students. TIG support staff collaborate with instructors and teachers to create a climate in the classroom and instructional guides to facilitate engagement of everyone involved in each lesson. For teachers, Connected North programming provides them with an expansion of their professional peer network by connecting them to other educators and professionals. By expanding the resources available for teaching, the program reduces potential professional isolation and creates more options for educators to approach the content. Social and professional isolation is an important factor influencing the Well-Being of teachers. By expanding the repertoire of curricular options and introducing a supportive network of professionals through TIG to work with, teachers are provided a new avenue to pursue teaching interests, develop as educators, and learn about the diversity of perspectives on a topic. Connected North programming also provides them a means to develop knowledge and competence in addressing many issues germane to the North. Many of the educators working within northern communities are from outside of those communities and may have limited familiarity with social, cultural, linguistic, and historical aspects of that community. Teachers are on a learning journey as well as students; Connected North provides a means to support teachers on this journey and validate their perspectives and work. Administrators Educational administrators, including school principals, government education representatives, and funders are charged with implementing curricula to a diverse student population with complex social, mental health, and educational needs. Like many teachers, these professionals are oen not from the communities they serve and require support in providing the best service to students, teachers, and their home communities. Connected North provides a vehicle to address many of the content and culture gaps present in educational curricula that is commonly adapted from contexts beyond the North and may not be relevant or appropriate. It fills a strategic role in addressing many needs in the North. The unique context of the North presents needs and challenges that are different from many of the contexts where curricula is developed. In other cases, administrators are faced with not having accessible resources that are appropriate and of high quality to meet these challenges and fill the gaps created by what is made available.

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