Episode 57: A Conversation About Stepping Side By Side

In this special episode, we’re highlighting a unique professional learning and mentoring process called Stepping Side By Side (SSBS).

Stepping Side By Side is an innovative, pedagogical approach to onboarding and mentorship, designed for those stepping into the field of Early Childhood Education, and for those stepping up to support others. Developed in partnership with the City of Hamilton and Affiliated Services For Children and Youth (ASCY)  in 2021 as part of the City of Hamilton’s Workforce Planning Table, SSBS fosters reflective practice, continuous learning, and a sense of belonging and well-being among educators.

In this episode, you’ll hear testimonial-style reflections from seven educators and leaders who have engaged with SSBS. Each was asked the same three questions and their responses offer a rich, personal look at how SSBS has impacted their professional journeys, their insights, and their relationships.

Bianca Fatia is a Registered Early Childhood Educator at Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic Child Care Centres. As a newer educator, Bianca shares how Stepping Side by Side helped her build confidence, embrace vulnerability, and deepen her relationships with children, families, and colleagues through intentional listening and reflection.

Jessica LaForme is a Supervisor and Registered Early Childhood Educator at YWCA Hamilton Downtown Child Care Centre. She reflects on how Stepping Side by Side supported her in leading a fresh team of educators, fostering deeper connections, and building a culture of intentional practice and peer mentorship.

Nicola Lau is an Early Childhood Assistant at YWCA Hamilton Downtown Child Care Centre. She offers a grounded classroom perspective, describing Stepping Side by Side as a practical guide for applying tools and knowledge, and shares how it transformed her approach to reflection, documentation, and collaboration.

 Kelli McCarles is a Registered Early Childhood Educator and Pedagogical Leader at Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic Child Care Centres. With over 35 years of experience, Kelli brings a deep passion for mentorship and reflective practice, and shares how Stepping Side by Side has helped her support educators in meaningful, personalized ways.

Anna Minnitti is a Registered Early Childhood Educator and Pedagogical Leader at Little Peoples Daycare. Her reflections highlight how Stepping Side by Side reignited passion across her team, supported educators at different stages of their journey, and created space for meaningful conversations and growth within her centre.

 Cassidy Taylor is a Registered Early Childhood Educator at Imagineers Early Learning Centre. She describes Stepping Side by Side as a tool for growth and leadership, and shares how it helped her reflect more deeply on her role, build confidence, and support others in the workplace.

Jackie Wilson is a Registered Early Childhood Educator at Imagineers Early Learning Centre. She reflects on how Stepping Side by Side has become a reliable resource for mentorship and guidance, especially when supporting new staff and navigating challenging conversations with families.

 Listener Note : With seven inspiring voices in this episode, we know it might be challenging to follow along. To support your listening experience, a full transcript (voice AI software used) is available in the show notes feel free to read along as you listen.

For more information about Stepping Side By Side:

In Hamilton and Haldimand Norfolk, contact your Professional Learning Consultant.

