In her many years as a teacher, Gail Francis has imparted a great deal of knowledge about the Wolastoqey and Mi’kmaq languages, cultures and traditions to her students and the readers of her popular children’s book, Moonbeam.
But Gail is also a student herself, broadening her knowledge and understanding of early childhood through the opportunities offered by her PhD studies at the University of New Brunswick.
Gail is the two-time recipient of the Webster Fellowship in Early Childhood Education, a $35,000 award made possible by the R. Howard Webster Foundation. She says the fellowship has helped enormously, especially in her focus area of autism in early childhood.
“I was very honoured to get it,” Gail says of the Webster fellowship. “It gives me the freedom to attend events and programs I would not have been able to attend. Back in June, I went to an Indigenous autism conference in Alberta. That was really awesome and I learned a lot. So I now have the opportunity to go to different places to experience what other communities are doing in terms of autism, especially in the early years, which is what I’m doing my PhD on.”
Among other things, Gail is looking into the possibility of travelling to Australia and New Zealand — two countries that have made strides in helping Indigenous students with autism. “It’s something I’m thinking about and without the fellowship I wouldn’t have the means to go.”
Gail says that when she worked in the school system, she realized there were significant gaps in terms of services for autistic students and their parents. She is working on a toolbox for autism in the early years. “I want to make their educational journey a little easier for them.”
In addition to her studies, Gail, who is originally from the Neqotkuk (Tobique) First Nation and now lives in Miramichi, is building on the success of her first children’s book, Moonbeam, which is published in English, Wolastoqey and Mi’kmaq. A second book, Moonbeam Meets the Medicine Man, was released in November in English, French, Wolastoqey and Mi'kmaq.
The books are a labour of love for Gail.
“I was a resource teacher, and we didn’t have a lot of culturally relevant books to work with in the schools. I guess this is one way of getting the language out there, utilizing it and, you know, just having it there for the kids to choose to read.”
