Darcy Topinka, community connector

By Rita Button

I feel as if I should be writing this in a circle, maybe a kind of maze that contains no dead ends or false starts, because reaching a goal with Darcy’s help can take you in a number of directions and paths! Darcy Topinka, the community school coordinator of James Bay Community School, makes me think about the millions of ways of creating connections as he tells me what he does. He’s soft-spoken and respectful, talking to me as if he has all the time in the world, but as I make a list of the work he does, I begin to wonder how he can get it all done, and although I know I am an extra drag on his time, he makes me feel as if this is what he most wants to be doing at 9:30 on a Thursday morning.

Being the community school coordinator is a multi-faceted job. Darcy connects to many elements of James Bay and Victoria in order to fulfil his overarching purpose of connecting students, teachers, administrators, volunteers, employees, Society members (the board to which he reports) community assets and more to create a diverse, rich environment where everyone learns and gives of her/himself for the greater good of all.

This focused community school believes in welcoming people, and creating a respectful, safe environment where people can connect with each other in a myriad of ways. For example, the licensed out-of-school pre-school program offers an opportunity for children to experience early group interactions, thereby contributing to their ability to foster positive relationships not only with people their own age but also with adults from varying backgrounds. Connections begin.

Then there’s an arts program after school, the guitar in Darcy’s office that is on loan from his friend so that a student will be able to use it, shows Darcy’s commitment to the inclusion of all students. Just beginning is a physical literacy program wherein reluctant athletes will be taught to throw a ball or to catch one, or to learn the rules of the game and practise them in a safe place so that they can join other groups with confidence. As Darcy says, “Not everyone was born knowing how to throw a ball.” He’s right, of course, and he’s also right about sports being a way into the maze of human relationships helping that shy, non-confident athlete become skilled enough to join other groups. Another connection.

Sometimes, Darcy will run cross-country with the students. “Contact with the students reminds me why I do the work.” As is usual with Darcy’s philosophy, everyone learns from everyone else.

After school programs are supported by Legacy 2010 funds. The Society tries to develop after school programs that invite parents and their children to be connected to the school. Results of these programs create success in many different ways, and connections are made using different routes and paths.

In discussing supports and connections, Darcy gave me an interesting example of the Harbour Authority wanting to connect with the school to contribute to the development of a curriculum that explores the science, biology and social impacts of the harbour. What a great idea! Everyone benefits and more connections are made.

The school also helps new families and community members connect with the school and other community groups in a continuing effort to identify a place where new-comers are welcome to participate or to ask questions about the community or the programs offered at the school.

Darcy has an influence on how the community’s needs are met. This means, of course, that 30-40% of his time is spent in meetings. The City of Victoria has mandated the Community Centre to develop and deliver recreational opportunities for James Bay citizens of all ages; SD Victoria 61 has the goal of contributing to the challenging and stimulating educational program at the school. The programs being developed, which often become active living initiatives, frequently spill into neighbouring municipalities such as Saanich and Esquimalt.  The City as well as SD61 supports these programs.

Connecting teachers at the school with the resources in the community is another aspect of the job. He works with teachers to develop inter-generational learning, elementary students and their teachers work with Seniors at New Horizons. Connecting the young and the old, this work contributes to a feeling of continuity. Many adults who now hang out at New Horizons attended James Bay Elementary, and will ask about certain classrooms or tell about teachers they had in classrooms the students continue to inhabit. Here is another way of connecting the community to the school.

Program operations that include the more basic element of spaces being prepared and equipment ready; staff supervision, 20 – 30 employees and 50-60 volunteers require supervision which includes goal setting and evaluation. Applying for grants, a way of finding support for programs, eats hours. But it’s time well-spent if the prize is won. Frequently, Darcy will phone the organization to make sure the community group qualifies. Thus, he does not waste his time. Often, he helps fledgling groups or individuals to apply for grants under the Society’s umbrella. People approach him with a great idea that needs funding but are not sure what to do next. Darcy helps them find the way to reach success. He enjoys giving people a “step up” and once they’re on their way, he steps back, and watches the abstract idea become a reality. The James Bay Market and The Art Walk are two grass roots organizations that benefitted from the community school’s help. Darcy continues to foster their continued success by ensuring they are included in the community project’s publications and by reserving space for their events. The ongoing connection contributes to the vibrancy of James Bay Community culture, and unique, individual teamwork!

Interested in healthy communities, Darcy realizes that diversity is often a key component, one that James Bay has in magnificent variety. Another element that contributes to the community’s ability to reach its goals, and the students within it to reach them, is the ability of all to connect with the school. Many papers have been written on the fact that the stronger the parents’ and students’ connections to the school are, the more likely each is to find happiness and fulfillment. Darcy is working hard to ensure this occurs.

With all of these elements crisscrossing one another in a nearly unrecognizable maze, I asked Darcy to identify his favourite part of the job. You will not be surprised by his response: “When I see people interacting with one another, being together, celebrating successes, and I know they came together because I was able to connect the dots, I feel incredibly happy.” He was quick to add that he is “just one of the cogs in a well-run machine that I inherited from the previous very competent coordinator,” but I think most people who have met him will know that he is a slightly more effective cog than many of us.

He sees his work as one of connecting in as many unusual ways as is needed. Connections, of course, imply that more than one person is needed. During the hour we talked, he emphasized three times that it wasn’t just him, that it was the inheritance of someone else’s fine work, of a great staff and magnificent volunteers.

Not wanting or needing the limelight, he is grateful and happy as he steps back to watch the connections develop.

A Maze?

No--amazing!