LAMBTON KENT DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD



SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE



Thursday
Wallaceburg District Secondary School
19 00 hours

2003 12 11
Library
(7:00 p.m.)

 

 

M I N U T E S

 

 

PRESENT:
Rose Gallaway (for Jennifer Adam), St. Clair Child and Youth Services


Al Kuhn, Community Living Chatham-Kent


Marion Lennan, Lambton County Developmental Services


Duncan Longwell, Trustee (Chair)


Donna Scherer, Learning Disabilities Association of Chatham-Kent


Ted Scott, Member "at large" (Vice-Chair)


Wenda Vallee, Autism Society of Ontario


Mary Weerdenburg (for Jenny Greensmith), Pathways Health Centre for Children




REGRETS:
Norma Hills, Community Living Sarnia-Lambton


Susie Jones, Trustee


Sharon Nickerson, Member "at large"


Veronica Vaughan, Community Living Wallaceburg




RESOURCE
Warren Kennedy, Superintendent of Education

STAFF:
Chris Gordon and Denise Emery, Special Education Co-ordinators

 

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1.0
CALL TO ORDER - 7:05 p.m.

 

 

2.0
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF 2003 11 27

 

The Minutes of 2003 11 27 were approved.

 

D. Scherer requested clarification of a statement made by W. Kennedy at the previous meeting concerning decreasing the number of identified exceptional pupils.

 

W. Kennedy explained that he mentioned that our exceptional pupil figures were slightly above the provincial average and that we will continue to encourage teachers to offer accommodations and/or modifications before referring students directly to an IPRC. Since our Resource Teachers also assist an ever-increasing number of non-identified students we will be reviewing the support provided to non-exceptional pupils.

 

 

3.0
BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES - None.

 

 

4.0
PRESENTATIONS

4.1
Options Program

C. Gordon introduced Options Program Teacher, Marilee Asher, along with Options Program Students: Lindsay, Matt, Mike, and Noah.

 

M. Asher and the students outlined the Options Program which is a joint program between the Lambton Kent District School Board, the St. Clair Catholic District School Board and St. Clair College. The program operates out of St. Clair College in

Chatham with a current enrolment of 9, although they can accommodate up to 12 students. The program focuses on life experiences including:

· Living Skills

· Work Experience

· Nutrition and Fitness

· Life Management

· Entrepreneurial Studies

 

Matt, Mike and Noah demonstrated their new product, CD Clocks, which they are currently selling to gain experience and to raise funds for a year-end class trip.

 

Lindsay provided details on how College life was different from her high school experiences, summarizing that the “Options Program was going great and they were working very hard”.

 

SEAC members had the opportunity to ask questions and provide suggestions.

4.2
Developmental Disability Exceptionality

D. Emery distributed a handout to SEAC Members outlining the following as they relate to the Developmental Disability Exceptionality:

· Ministry of Education Definition

· Attributes

· Placement Options

 

Liz Zantingh, Special Class Teacher at Winston Churchill School was also in attendance and was able to provide SEAC with a slide presentation describing her program for students with developmental disabilities between the ages of 11 and 13. The program focuses on practical experiences and life skills including:

· Social Skills

· Printing

· Reading

· Sports

· Grocery Shopping and Meal Preparation

4.3
Websites

T. Scott presented an overview of his annual Ontario school board website review. Highlights included:

· Best Practices

· What Not to Do

· Best Sites (Peel, Thames Valley, Toronto D.S. Boards)

· Examples of a Good Webpage

4.4
In-Service Opportunity Held November 25, 2003 (Leslie Andrews)

A. Kuhn attended the November 25, 2003 in-service opportunity, featuring Guest Speaker Leslie Andrews who spoke from her experiences as a person with Giftedness/Learning Disabilities. Her presentation was entitled “Beating the Odds” and was hosted by both the Lambton Kent District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic District School Board.

 

 

5.0
SPECIAL EDUCATION HANDBOOK (ELECTRONIC VERSION)

Deb Ellacott provided SEAC with details on a recent project she has undertaken to convert the Special Education Handbook into an electronic format so that it can be accessible to staff through the Board’s “intranet”. Not only will this make information easily available but also

it will make updating the Handbook accurate and manageable.

 

D. Ellacott demonstrated a test version of the Handbook website which included easy access tabs and links to appropriate Administrative Procedures, etc.

 

W. Kennedy announced that Deb Ellacott has been appointed as a Vice-Principal at McNaughton Avenue School, and presented her with best wishes and a gift on behalf of SEAC.

 

 

6.0
ISA UPDATE

 

W. Kennedy informed SEAC that an ISA Validation Team recently visited our Board and approved an additional 121 ISA Claims (61 Level 2's and 60 Level 3's), resulting in a new, unconfirmed, ISA Baseline of 551 students requiring intensive support (295 Level 2's and 256 Level 3's). Hopefully this will translate into additional ISA funding for this Board. He praised the efforts of school staff, the Special Education Co-ordinators, and the Supervisor of Psychological Services.

 

 

7.0
SUMMER EXPERIENCE, 2003

 

Due to technical difficulties, the video will be shown at a future meeting.

 

 

8.0
CORRESPONDENCE






8.1
Learning Disabilities Association of Lambton County SEAC Training Session

 

W. Kennedy distributed details of a SEAC Training Session hosted by the Learning Disabilities Association of Lambton County on January 29, 2003, at Devine Street School, Sarnia, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $20.00 per person.

 

Any SEAC Members interested in attending are asked to contact Joan Sparks (1-800-754-7125, Ext. 495 or 336-1500, Ext. 495), by January 19, who will arrange for registration and payment of fees.

 

SEAC agreed to attend the SEAC Training instead of their regular meeting scheduled for January 22. Future new SEAC members will be invited as well.

 

 

9.0
ASSOCIATION REPORTS AND OTHER BUSINESS

 

T. Scott explained that he did not reapply for the next three-year term of SEAC because he is interested in pursuing other volunteer activities. He was grateful for the opportunity to participate on SEAC and has been impressed by the number of dedicated staff and SEAC Members.

 

W. Vallee presented W. Kennedy with a copy of “Children Diagnosed with Autism; What to Expect and Where to Get Help” from the Chatham-Kent Chapter of the Autism Society of Ontario. She also submitted a copy of their recent newsletter.

 

D. Longwell announced that Trustees attended a Ministry of Education meeting in London recently. Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy was in attendance.

 

 

10.0
QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC - None.

 

 

11.0
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

 

W. Kennedy suggested that “future directions” should be discussed at the February meeting.

 

· Exceptionality Presentations

· Safe Schools Act and Its Effect on Exceptional Pupils

· Link between IPRC, IEP, and Transition Plans, etc.

· New Criteria for Identifying Students as "Communication (Learning Disability)"

 

 

12.0
NEXT MEETING





Thursday, January 29, 2004


Devine Street School, 2nd Floor


7:00 p.m.

 

Note change of date and location in order to participate in SEAC Training offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of Lambton County.

 

 

13.0
SEAC RECOGNITION

 

W. Kenendy presented SEAC Members with a token of appreciation in recognition of their service to exceptional pupils over the past three-year term.

 

 

14.0
ADJOURNMENT - 9:20 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joan Sparks,


Recording Secretary.