Outside of Hamilton, contact Paola Hohenadel phohenadel@ascy.ca

Transcript

Leslie: 0:04

Hello and welcome to Can We Talk Conversations in the earlier years, a podcast where we explore current and relevant topics in early childhood education, from pedagogy and mentorship to child development and professional learning. In this special episode, we're highlighting a unique professional learning and mentoring process called Stepping Side by Side. Stepping side by side is an innovative pedagogical approach to onboarding and mentorship designed for those stepping into the field of early childhood education and for those stepping up to support others. Developed in partnership with the City of Hamilton and affiliated services for Children and Youth ASCY in 2021. As a part of the City of Hamilton's workforce planning table, stepping side by side fosters reflective practice, continuous learning, and a sense of belonging and wellbeing among educators. Stepping side by side is flexible and responsive, and it can be used individually in pairs or in groups. And facilitated by peer mentors, supervisors, or pedagogical leaders. It's designed to be revisited often. Especially as change occurs in practice or teams, you set the pace and it can be done in person or virtually. The resource consists of five modules, each consisting of four to eight invitations, including a facilitator, guide, resources on land, acknowledgements, and invitations that support onboarding and mentorship, and pedagogical reflection. Stepping side by side embraces diverse learning styles. Offering content through a learning management system hosted on Member Vault. Videos are included that are recorded at ASCY, as well as curated from platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. Podcasts produced at ASCY including seven episodes developed specifically for stepping side by side. It also links to guiding documents such as How does learning happen and resources from the college of early childhood educators. Since its launch, stepping side by side has expanded to seven communities across Ontario with over 320 programs or individuals in Hamilton and Haldimand Norfolk engaged, and more than 8,400 interactions in Hamilton and Haldimand Norfolk.. Over 1000 invitations have been completed, and our podcast series has grown to 56 episodes with over 6,200 listens. In this episode, you'll hear testimonial style reflections from seven educators and leaders who have engaged with stepping side by side. Each of them was asked the same three questions. And the responses offer a rich personal look at how stepping side by side has impacted their professional journeys, their insights, and their relationships. Let's hear a little bit about them. Bianca Fatia is a registered early childhood educator at Hamilton Wentworth Catholic Childcare Centers. As a newer educator, Bianca shares how stepping side by side helped build her confidence, embrace vulnerability, and deepen her relationships with children, families, and colleagues through intentional listening and reflection. Jessica LaForme is a supervisor and registered early childhood educator at YWCA Hamilton Downtown Childcare Center. She reflects on how stepping side by side supported her in leading a fresh team of educators, fostering deeper connections intentional practice and peer mentorship. Nicola Lau is an early childhood assistant at YWCA Hamilton Downtown Childcare Center. She offers a grounded classroom perspective describing stepping side by side as a practical guide for applying tools and knowledge and shares, how it transformed her approach to reflection, documentation, and collaboration. Kelly McCarles is a registered early childhood educator and pedagogical leader at Hamilton Wentworth Catholic Childcare Centers. With over 35 years of experience, Kelly brings a deep passion for mentorship and reflective practice and shares how Stepping side by side has helped her support educators in meaningful personalized ways. Anna Minnitti is a registered early childhood educator and pedagogical leader at Little People's Daycare. Her reflections highlight how stepping side by side reignited passion across her team supported educators at different stages of their journey and created space for meaningful conversations and growth within her center. Cassidy Taylor is a registered early childhood educator at Imagineer Early Learning Center. She describes stepping side by side as a tool for growth and leadership and shares how it helped to reflect more deeply on her role, build confidence and support others in the workplace. Jackie Wilson is a registered early childhood educator at Imagineers Early Learning Center, and she reflects on how stepping side by side has become a reliable resource for mentorship and guidance, especially when supporting new staff and navigating challenging conversations with families with seven inspiring voices. In this episode, we know it might be challenging to follow along. To support your listening, a full transcript is available in the show notes. Feel free to read along as you listen, whether you're an educator, a mentor, or someone curious about how meaningful professional learning can transform practice, this episode is for you. Let's step in side by side. So for our first question, we began by asking each participant what stepping side by side means to them in their professional journey. Let's hear the responses.

Kelli: 5:53

as an RECE and a pedagogical lead, someone who has been working in this field for all of them about. Over 35 years in some capacity working with children. It's given me the opportunity to revisit and reflect on my practice. So something that I'm, I'm, I'm very, very passionate about. And in turn, share those reflections with others, specifically other educators who are curious and excited and passionate themselves. Bianca being one of them. Stepping side by side. It, it, it refers to so many important topics. Again, we can't list them all, but values, how does learning happen? The image of the child environment is the third teacher. So I, again, there are so many can't. Touch on them all because there's so many modules. But for me, it gives both the mentor and the mentee time and space to collaborate and to connect and to grow and to question and to wonder, and then in turn, sharing this growth with others and with our teams and, and sharing this learning with our, our teams and our fellow educators. I'm so. So passionate about, it's like, I'm not the mentor and you're the mentee. It's like everybody has a gift. We all have a gift to share, and we're all sharing together. And, that's the beauty of learning and learning side by side.

