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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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March 27, 2008 |
Library |
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M I N
U T E S |
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PRESENT: |
Ruth Ann Dodman, Trustee |
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Rose Gallaway, St. Clair
Child and Youth Services |
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Marion Lennan, |
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Jonathan Quaglia, Member
"at large" |
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Lisa Saul, 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" |
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Malcolm Tyrrell, Community
Living Chatham-Kent |
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Janet Vanderwerf, Member "at large" |
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REGRETS: |
Jackie |
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Melissa Hewitt, VOICE for
Hearing Impaired Children |
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Elizabeth Hudie, Trustee
(Vice-Chair) |
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David Katzman, Community
Living Wallaceburg |
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Margaret Smith, Autism |
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RESOURCE |
Jim Costello, Superintendent of Education |
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STAFF: |
Pam Graham, Principal of Special Education Peg Dawkins and Debbie Seager, 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 2008
02 20 |
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The Minutes of 2008 02 20 were approved as written. |
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3.0 |
BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES - None. |
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4.0 |
PRESENTATION – INCLUSION
AND TRANSITIONS |
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One of the 2007-2008 priorities established by SEAC was the topic of Inclusion and Transitions. As a result, SEAC received a presentation on the variety of transition processes and protocols available within the Lambton Kent District School Board. Special Education Co-ordinator, Debbie Seager, outlined the transition process for preschool special needs children entering the school system for the first time. A collaborative approach is taken with the various agencies that may have been involved with the child prior to school entry (eg., Pathways Health Centre for Children, Prism Centre, Chatham-Kent Children’s Services). Protocols have been established with the various agencies that establish the process for the preschool in-take meetings and transitions. D. Seager distributed a recently developed pamphlet that outlines the school entry process for parents of special needs children. Jennifer Sanders, from the Thames Valley Children’s Treatment Centre - School Support Program, was in attendance and presented information on the services and support they provide to educators who deal with students with autism. She outlined the contents of a recently developed Transition Planning Kit that includes five manuals: a Reference manual, an Elementary to Secondary School Transitions manual, a School to School Transitions manual, a Secondary School Transitions manual, and a School Entry Transitions manual. The manuals contain checklists, questionnaires, and strategies for teachers. A CD with templates of the forms, checklists, etc., along with a resource to become more familiar with the pupil are also included. Individual student/teacher workbooks will also be available in the near future. One kit will be distributed to every school that has a student with autism. Shelley Martsch-Litt, Itinerant High Needs Resource Teacher, detailed the services provided by the High Needs Team in promoting successful transitions and inclusion for students with autism and developmental disabilities. The High Needs Team, which consists of herself and two Educational Assistants, has the expertise to offer practical ideas as well as the capacity to model individual strategies in the classroom. Often their support is instrumental in maintaining seamless transitions for our students and capacity within our schools. Peg Dawkins, Special Education Co-ordinator, explained the new
process for Grade 8 to 9 IPRC’s. All
Grade 8 to 9 IPRC’s for non-full service secondary school entry were held the
last week of February. These IPRC’s
were scheduled by the secondary school and it was not necessary for the
Special Education Co-ordinator to attend.
This allowed the process to be stepped-up and left time for students
to be included in IPRC meetings at a full service school (AMSS, JMSS, or
WDSS) if it was determined during the initial IPRC that the student should
perhaps attend AMSS, JMSS or WDSS.
This new process will allow Principals to timetable/staff properly
based on actual numbers of students, especially for the ABLE and Essential
programs. The Special Education
Co-ordinator will attend the IPRC’s at the full-service secondary schools and
continue to chair the SEAC had the opportunity to ask questions and it was suggested that the Thames Valley Children’s Treatment Centre make their Transition Kit available to all schools if possible. |
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5.0 |
SPECIAL EDUCATION PLAN |
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SEAC reviewed several
sections of the Special Education Plan.
