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LAMBTON |
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SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE |
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Thursday, |
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7:00 p.m. |
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April 28, 2005 |
Room 141 |
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M I N
U T E S |
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PRESENT: |
Rose Gallaway, St. Clair
Child and Youth Services |
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Susie Jones, Trustee |
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Laurie Mawlam, Community
Living Wallaceburg |
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Graham McIntyre, Trustee |
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Maggie Rochon, Easter Seal
Society of |
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Lisa Saul (for Lisa
Matthews), Learning Disabilities Association of |
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Donna Scherer, Learning
Disabilities Association of Chatham-Kent (Vice-Chair) |
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Jonathan Quaglia, Member
"at large" |
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Wenda Vallee, Autism Society of |
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Janet Vanderwerf, Member "at large" |
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Mary Weerdenburg, Pathways
Health Centre for Children |
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Jane Wright (for Al Kuhn),
Community Living Chatham-Kent |
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REGRETS: |
Duncan Longwell, Trustee (Chair) |
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Charlene Taylor, Member "at large" |
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Marion Lennan, |
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RESOURCE |
Warren Kennedy, Superintendent of Education |
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STAFF: |
Chris Gordon, and Geri Haskell, Special Education Co-ordinators |
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********************************************************************************* |
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1.0 |
CALL TO ORDER AND APPROVAL
OF AGENDA SEAC Vice-Chair, D. Scherer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. |
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2.0 |
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF
2005 03 31 The Minutes of 2005 03 31 were approved as written. |
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3.0 |
BUSINESS ARISING FROM
MINUTES |
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3.1 |
EQAO Special Needs Cohort Sizes A chart revealing the number of EQAO Special Needs Cohort Sizes was reviewed. Information was requested at the previous meeting regarding the actual number of special needs students used in determining the percentage of cohort comparisons used in the report and presentation provided by Bill Woodcock, Consultant for Academic Research and Development. J. Quaglia commended the statistics for EQAO realizing that two thirds of all IPRC’d students are being accommodated to write the exam. D. Scherer stated that the number of Grade 9 applied students seemed high and that some of these students could also be suited for the academic program. C. Gordon assured that each student is reviewed through the grade 8 to 9 process at the high school and placed in the program best suited to that student, realizing that students can access courses according to their academic needs in the applied or academic levels. G. McIntyre reported that the provincial drop out rate of 31.48% is high and is concerned these students are falling through the cracks. W. Kennedy quoted an approximate 10% drop out rate for the Lambton Kent District School Board. He also addressed the concern that special education dollars are being used for special education only, and any monies channeled in through government promises will be spent on students at risk with approximately two thirds of new teachers for student success. |
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4.0 |
2005-2006 BUDGET |
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4.1 |
Special Education Funding Memorandum W. Kennedy reviewed the contents of a Special Education Funding Memorandum, dated March 31, 2005, from the Ministry of Education: · This Board is not eligible for funding through the Effectiveness and Equity Fund related to special education reserves. · We may realize a small “net gain” through the additional funding for newly enrolled students with high needs for 2004-2005 (one-time-only funds). · A working group involving many partners will be created to recommend long-term approaches to special education policy and funding (including 2005-06). · The Ministry has provided the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) with some funding to collaborate with schools and boards to develop ways of combining excellent service to students with sustainable resource requirements. D. Scherer requested that SEAC be involved in the planning process relative to CODE. W. Kennedy stated that two planning sessions will be set aside for the special education expert panel to plan for CODE and this information will be brought back to SEAC for approval. |
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4.2 |
Presentation - 2005-2006 Budget Overview and Input Superintendent of Business, Ron Andruchow, provided an overview of the 2005-2006 Budget. Highlights included: · Timelines for preparation of Operating Budget (January-April); Capital Budget (February-May); Board Budget Review and Approval (April-June) and the Ministry Grants Revenue Process (March-May). Final deadline for budget submission to the Ministry is June 30, 2005. ·
· Enrolment Projections: Elementary down 500 students and secondary down 96 students. An Opinion Survey was provided to SEAC for feedback concerning the 2005-2006 budget process. R. Andruchow asked that this survey be returned to him by May 5, 2005. SEAC members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions and comment on the 2005-2006 Budget. J. Quaglia asked how the budget is affected by declining enrolment. R. Andruchow replied that 500 students would reduce the 2005-2006 budget by approximately 3 to 4 million dollars. W. Kennedy commented that special education reserves have been used to sustain programs. J. Quaglia asked for numbers relative to JK/SK declining enrolment. W. Kennedy thanked R. Andruchow for preparing an informative presentation. Copies of the slides used during the Budget presentation are attached. |
