Gurpreet Kaur Bains is an award-winning educator with 23 years of teaching experience in Surrey. She is the Languages Department Head at LA Matheson Secondary School and trained as a Science, Special Education, and Punjabi language teacher. She has actively collaborated with the Ministry of Education and the Museum of Surrey in developing South Asian curriculum and teaching resources. She has been recognized by the City of Surrey with the Mayor’s Award for fostering civic responsibility and cultivating social justice and empowerment in Surrey Youth. She is a passionate educator who firmly believes in the education of the heart and the mind. She firmly believes that Academic excellence can only be achieved when students are also contributing members of their communities. She has facilitated many talk shows and conversations on various platforms to help parents become more involved in their child’s learning at school. Her presentations and workshop have facilitated positive relationship building between schools and parents. Gurpreet embodies her beliefs in empowering students, engaging the community, and thinking critically about culture, all through Mentorship through Identity. She has worked with many diverse community organizations such as BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, Next Hundred Years Mentorship Program, Kaur Collective, Safe Schools, VISAFF, Shakti Society, Dhahan Youth Prize, Surrey School District Film and Speech festival, Progressive Intercultural Community Services, Punjabi Language Education Association, Untold Punjabi Settler Pioneer Stories, Women Helping Women Project since 2010, and the Indus Media Foundation. All this falls under the umbrella of Punjabi Mustang, a program dedicated to taking ownership of language and connecting to one’s roots.
Keeping mentorship through identity front and center, she inspires her students to fundraise for many great causes in the community. Recently her students raised $8,000 in two weeks for Guru Nanak Diversity Village, a Senior Care Home project by PICS. Covid 19 pandemic has taught us the importance of quality senior care homes. This initiative was mainly chosen during Sikh Heritage Month and the Vaisakhi celebration in 2021 and continues for the next 4 years with a total goal of $13,000. This year Gurpreet has personally chosen Options Community Services and Youth at risk. Options are very close to her heart as she is passionate about Youth empowerment. Gurpreet strongly believes that collaboration between educators and community stakeholders is vital in making an impact in uplifting communities. Her partnerships with a diverse group of community partners highlighted this, including Mustang Justice.