Bianca: 7:26

when I was first invited to be part of stepping side by side journey, wasn't entirely sure what to expect other than the titles suggested that I'd be learning alongside with my pedagogical leader, in every step of the way. Once I attended the first session I came together and I realized it was more than just professional learning. It was collaborative mentoring experience and it didn't matter how many years of experience someone had, we were all there to grow, all there to reflect and support each other. As educators, what stood out to me? Being surrounded by educators from. Different parts of Hamilton. It was really cool to see how, even though we come from different places, we had similar thoughts and questions and curiosities. I felt that it created a sense of connection and community and it made it feel okay to be open. To share and to even learn from one another. And at the end of stepping side by side, I had told Kelly that I have never collaborated or been taught this kind of way before, and it gave me such delight to learn from everyone of all paths and education and the experience alongside with her as well. One of the things I appreciated was asking in the environment, and it felt okay to be open to say things I'm struggling and saying, I don't know, and you are not judged like others are there to support. And it was very nice to see that allowed for the vulnerability to be honest and reflect. And it was huge because. It doesn't just help you grow professionally as an educator, but as well as a person. 'cause we are all humans. To have someone you trust such as my ped Kelly to walk by you and by your side and to be supportive, it was huge for me. That knowing you're not doing it alone, and it might take long for others, and that's okay, but what matters at the end, someone's there for you, encouraging you and will lift you up when you're ready to soar on your own.

Nicola: 9:28

I feel like stepping side by side, definitely offered some tools that we can use in the classroom, but other than that, it's also a way to teach us how to use those tools that was already available to us at our center. It's like if you buy a piece of furniture from ikea, you have all the tools, you have all the parts, but sometimes you don't know what to do with it. So stepping side by side is almost like the instructions. You follow a map of how to use these tools in different ways. So I think that's what stepping side by side means to me personally. Is teaching me how to apply those knowledge and tools into the classroom. One of the biggest tools that I feel like I gain from stepping side by side is to how to effectively reflect, which is like a lot of times when we reflect on our practices or even just an activity, we would, the only question is like, did it work? Did it go the way I wanted it to go? But through stepping side by side, I asked myself more so. How does that match my value and my goal as an educator? And that kind of opened up a lot more doors to expand and to change the practices in the classroom.

Jackie: 10:40

It was, for me, a chance of growth and leadership. It was a starting and sharing of the passion of my ideas and cultivating and inspiring the next generation of educators. I love that that program has something for everyone from relationships to environment documentation and more, and has an invitation for all types of learners. Whether you prefer reading, listening, or watching, it has something for everyone. One thing I loved about it too, was that it utilizes all of our documents, like It encompasses everything we're supposed to be doing.

Jessica: 11:10

As a supervisor leading, kind of a fresh team, a lot of new grads ECAs that are kind of new to this profession stepping side by side was really a way to have the team dig deeper into. The way they think about how they're running their programs and how they're making those connections with families and children and also with each other through stepping side by side. What I like about stepping side by side is the reflective piece of it, because it's so easy to, you know, attend a workshop. Oh, that was really cool. I gained a lot of knowledge. And then the next day, you're not bringing the tools you learned from that workshop into the classroom, or it kind of just falls off. But with stepping side by side it, it really made it a long-term practice in the classroom. And I think stepping side by side. I feel like a little bit more personal. Right. It's forcing you to dig deep into yourself. And think about what those things mean to you as a person, as an educator. So I feel like it's more impactful and makes you feel more like you want to continue and bring it into your room.