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5.0 |
UPDATES TO 2002-2003
INTERNAL REVIEW OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES A revised version of Section 3h - Programs and Services for Learning Disabled, was provided and reviewed. W. Kennedy reported on the updated statistics and the status of the recommendations. Input from SEAC included: ·
Changing
of the Transition Learning Disabilities Program from the secondary to the
elementary level. W. Kennedy responded that
while movement of the program was considered, for now it will remain at the
secondary level. Elementary students
receive support from resource teachers, educational assistants and the
Itinerant Resource Technology Teacher. |
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6.0 |
DRAFT 2005 SPECIAL
EDUCATION PLAN G. Haskell distributed DRAFT copies of the 2005 Special Education Plan. Changes to the following sections were reviewed: List of Appendices and Glossary of Terms/Acronyms · List of Appendices has been revised. · List of Glossary of Terms and Acronyms has been revised. Section 1 - Consultation Process · Page 1, 1st Paragraph, Change last sentence to read: “Principals were asked to seek feedback on the plan during Spring School Council meetings.” ·
Page 1, 2nd
Paragraph, Change 1st bullet to read: “Monthly up-dates - individual sections of
the plan are reviewed and revised at monthly SEAC meetings. Revisions are recorded as part of the
Minutes for each meeting.” · Page 1, Under Community Input to the Plan, Change 1st sentence to read: “Members of the community are provided with timelines and are encouraged to offer input to this plan through the Board’s website and through the local associations represented on SEAC.” · Page 1, Under Community Input to the Plan, Remove 3rd Paragraph (sample recommendations). · Page 2, Change Title to: “Internal and External Reviews of Programs and Services during 2003 to 2005”. · Page 2, Change the last Paragraph to read: “During the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years, the following programs and services have been reviewed: o
Hearing Impaired o
Visually Impaired o
Physical Disabilities o
Comprehensive Review of the Role
of the Resource Teacher o
Comprehensive Internal Review
of Special Education Programs and Services” · Appendix 1.1 has been revised. · Remove: Appendix 1.2. G. Haskell also revisited the following sections and provided progress reports: · Section 2.3 - Early Identification Procedures and Interventions Strategies--the Early Years document is currently being revised and SEAC recommendations have been forwarded to the Committee. · Section 2.9 - Individual Education Plans--a DRAFT/Sample of the new web-based IEP will be added as an Appendix if available in time, but due to the recent set-backs this may not be possible. · Section 2.12 - Staff Development--discussions continue concerning making a special education in-service mandatory for new administrators. · Section 2.14 - Accessibility of School Buildings--Appendix 2.14.1 may be replaced with a DRAFT copy of the 2005-2006 Annual Accessibility Plan if available in time. · Section 4 - Co-ordination of Services with Other Ministries or Agencies--further revisions may be made to Page 76, under Transition of Students out of School to Community. · Section 5 - Submission and Availability of School Board Plans--the submission letter will be revised. SEAC members were asked to review the DRAFT Plan prior to the next SEAC meeting. At the May SEAC meeting it is hoped that SEAC will make a recommendation to the Board to approve the Plan prior to submission to the Ministry in July of 2005. J. Wright asked if the recommendations of the Physical Review would become part of the Special Education Plan. W. Kennedy stated that the recommendations from program reviews are presented to the Board for approval. |
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7.0 |
WEB-BASED IEP REVIEW
UPDATE G. Haskell updated SEAC on the progress of the implementation of the new web-based IEP. An in-service of pilot schools took place Friday, April 22, 2005 where participants were provided with usernames and passwords. They have been asked to work with the program for the next three weeks and to report comments to G. Haskell through an IEP Review Evaluation Form. The group will be brought back together in June for further review. It is the intention to involve all teachers in the development of the IEP. D. Scherer asked for samples and a possible demonstration for the June SEAC meeting. |
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8.0 |
CORRESPONDENCE - None. |
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9.0 |
ASSOCIATION REPORTS AND
OTHER BUSINESS R. Gallaway distributed details
of the annual Box Lunch Social fundraiser for St. Clair Child and Youth
Services which will take place on May 19, 2005. J. Wright informed SEAC that
May is Community Living Month. On Saturday,
June 4, 2005, a fundraiser is taking place at the Baldoon Golf & Country
Club and registration forms were provided.
J. Wright also distributed information on a Community Living Ontario
pre-2005 Conference presentation to be held on Saturday, May 28, 2005 in L. Mawlam distributed
information on an “Autism is Treatable” workshop to be held Saturday, May 7,
2005. She also provided details of the
Community Living Wallaceburg Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, June
4, 2005. D. Scherer shared copies of
the Learning Disabilities Association of Chatham-Kent Summer 2005 Tutoring
and Social Skills Program pamphlet. |
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10.0 |
QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC - None. |
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11.0 |
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ·
DRAFT
Annual Accessibility Plan ·
Approval
of Special Education Plan ·
2005-06
Budget Update |
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12.0 |
NEXT MEETING |
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Thursday, May 19, 2005 |
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7:00 p.m. |
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13.0 |
ADJOURNMENT - 8:50
p.m. |
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Judy Mallette, |
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Attach. |
Recording Secretary. |