About Connected Pathways

From Uncertainty to Confident Practice

Connected Pathways was founded to help educators move from uncertainty to confident, practical implementation of Indigenous and land-based learning in their classrooms and school-wide practices.

As First Nations educators with decades of combined experience in teaching, school leadership, counselling, and land-based education, we understand both the responsibility and the complexity of this work. Many educators want to do this well — but feel unsure where to begin.

We walk alongside schools — not ahead of them — supporting practical, sustainable steps that feel doable and grounded in authentic relationship.

Our work aligns with professional standards including TQS #5 and provincial Calls to Action, helping schools move from intention to meaningful classroom practice. We have supported educators in redesigning lessons, building confidence, and integrating land-based learning across grade levels.

Our Experience

We are a husband-and-wife team of First Nations educators with a combined 30 years of experience working in First Nation community schools. Our work has always been grounded in relationships — with students, families, schools, and land — and that continues to guide everything we do through Connected Pathways.

As classroom teachers, school leaders, and mentors, we’ve seen firsthand both the challenges and the power of education when it is rooted in care, culture, and community. We know that for many educators, supporting First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students — and responding meaningfully to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action — can feel overwhelming. We’re here to help change that.

Our consulting focuses on practical, hands-on professional development that builds confidence around TQS Competency #5, Indigenous ways of knowing, and reconciliation in the classroom. We help schools move from awareness to action — one relationship at a time.

Whether you're just beginning this work or seeking deeper ways to support Indigenous learners, we’re honoured to walk alongside you.

Rachel Fulks
(Co-Founder, Connected Pathways)

Rachel is a proud mother, wife, and First Nations educator with over 12 years of experience teaching and leading in First Nation community schools. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, with a capstone that explored culturally responsive leadership in First Nations school contexts, and has served as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and principal.

Her connection to this work runs deep. Rachel was raised on a First Nation reserve, where her mother worked as a teacher, and she has spent her entire professional career working within Indigenous education. She believes that meaningful learning and lasting change are grounded in strong relationships — rooted in respect, reciprocity, and trust.

Through Connected Pathways, Rachel walks alongside educators and school leaders to support the move from awareness to action in Indigenous education. Her work focuses on building confidence and capacity around the TRC Calls to Action and TQS Competency #5, offering practical, hands-on approaches that meet educators wherever they are on their journey.

Andrew Fulks
(Co-Founder, Connected Pathways)

Andrew is a First Nations educator and school leader with over 20 years of experience working on-reserve in Alberta. His professional background includes classroom teaching, school counselling, administration as a principal, land-based education, and district-level recruitment.

Andrew brings a grounded, community-connected lens to his work, shaped by lived experience and relational leadership. He is passionate about supporting educators and school teams who want to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous students and families — even when they are unsure where to begin.

Through Connected Pathways, Andrew supports schools in developing practical, respectful approaches to Indigenous education that are rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. His work emphasizes honesty, relationship, and sustainability, helping educators translate intention into meaningful practice.

Our Approach

We believe Indigenous education is not an add-on — it is embedded in how we teach, plan, and relate to land and community.

Our work is guided by a structured yet relational approach:

1. Ground in Relationship

We begin by creating space for honest conversation. We normalize fear, clarify expectations, and anchor the work in professional responsibility.

2. Model Embedded Practice

We demonstrate practical, ready-to-use classroom examples that integrate Indigenous perspectives and land-based learning within existing curriculum.

3. Adapt Together

Teachers bring lessons they are already teaching and revise them during the session using a clear integration lens. This ensures learning is immediately applicable.

4. Reflect and Refine

Through follow-up support, we help schools sustain momentum and align classroom practice with leadership vision.

Our goal is not perfection.

Our goal is progress that feels grounded and manageable.

What Schools Can Expect

When schools partner with Connected Pathways, they experience:

Increased teacher confidence and reduced overwhelm
Ready-to-teach lesson adaptations
Practical planning tools aligned with TQS #5
Meaningful land-based learning strategies
Clear next steps for sustained implementation
Professional conversations that remain respectful and constructive

We support educators in moving from intention to visible classroom practice.

Our Commitment

We approach this work with humility, integrity, and deep respect for the communities we serve. We recognize that Indigenous education is relational and ongoing — not a checklist or event.

Our role is to support schools in building confidence, clarity, and coherence so that Indigenous perspectives and land-based learning become part of everyday teaching — not something to fear.

Let’s begin where your school is today and move forward together.