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LAMBTON KENT DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD |
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SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE |
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Thursday, |
Wallaceburg District Secondary School |
7:00 p.m. |
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September 21, 2006 |
Library |
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M I N
U T E S |
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PRESENT: |
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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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Maggie Rochon, Easter Seal
Society of Ontario, Sarnia-Lambton Branch |
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Donna Scherer, Learning
Disabilities Association of Chatham-Kent |
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Lisa Saul (for Lisa
Matthews), Learning Disabilities Association of |
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Margaret Smith and Wenda
Vallee, Autism Society of |
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Charlene Taylor, Member
"at large" (Chair) |
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Jonathan Quaglia, Member
"at large" |
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Janet Vanderwerf, Member "at large" |
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REGRETS: |
Rose Gallaway, St. Clair Child and Youth Services |
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Susie Jones, Trustee
(Vice-Chair) |
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Laurie Mawlam, Community
Living Wallaceburg |
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RESOURCE |
Jim Costello, Superintendent of Education |
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STAFF: |
Pam Graham, Principal of Special Education |
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Denise Emery, Chris Gordon, Geri Haskell, and Debbie Seager, Special Education Co-ordinators |
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1.0 |
CALL TO ORDER AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA - 7:05 p.m. |
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2.0 |
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF
2006 06 15 The Minutes of 2006 06 15 were approved as written. |
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3.0 |
BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES Referring to Item 9.0, D. Scherer inquired about attendance over the Summer at special education-related workshops. D. Emery responded that workshops were well attended and was pleased to report that a group of 20 very keen teachers attended the Differentiated Instruction Summer Institute. |
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4.0 |
SPECIAL EDUCATION PLAN |
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4.1 |
Ministry of Education
Feedback from June, 2005 Submission SEAC reviewed the “School Board Special Education Plan Report - 2005” that was received from the Ministry of Education on June 27, 2006. The Ministry indicated that all but one section (SEAC) of the Plan met with the Ministry Standards. The SEAC section partially met the Standard with the following notations: · SEAC Section does not identify the member who represents the interests of Native students. · SEAC Section does not state how SEAC reviews the Board’s financial statements. The Report also contained some positive notations along with some suggestions for the improvement of individual sections. Concerning the notation made by the Ministry about SEAC reviewing the Board’s financial statements, A. Kuhn and D. Scherer suggested that SEAC receive a follow-up Budget presentation each Fall showing exactly where special education funds will be spent for the current school year, along with a review of the Board’s financial statements. Due to the lack of timely grant details provided to Boards by the Ministry of Education, the Spring Budget presentation SEAC receives provides insufficient information for SEAC to have a clear picture of actual special education funding and expenditures prior to formal budget approval by the Board. |
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4.2 |
June, 2006 Submission of
Amendments and Updated Replacement Pages for SEAC Members SEAC learned that on June 13, 2006, the Board approved the recommendation from SEAC to accept the 2006 Amendments to the Special Education Plan. The Amendments were submitted to the Ministry of Education on June 14, 2006. SEAC received a set of replacement pages for their Special Education Plan based on the board-approved 2006 Amendments. |
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4.3 |
Procedures for the Annual
Review of the Special Education Plan for 2006-2007 G. Haskell reminded SEAC that the Ministry of Education announced last Spring that they would be “transforming” the Standards for Special Education Plans to focus on target setting and improvement planning related to student achievement and program effectiveness. No further details have been received to date. J. Costello may receive some information at the Regional Special Education Council meeting in mid-October. Until more information is received, SEAC agreed to review the sections that the Ministry had noted some concerns about in their “School Board Special Education Plan Report - 2005” that was received on June 27, 2006 (see Item 4.1 above). |
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5.0 |
2006-2007 BEHAVIOUR
PROGRAM REVIEW AND POTENTIAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION REVIEW OF SPECIAL
EDUCATION PROGRAMS |
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J. Costello reported that our
Director of Education has volunteered our Board to possibly participate in an
in-depth review of special education programs and services that may be
conducted by the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry of Education may select 26 Boards to participate. J. Costello also reported
that the Special Education Department will undertake a comprehensive review
of their Behaviour programs this school year, and asked for two SEAC members
to volunteer to be committee members.
Principal of Special Education, P. Graham will chair the “Behaviour
Program Review Committee”. C. Taylor
suggested that R. Gallaway be contacted to see if she would be interested in
participating on the Committee. J.
