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Highlights of December 2, 2014 public meeting of the Board of Trustees

Wed, 3 Dec, 2014

Earlier this year, the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) released the Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Inclusive Education in Alberta schools. The panel made 38 recommendations to improve inclusive education in the province to Alberta Education, ATA and post-secondary institutions. Ten of these recommendations were made directly to school jurisdictions.

At yesterday’s public meeting, the Board of Trustees received an update on what recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Panel had been undertaken by the District, how we were doing in offering successful inclusive education environments for all students and what the potential resource implications may be.

The Trustees approved A Trustee Special Needs Task Force Recommendation Report in June 2011. Using this as a guiding document, Inclusive Learning consultants in the District have been able to fulfill the 10 recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Panel.

Here are just a few of the highlights:

• In addition to policy and regulations, an advisory committee was formed to make sure the voices of parents of special needs students and the community were heard.
• Teachers developed a number of resources including tip sheets to support them in their work.
• A series of videos on best practices in inclusive education classrooms were also produced and have been shared with staff so they can look at some best practices happening in other schools.

“We will continue to champion for those students who require extra assistance to experience success,” said Board Chair Sarah Hoffman. “The Board remains committed in advocating for all schools so they can create inclusive education settings for all learners.”

The District is challenged by a shortage of trained educational assistants to work with students who have special education needs. The Administration is targeting strategies to address this issue.

Tuesday's board meeting also marked the first meeting attended by Student Trustee Johannah Ko, who was also sworn into office.