A Prince Rupert teacher biking across B.C. to get people talking about public education touched down in Chilliwack this week.

Nearing the end of a 3,000-kilometre bike-a-thon that started in Prince Rupert on Canada Day, Tulani Ackerman was in town Thursday, talking to people, taking down ideas and filming interviews for a potential documentary.

By the time she ends her 43-day trek at the provincial legislature in Victoria Aug.12, Ackerman will have stopped in more than 35 communities to ask people what they think is working in B.C.'s school system and what isn't.

So far her voyage of discovery--which has taken her over three mountain ranges--has turned up a lot of public discontent.

"What we're really noticing across the province is the lack of trust and confidence that communities and parents have towards the education system right now," she said in an interview with the Times.

Despite the negative feedback, however, Ackerman says her trek has been a positive experience and getting people talking about education is the first step to creating a system that works for all students.

"We can turn it around if we have the willingness," she said.

A 30-year-old teacher-on-call, Ackerman has been working in high schools for four years.

She is compiling the comments she hears along the way in a report she plans to present to the Ministry of Education in the fall.

- For more information, visit stepsforstudents.ca or e-mail stepsforstudents@gmail.com.