Cassidy: 12:32

For me it was when we initially did the pilot, it was having some more in depth tools to have under my belt. And now years later, it's the tools that I can fall back on for mentorship as a more senior staff. It's just, it's a good confidence booster when you're feeling maybe unsure of your own skills. It helps you build your own confidence and how you can share that within the workplace.

Anna: 13:00

It really meant a lot to me. In the past couple of years, I've really been trying to just self-reflect upon me as a ped lead and just how I can support and help the childcare that I am in. So it's helped me have a better understanding of how I can support and mentor and guide educators. That are within my care. I feel that during that time I realized that we're all on our own different journey and it's really nice that this tool helps me to support these educators in different ways. Instead of kind of having a cookie cutter way of doing things. So I could go on this tool and kind of say, Hey, you know what? If I could really support you in this, or if they tell me, you know, this is something that I really might need more support in. I could be like, Hey, this is a great tool. Like, here, let's, let's kind of like dig deeper into this. So it's helped me a lot better when it comes to that as my own personal journey when it comes to a whole center as a whole. I feel that it's been a great tool for having the educators bring back that passion of childcare. I feel after, COVID and different things maybe that have gone on in this world, I feel like, they needed a little bit of a spark. And so I feel like this tool has helped them to be like, Hey, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing. And so I feel that, it is been a great tool for that and for other kid educators that have been in childcare for years and years and years, where I feel that sometimes they've just lost that spark or they've lost that interest or they just don't have time to kind of go to school and, but they still wanna learn. I think this is a great opportunity and a great tool for them to kind of just ease, also engage in, in their desire and their passion for childcare, but not necessarily having to take a three, four year course. So I think that's just been really, really good for that as well.

Leslie: 14:41

For our second question, we asked our guests to reflect on a moment or insight from stepping side by side that stayed with them. Let's hear what they have to say.

Cassidy: 14:51

For me, the, as I mentioned before, the mentorship, the friend along the way at is a excellent tool when starting to think about mentoring Mohawk students or college students in the ECE program and now mentoring new staff that have entered the field, entered our center and trying to have something that aligns all the values that we have. And it's a really good stepping stone to fall back onto.

Kelli: 15:18

Okay, so I, I actually have three.. So the, the first one is, Lois said, Polish your gems. If it glitters polish it, let it shine. I'm pretty sure those were her words almost. Exactly, because that's something I love is documenting what other people say. So, and I did have it in quotes, so Bianca's, one of those gems. And, and it was very easy to say, oh, okay, yeah, let's, let's, let's do this, let's do this together. She's passionate, she's dedicated, she's eager to learn. She's kind, she's vulnerable. She's like, she asks questions and, and, and even pushes, like pushes and I'll refer to that next. But it was a beautiful opportunity to support. Our learning and growth. And I say our learning and growth. And then I don't know where this quote came from, but I did have it quoted in my notes and it's finding a place for our minds to meet up and that's what we did all the time. So that was a, that was something that stayed with me, that polish your gems. If it glitters polish it, let it shine. So the other is a critical friend, so something that, that, being reminded of a critical friend through the stepping side by side. This is something that I know here in, in our center, we have revisited. We've gone back to it. We, we, we've explained it, we've understood it, but it's something that we have shared with our team that we revisit and refer to all the time, like all the time. It's something that we, as a team, all value. As we support each other and it's, it's actually become embedded in our practice. We can always go back to and say, Hey, remember we're a critical friend with each other. So that's something that stayed with me and it continues to stay and it's, it's spread through our, our team here. The third one was, and again. I know I'm picking three. I could pick so many more, but the other is the aha moments. And I actually remember sitting with Bianca saying, or even I think we were sitting beside, I'm like, oh, you should do this at our team meeting. Are you comfortable to do this at our team meeting? And those aha moments of sharing stories of children with families that capture our hearts because that's why we're here and that was something that stayed with me. And then Bianca and I talked about it and then she got up at our team meeting and shared what is an aha moment. And I just think that's, that's beautiful.

