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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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February 23, 2006 |
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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Elizabeth Hudie, Trustee |
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Al Kuhn, Community Living
Chatham-Kent |
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Marion Lennan, |
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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 |
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Charlene Taylor, Member
"at large" (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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REGRETS: |
Susie Jones, Trustee (Vice-Chair) |
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Laurie Mawlam, Community
Living Wallaceburg |
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Maggie Rochon, Easter Seal
Society of |
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RESOURCE |
Jim Costello, Superintendent of Education |
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STAFF: |
Denise Emery, Chris Gordon, and Geri Haskell, Special Education Co-ordinators |
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1.0 |
CALL TO ORDER AND APPROVAL
OF AGENDA - 7:00 p.m. |
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2.0 |
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF
2006 01 26 |
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A. Kuhn suggested that the first sentence of the second paragraph under Item 11.0 be changed to read: “A. Kuhn announced that Community Living Chatham-Kent (CLCK) has reopened the Parkfield Restaurant and revamped the meeting rooms.” The Minutes of 2006 01 26 were approved as amended. |
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3.0 |
BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES |
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3.1 |
Scheduling Additional SEAC
Meeting in May, 2006 C. Taylor clarified her perception of the Annual Review of the Special Education Plan and the priority-setting exercises conducted earlier this school year by SEAC. In order to make up for the
cancelled SEAC meetings of November and December, 2005, an additional SEAC
Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 30, 2006. Tentatively, the meeting will be devoted to
reviewing the 2006 amendments to the Special Education Plan. To date, feedback has not yet been
received from the Ministry of Education from our 2005 Special Education Plan
submission. A section-by-section
review of the Special Education Plan will begin in September, 2006. |
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4.0 |
PRESENTATION OF PRIORITY ITEM #1 - INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLANS |
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G. Haskell reported on the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Individual Education Plan (IEP) Teams”, and provided some background on the development of the new web-based IEP. Each SEAC Member was asked to record one item they hoped the new IEP will address. G. Haskell introduced Resource Teachers Marisa Bernardi and Patti Palmer who have been involved with the new web-based IEP Pilot Program. M. Bernardi and P. Palmer presented details of the new web-based IEP, including a review of each section of a sample exemplar IEP for a student with a Learning Disability and a student with a Mild Intellectual Disability. Sections of the new IEP include: · Student Biographic Information which will be pulled from the Student Administration System (Trillium) · Strengths and Needs · Health Support Services · Assessments · Accommodations · Human Resources · Individualized Equipment · Provincial Assessments · Program Summary (Accommodated, Modified, or Alternative) · Description of Special Education Programs · Summary of Information Sources · Evaluation and Reporting · Review and Updating · Log of Parent/Student Consultation SEAC learned what type of information would appear under each section and was assured that the new IEP meets Ministry of Education Standards as outlined in the IEP Resource Guide published by the Ministry in October, 2004. Surveys concerning the new IEP have been distributed to staff and parents at the Pilot schools and responses have been very positive. SEAC Members received copies of the survey as well and were asked to complete and submit at the end of the meeting. M. Bernardi and P. Palmer continue to work on support documents for the new web-based IEP including exemplars for each exceptionality, an IEP Engine Users Manual, Tips, an IEP Parent Guide, and an IEP Student Guide. Feedback from SEAC included: · be more specific with some of the terminology or provide further explanation so that parents will better understand (e.g., G.E. means Grade Equivalent, or Communication Skills listed as a Strength for a student with a non-verbal learning disability may be better reported as Oral Communication Skills, or Morphographs--explain in two or three words, in brackets, what a morphograph is). · should medications be listed, and whether or not they are administered by school staff? · SEAC had questions about the consultation process and would like to see a copy of the Consultation Form. District-wide Resource Teacher in-service on the new web-based IEP is planned for late April, 2006 for implementation in the Fall of 2006. M. Bernardi, G. Haskell, and P. Palmer were thanked for their contributions with the development of the new web-based IEP. |
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5.0 |
PLANNING ENTRY TO SCHOOL RESOURCE GUIDE SEAC was provided with a
copy of a new Resource Guide recently published by the Ministry of
Education: Planning Entry to School. A Ministry information session was held on
January 27, 2006. C. Taylor and D.
Seager attended along with Superintendent J. Badder and the Chatham-Kent
Director of Children’s Services, M. Miller.
The guide is intended as a resource for school boards to use with
staff, parents and community partners to facilitate successful entry to
school for all children. More information
will be provided at the March or April SEAC meeting. C. Taylor also provided
information on the Best Start initiative which will provide children ages 0
to 6 with additional supports. The Lambton
Kent District School Board is involved as a partner in the development of local
demonstration sites under the rural Best Start initiative. |
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6.0 |
DUNCAN LONGWELL SEAC
RECOGNITION C. Taylor informed SEAC that a plaque was presented to Duncan
Longwell on behalf of the Special Education Advisory Committee on January 25,
2006. The plaque recognized the
longstanding dedication of |
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7.0 |
CORRESPONDENCE |
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7.1 |
Letter from SEAC reviewed a copy of a letter sent by the Simcoe County District School Board SEAC to the Ministry of Education, dated January 16, 2006. The letter supported the continuation of the Successful Academic Vocational Transition Initiative (SAVTI). SAVTI is a program that addresses the educational and vocational transitional needs of survivors of childhood cancer entering post secondary institutions. |
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8.0 |
ASSOCIATION REPORTS AND
OTHER BUSINESS D. Emery reported that the J. Costello announced that
the Net New Needs (NNN) funding recently provided by the Ministry of Education
will result in the hiring of an additional 22.5 temporary Educational
Assistants. Affected schools have been
notified and hiring is currently taking place. These temporary positions will terminate on
June 28, 2006. N. Hills stated that
Community Living Sarnia-Lambton is currently celebrating their 50th
Anniversary. Promotions, community signage, and a
fundraising gala are planned. The
theme for Community Living Month in May will be “Inclusive Education”. Plans are underway for the annual “Mayor’s
Breakfast” to be held at A. Kuhn distributed copies
of an article written by Kathie Snow, “Inclusive Education: A Primer”. C. Gordon reported that
seven local applications have been submitted to the |
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9.0 |
QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC - None. |
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10.0 |
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ·
Priority
#2 - Parental Education and SEAC Awareness ·
Planning
Entry to School ·
Amendments
to Special Education Plan ·
Suspension
Rates ·
Learning
to 18 Initiative (Student Success) ·
Bullying
Prevention Policies and Procedures |
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11.0 |
NEXT MEETING |
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Thursday, March 23, 2006 |
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7:00 p.m. |
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12.0 |
ADJOURNMENT - 9:00
p.m. |
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Joan Sparks, |
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Recording Secretary. |