GuardMe Connections

From May 3 to 5, 2026, GuardMe Canada joined international education professionals, administrators, and decision-makers from K-12 public schools across the country in Montreal for the CAPS-I Annual Conference.

GuardMe attended CAPS-I 2026 to connect with K-12 international education leaders, contribute to conversations about student wellbeing, and better understand the challenges schools are navigating in real time.

This year’s theme, “New Realities, Shared Futures: The Next Chapter in International Education,” captured the spirit of the event. Across three days, conversations focused on where the sector is headed, what schools are experiencing now, and what international students need to feel supported, safe, and understood.

For GuardMe, CAPS-I was an opportunity to listen, contribute, and stay connected to the people doing this work every day.

Our team arrived with five people and left with a clearer understanding of the questions, pressures, and priorities shaping international education in Canada’s public school communities.

Megan Cameron, Negar Abedi, Dana Mills, Christina Furtado, and Jenni Danino attended CAPS-I 2026 on behalf of GuardMe Canada.

Together, they brought decades of experience in student support, mental health, crisis response, and institutional partnership to the conversations taking place throughout the conference.

Their role was not only to represent GuardMe, but to listen closely to the realities our partners are facing. These conversations help us better understand what institutions need, where students may be facing gaps in support, and how we can continue building solutions that feel practical, connected, and grounded in real experience.

Over the course of the conference, Christina Furtado presented three sessions focused on the realities of supporting international students before, during, and after difficult moments.

Each session approached the work from a different angle: mental health, preparation, resourcefulness, and coordinated response when a situation becomes urgent.

In the mental health speaker panel, Christina joined colleagues from across the sector to discuss the realities of supporting students in international K-12 environments.

For students studying far from home, cultural context, distance from family, language barriers, and unfamiliarity with local systems can make already difficult moments feel even more complex.

The discussion reinforced an important truth: meaningful support requires more than awareness. It requires preparation, coordination, cultural understanding, and clear pathways to care.

In “Beyond Bounce Back: Building Resourcefulness in International Students Before Crisis Hits,” Christina encouraged participants to move beyond reactive models of care.

Resilience is not something students should be expected to find only after something has gone wrong. It is something institutions can help build from the beginning through the right tools, relationships, and support systems.

The session focused on how schools can strengthen student resourcefulness before crisis points emerge, helping students feel more capable, connected, and prepared throughout their journey.

For GuardMe, this reflects a core part of the work: helping institutions support students in ways that are proactive, practical, and built around real-life needs.

In “When Everything Falls Apart: Responding to Critical Incidents with International Students,” Christina explored what happens when preparation meets reality.

Critical incidents, whether medical emergencies, mental health concerns, or family situations unfolding across borders, require schools to respond with speed, sensitivity, and cultural awareness.

The session offered a practical look at what coordinated care can look like in difficult moments, and how institutions can respond in a way that protects both student wellbeing and team capacity.

Dana Mills, Megan Cameron, and Christina Furtado also co-hosted GuardMe’s 60-minute sponsor session, “Unfiltered Classrooms: The Unpacked Life: Where Real Stories, Hard Lessons, and Honest Conversations Meet.”

This session was designed to feel different.

Rather than focusing on polished talking points, the goal was to create space for open, practitioner-to-practitioner conversation. Real situations. Hard questions. Honest lessons. Practical solutions that have worked in the field.

The response in the room made it clear that these conversations are needed.

International education professionals are carrying complex responsibilities. They are supporting students, communicating with families, managing risk, navigating institutional expectations, and responding to challenges that do not always come with simple answers.

When people working in this space have room to speak honestly, everyone benefits.

CAPS-I brings together the people who carry the day-to-day responsibility for international student wellbeing in Canada’s K-12 public schools.

These are the advisors, directors, administrators, and support teams making decisions that affect students far from home. Their work often happens under pressure, with limited resources, high expectations, and a deep sense of responsibility to get it right.

GuardMe exists to support that work.

Our role is to help reduce complexity, close gaps between services, and give institutions the infrastructure they need to care for students with confidence. That means creating support that is easier to access, easier to understand, and easier to trust.

It also means continuing to listen.

Conferences like CAPS-I are not only opportunities to share what we do. They help us stay connected to the reality on the ground. They remind us that the strongest solutions are built through partnership, conversation, and a clear understanding of what schools and students are actually experiencing.

As international education continues to evolve, the need for thoughtful, coordinated student support will only grow.

The conversations at CAPS-I reflected both the challenges ahead and the commitment of the people working to meet them. We left encouraged by the honesty in the room, grateful for the relationships strengthened, and more committed than ever to supporting institutions through the moments that matter.

Thank you to CAPS-I for hosting another well-organized and meaningful conference, and to everyone who shared their experiences, questions, and insights with us.

Here is to continuing the work, together.

What is CAPS-I?

CAPS-I brings together Canadian public school districts involved in international education. Its annual conference gives K-12 international education professionals an opportunity to connect, share insights, and discuss the future of student support in Canada.

Why did GuardMe attend CAPS-I 2026?

GuardMe attended CAPS-I 2026 to connect with K-12 international education leaders, listen to the challenges facing public school programs, and contribute to conversations about student wellbeing, mental health, and crisis response.

Who attended CAPS-I 2026 on behalf of GuardMe Canada?

Megan Cameron, Negar Abedi, Dana Mills, Christina Furtado, and Jenni Danino attended CAPS-I 2026 on behalf of GuardMe Canada.

What topics did GuardMe speak about at CAPS-I 2026?

GuardMe contributed to conversations about international student mental health, building student resourcefulness before crisis, responding to critical incidents, and creating more honest dialogue among international education practitioners.

How does GuardMe support K-12 international education institutions?

GuardMe supports K-12 international education institutions by helping schools care for students with greater clarity, coordination, and confidence.