Bianca: 17:52

the One that I've kind of put in practice was, to take the aha moment. And that resonated with me because. In our day, we're going through a lot, you know, many children routines and go everywhere. We're everywhere in our facility and at the end of the day, the parents will ask, how was my child? And I'm like, okay, let me think back. And there are moments are like, I don't remember. But if it was a moment, like the aha moment that I've continuously using in my practice, it was that, and it's kind of helped myself as an educator to be remembering little things to pass on to parents. Like, do you know what the app is gonna tell everything but routine? But this is what I wanna share with you. It was a moment in time that I noticed that a picture, maybe at the time or video. Could share, but I wanna share my perspective. And the parents really appreciate that and kind of like, oh wow, do you know what? We've noticed this and this and this, that home as well. I'm like, do you know what, this makes sense now why we are seeing it? And just building those relationships and connections and elaborating and it's just, whoa, like something so simple

Anna: 19:11

there's lots of moments that actually stayed with me when I took this at asci. I think the discussion, the really raw, genuine discussion that happened within that community was something that I really, really appreciated because I think at times we're so busy with the hustle bustle of stuff that we don't get the chance as leaders sit down and really have that, opportunity to really discuss things and realize that we have so many good people here in Hamilton and how we have so many. Good leaders here that have a lot of passion and have a lot of desire to move forward with childcare. So having that dynamic, that community of like conversation. I absolutely really thrived on. The other thing I think was my supervisor that I did it with just having seen her aha moment in the midst of our conversations where at times, you know, it's so busy. As supervisors you're just in the grind of things and I think you just stop to actually be like, this is why I'm doing this. Right. And I think noticing her notice and realize that her haha moment in this whole thing where it's yeah, like this is a really good thing that we're doing. I think made my heart really happy to see that because I think it's so important that people that are on leadership. Being on the same page about things. It's just so much easier moving forward with a vision and goals for your childcare.

Jackie: 20:31

The most impactful invitation for me was in the environment reflection. We thought about our environments and values and how does it look like in our classroom culture. It was a great way to start off the school year, especially when you're working in a new team.

Leslie: 20:45

And in our final question, we explored how Stepping Side by side has influenced relationships with children, families, and colleagues. Let's hear their responses.

Nicola: 20:56

For families, I find that stepping side by side give us a lot of tools to apply into classroom, but also make us more confident in a way that, I know what I'm talking about. And when you talk with such confidence and knowledge, parents trust you, more parents wants to be on the same team with you. And that really changed the dynamic in the classroom between the educators and the families. As for colleagues in the workplace, I feel like like, you see the other preschool room doing something, sometimes you go, oh, okay, well I'm gonna one up you. But now it's more like, oh, I think it kind of leads to another questions like, okay, why did it work for them? How did it work for them? Would it work for my classroom? How can I apply that to my children? Instead, it create this relationship of peer mentoring, it's more like, i'm gonna learn from you. How did you do that? Can you teach me? It doesn't make you feel inferior. It makes you feel like, oh, you're improving together. You're being better educate educators together.

Kelli: 21:58

okay. So with stepping side by side something, well, I've always been passionate about. Dedicated to relationships, all relationships, building relationships, supporting relationships, making those connections with families, educators, and children. I feel like the foundation of my practice is care and everything stems from care. So stepping side by side has it, has reminded me. And again, I have another quote. This is from Lori and Anne-Marie to stay curious all the time and to live my practice. It, it, it just brought me back. It, it just brought me back to, you know, to, again, to all those moments, all the learning that is just the foundation of what our practice as an RECE is built on. So. With that and my relationships with families and children and educators, I've, I've had students come through and I, I refer to the stepping side by side because it sits with me. So with my families, all these things, all these pieces have come together. And just again, enhanced my practice and something that I thought I would look at, and that's really important. As I was looking back through my notes, I said there was a little, a little ask at the beginning that said, as a mentor, I commit to, and then I look back at what I wrote and I said, always be learning. Be kind and empathetic. Ask questions, be vulnerable, collaborate, and question, and always wonder. And with that, that what? That's what I want to do. In my relationships with families, with children, with educators. So it just kind of rounds it all out. But it leaves it open for continuous, continuous learning and reflection.