P. Graham highlighted the suggested revisions: |
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5.1 |
Review of Section 2.8 - Special
Education Placements Provided by the Board ·
Page 43 - Elementary
Continuum Placement Options Chart has been revised. Under the “Regular Class with Withdrawal
Assistance” section, (E-ABLE Program
for Mild Intellectual Disabilities has been replaced with (Learning Resource Teacher). Revised version was reviewed. ·
Page 51, Item 3.2.1 - Change entire paragraph to
read: “Elementary students with a mild intellectual disability have their
program needs met at their home school through the combined efforts of the
regular classroom teacher and the learning resource teacher. The placement statement may be Regular
Class with Resource Assistance for those students requiring more
accommodations than modifications, or it may be Regular Class with Withdrawal
Assistance for those in need of significant modifications to their program.” ·
Page 45, Items 1.1 and 1.2 - Change information
beside each title from (Currently under
Review) to (Reviewed - 2007). ·
Page 45, Item 1.1 - Second to last sentence, change
the term Central Behaviour Committee
to Central Behaviour Team. ·
Page 46, Item 1.4.2 - Change the last word to classroom (not classrooms). ·
Page 46, Item 1.4.3 - Change the paragraph to
read: “Students who are receiving support from Chatham-Kent Children’s
Services (CKCS), and who are unable to benefit from instruction in a regular
school, will have an education program provided by a qualified teacher in a
classroom located in a facility provided by CKCS or in an elementary
classroom located at Indian Creek Road School.” ·
Appendix 2.8.8 - Special Education Program Review - Chart has been updated
indicating Behaviour Program Review took place between Fall 2006 and Fall
2007. Revised Appendix 2.8.8 was
reviewed. |
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5.2 |
Review of Section 2.10 -
Provincial and ·
On Page 60, revise the Number
of Students Currently Attending Provincial Schools based on 2007-2008 statistics: Amethyst = 9, Robarts = 3, W. Ross
Macdonald = 8, E.C. Drury = 1. |
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5.3 |
Review of Section 3 - The
Board’s Special Education Advisory Committee ·
Appendix 3.1.1 - SEAC Membership List - Membership List has been updated
for 2008. Revised Appendix 3.1.1 was
reviewed. ·
Appendix 3.1.2 - SEAC Meeting Information Flyer - Flyer has been updated based on
2008 Membership. Revised Appendix
3.1.2 was reviewed. ·
Appendix 3.1.3 - SEAC Information
Brochure - Brochure has been updated based
on 2008 Membership. Revised Appendix
3.1.3 was reviewed. |
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5.4 |
Review of Section 4 -
Co-ordination of Services with Other Ministries No changes suggested. |
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6.0 |
CORRESPONDENCE - None. |
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7.0 |
ASSOCIATION REPORTS AND
OTHER BUSINESS J. Costello announced that the Ontario Secondary School Literacy
Test was written today at all secondary schools in D. Scherer reported that the
Learning Disabilities of Ontario has secured funding to work collaboratively
with the Ministry of Education and parents to develop a website to provide
parents with resources to support their consultative role in developing an
IEP. This website may also be a
helpful tool for teachers. L. Saul distributed
pamphlets providing details of the “Kids Positive Program” offered by the
Learning Disabilities Association of Lambton County. She also provided details of an evening
workshop on “EduLink”, which is a new miniature FM
System that enables the student to receive the teacher’s voice at any time
without difficulty. The workshop will
be held on April 17, 2008, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at R. Gallaway circulated
information on the 17th Annual “Box Lunch Social”, a fundraiser for
St. Clair Child and Youth Services. P. Graham announced plans to
begin a review of programs available for students who are medically fragile
or who have developmental disabilities.
The “DD/MF Program Review” will most likely begin in April, 2008 and interested
SEAC members were asked to volunteer to become committee members. N. Hill, R. Gallaway, and L. Saul
volunteered. D. Seager updated SEAC on
the “Premier at Home” re-licensing.
The license has been renewed for an additional year which will allow
students and parents of the Lambton Kent District School Board to access the
Premier Accessibility Suite at home via the Internet. There will be a new username and password,
effective June 1, 2008. This
information will be communicated to parents via school newsletters. |
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8.0 |
QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC - None. |
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9.0 |
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ·
Ministry
Autism Project Update ·
Review
of Special Education Plan D. Scherer raised questions
about the Ontario Psychological Association (OPA) Project. D. Seager explained that the project does
not officially end until the end of August, 2008. Some promising practices have been
submitted to OPA, data gathering has been continuous, and resources are being
developed. |
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10.0 |
NEXT MEETING |
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Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
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7:00 p.m. |
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11.0 |
ADJOURNMENT - 8:10
p.m. |
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Joan Sparks, |
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Recording Secretary. |