Quaglia also volunteered and A. Kuhn indicated he could participate if
needed. |
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6.0 |
EXCEPTIONAL PUPIL
SUSPENSION STATISTICS |
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A chart summarizing the
Number of Exceptional Pupil Suspensions for 2005-2006 was reviewed. Secondary = 398, Elementary = 63. The substantial decrease in the number of
elementary exceptional pupils from the previous year was noted and discussed. Possible reasons for the decrease could be: ·
Principals
are more aware of their exceptional pupils and mitigating factors ·
Implementation
of Tribes programming at most schools ·
Itinerant
Behaviour Team has been equipping our schools with strategies on how to
de-escalate behaviours and have provided anti-bullying strategies ·
Psychological
Services staff are being utilized in a more effective manner (more counselling) ·
Child and
Youth Workers placed a several schools have provided information and supports
to alleviate suspensions. E. Hudie informed SEAC that
the Trustees value the use of Child and Youth Workers within our schools and emphasized
during budget time the importance of their services. SEAC thanked the Board for their dedication
to the services provided by the CYW’s. J. Quaglia suggested that the
Board educate parents and the broader community about the Tribes Program. |
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7.0 |
2006-2007 BUDGET AND CODE
SPECIAL EDUCATION PROJECTS UPDATE |
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J. Costello announced that
the 2006-2007 Budget was approved by the Board in late August. A slight increase in the Para-professional funding
envelope has resulted in an increase in the number of Educational Assistants within
our schools. We now have 253
Educational Assistants compared to 236 the previous year. The number of Tutor Escorts has been
reduced due a decrease in funding from the Indian Affairs branch of the
Federal government. J. Costello reported that
the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) are accepting proposals
for funding again this year for special education projects related to
“Improving Literacy and Numeracy for Students with Special Needs”. This Board will be making a submission
which is due on September 29, 2006. Up
to $250,000 can be granted. CODE will no longer be approving any joint
or regional proposals; only proposals from individual boards with a set of
precise research-focused goals will be approved. G. Haskell, who is preparing the proposal,
explained that the focus this year will be on early intervention using a
comparative analysis at twelve pilot schools involving different tools for
assessing and teaching students. One
district-wide in-service is planned in April, 2007 with speaker Gayle Gregory,
an expert in the area of Differentiated Instruction. D. Scherer suggested that
SEAC receive copies of the final reports made following the 2005-2006 CODE
Special Education Projects, along with a copy of the 2006-2007 project
proposal submission. |
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8.0 |
SPECIAL EDUCATION AND SEAC
AWARENESS PLANNING Discussion continued on the planning for the two Education for All Open Houses to be held on October 11, 2006 - Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School (North), and October 18, 2006 - Indian Creek Road School (South) - 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Items determined include: · Open House announcement flyer and brochure has been prepared and will be distributed to Media, Schools, Agencies, and Doctor’s Offices. · Agenda: o opening remarks (SEAC Chair - C. Taylor) o greetings (Director - G. Stucke) o parental/SEAC member remarks (SEAC Member - J. Quaglia/C. Taylor) o Steps to Success and IPRC Process Presentation (Special Education Co-ordinators) o closing remarks (Superintendent - J. Costello) o movement to carousels (booths for Itinerant Teams; Psychological Services; SEAC with info. pamphlets from various associations/agencies represented on SEAC). · Cookies and bottled water will be provided. · A feedback or comment sheet will be prepared and N. Hills will donate Community Living pens. SEAC members were asked to arrive at least a half-hour in advance of the Open Houses to assist with set-up. |
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9.0 |
CORRESPONDENCE Copies of a pamphlet provided by the Ministry of Children and Youth
Services were distributed. The
pamphlet outlined resources and agencies across |
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10.0 |
ASSOCIATION REPORTS AND
OTHER BUSINESS L. Saul distributed information on an “Educational Event” hosted by the Learning Disabilities Association of Lambton County on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 featuring Dr. Bruce Ferguson speaking on the topic of “How to Make Our Kids Successful at School”. D. Scherer provided details
of the Learning Disabilities Association of Chatham-Kent Annual General
Meeting on September 27, 2006. She
also distributed information on the Fall, 2006 Tutoring and Social Skills
Programs. A. Kuhn announced that
Community Living Chatham-Kent will be holding a fundraising walkathon on
September 30, 2006. Registration forms
are available at their office. He also
informed SEAC that Community Living Chatham-Kent has already selected their
representative to nominate for a position on SEAC for the next four-year
term. A. Kuhn will be nominated to act
as their alternate representative. D. Emery distributed copies of
the Fall, 2006 edition of the “Staff Development for All Employees” booklet,
highlighting the Tribes workshops and ten workshops offered by the Special
Education Department. She also
distributed information on the Professional Development Day planned for
Educational Assistants and other support staff on October 27, 2006. Over 500 staff from both the Lambton Kent
District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic District School will be in
attendance at a variety of workshops throughout the district. D. Seager informed SEAC that
members of the Special Education Department will be conducting an all-day
in-service on Saturday, October 14, 2006 for approximately 50 teachers as
part of the Board’s New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP). The entire day will be devoted to special
education. C. Gordon announced that the
“E-text Committee” will be reconvened for 2006-2007. Members of the Assistive Technology Team,
Colleen Witt and Danielle Fox, will co-chair the committee. G. Haskell reported that two
Special Education Co-ordinators, along with the Assistive Technology Team
will be attending the Ministry of Education “Tools for Learning Forum” next
week. |
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11.0 |
QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC - None. |
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12.0 |
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ·
Priority-Setting
Exercise (January or February) ·
Budget/Financial
Statement Update (November) ·
Learning
to 18 Initiative (October) ·
Safe
Schools Action Team Document (states that Board should consult with SEAC on system-wide
safety matters) ·
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13.0 |
NEXT MEETING |
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Thursday, October 26, 2006 |
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7:00 p.m. |
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14.0 |
ADJOURNMENT - 9:10
p.m. |
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Joan Sparks, |
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Recording Secretary. |