Bianca: 23:55

So it's definitely deepened the relationships that I've encountered in many ways with different kinds of people. With the children that I work with, I've become more intentional in how I listen. I'm not just listening, but to truly listen with intent. To understand their perspective and their thinking, curiosities, they have emotions and observing them with different lenses. I think that came from learning to how to be a listener and observant with adults through, through this experience, and it has been ongoing process every single day. With the families. I've started also listening with more empathy to really recognize that they know their child best when they come to me with questions. I do honestly try to be to answer them in a supportive and kind way. And if I don't have the answer, I don't shy away from them and I know sometimes we don't have all the answers, but we'll find something for you. We'll move forward together. And I've noticed that parents have appreciated that. And there have been, we've been seeing results and I've taken that from this stepping side by side. It's impacted me in the way I speak to the families with a point with collaborating with my team, especially when I know someone else might have more experience or insight in a particular area. The collaboration with my coworkers helps us guide families in the most helpful and respectful possible way. It's important to me to collaborate with others. They are my coworkers who I work with every day, and their insight is important to me. And the kind of openness has made our team stronger and our work more meaningful as our own program director has said. She would say slow to grow, and that phrase also stayed with me. And growth does not have to be rushed. Sometimes the most meaningful learning happens when we are slow down, reflect, and we grow together.

Anna: 26:01

As I said in the beginning, for me it was more that. realized that, and we all have a story and we all have, the reasons why we got into childcare. And I think, so many times we forget with just the, all the mundane of things in childcare and everything that's been put on us to do and, and do, do, do, do that we just kind of don't stop. And just be and be present. And so I feel this has just really helped me, not only for time management as a ped lead, it's helped me with time management instead of me investigating and trying to figure out or search things online or everywhere, I have that one area and location for me to go to. At the same time too, I also feel this is a great tool if you wanna bring forth something that's been an issue, maybe that's arising in your childcare that you don't know how to approach it. 'cause you wanna be mindful and respectful of things, but you know, that is a need that has to be met. I think this is also a great kind of tool to bring in and be like, Hey, let's talk about this. You know, there's something that I've noticed. Let's, let's talk about this together, let's see how we can improve this, you know? So that was another area which I loved and how I loved this. Another thing too was when you're in childcare, sometimes you have all these ins and outs, educators coming, educators leaving, new staff that are coming in that,, are very new to the field. Some people are new to the country. And so it's figuring out, how can I make everybody get on the same page about our visions, about our passion? Not only. Within our childcare center, but also within the city of Hamilton

Cassidy: 27:29

It's influenced me in the way I reflect on my daily practices, monthly practices, yearly practices, and how I can use the tools that are throughout all the modules when I'm in a tricky situation or how I can reference that with families. When we're having difficult conversations. It gives some good id advice and ideas there, and It gives a strong base to fall back on when having difficult conversations. And it gives that frame of reference, I can reference that point, share it with families, and then have some feedback from there.

Jackie: 28:06

I'm a lot more conscious now of the why, what I do, and I'm able to explain it to the families and colleagues using stepping side by side has allowed me to reflect more on my role as an educator and become more authentic and intentional in my teaching.

Leslie: 28:21

Thanks for listening to this special episode of Can We Talk Conversations in the earlier Years? The reflections you heard today show how stepping side by side supports educators through mentorship, onboarding, and continuous learning in ways that are flexible, personal, and deeply impactful, whether you're just entering the field or supporting others in their journey. Stepping side by side offers, tools, invitations, and resources to guide your growth. At your own pace, in your own way. To learn more about the modules, visit the show notes for more information and be sure to check out our full podcast library whenever you listen. Until next time, thank you for the work you do and for walking side by side with us.