2.10 Provincial and Demonstration Schools in Ontario
The Ministry of Education administers a number of provincial
schools. These include W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford,
Robarts School for the Deaf in London and three Demonstration Schools
for students with severe learning disabilities. Once a student has been
accepted to a provincial school arrangements for appropriate transportation
are made though the Transportation Department of the Lambton Kent District
School Board.
Provincial Schools and provincial Demonstration
Schools:
¨ are operated by the Ministry of Education;
¨ provide education for students who are
deaf or blind, or who have severe learning disabilities;
¨ provide an alternative education option;
¨ serve as regional resource centres for
students who are deaf, blind or deaf-blind;
¨ provide preschool home visiting services
for students who are deaf or deaf-blind;
¨ develop and provide learning materials
and media for students who are deaf, blind, or deaf-blind;
¨ provide school board teachers with resource
services;
¨ play a valuable role in teacher training.
Provincial School for the Blind and
Deaf-Blind
There is one Provincial School for blind and deaf-blind
students. W. Ross Macdonald School is located in Brantford and provides
education for students who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.
The school provides:
¨ a provincial resource centre for the visually
impaired and deaf-blind
¨ support to local school boards through
consultation and the provision of special learning materials, such as
Braille materials, audio-tapes, and large-print textbooks;
¨ professional services and guidance to ministries
of education on an interprovincial, cooperative basis.
Programs are tailored to the needs of the individual
student and:
¨ are designed to help these students learn
to live independently in a non-sheltered environment;
¨ are delivered by specially trained teachers;
¨ follow the Ontario curriculum developed
for all students in the province;
¨ offer a full range of courses at the secondary
level;
¨ offer courses in special subject areas
such as music, broad-based technology, family studies, physical education,
and mobility training;
¨ are individualized, to offer a comprehensive
“life skills” program;
¨ provide through home visiting for parents
and families of preschool deaf-blind children to assist in preparing
these children for future education.
Provincial Schools for the Deaf
The following Provincial Schools offer services for
deaf and hard-of-hearing students (for contact information, see next
page.):
¨ Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in
Belleville (serving eastern Ontario)
¨ Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf in
Milton (serving central and northern Ontario)
¨ Robarts School for the Deaf in London (serving
western Ontario)
¨ Centre Jules-Leger in Ottawa (serving francophone
students and families throughout Ontario)
Admittance to a Provincial School is determined
by the Provincial Schools Admission Committee in accordance with the
requirements set out in Regulation 296.
These schools provide elementary and secondary
school programs for deaf students from preschool level to high school
graduation. The curriculum follows the Ontario curriculum and parallels
courses and programs provided in school boards. Each student has his
or her special needs met as set out in his or her Individual Education
Plan (IEP). Schools for the deaf:
¨ provide rich and supportive bilingual/bicultural
educational environments which facilitate students’ language acquisition,
learning, and social development through American Sign Language (ASL)
and English;
¨ operate primarily as day schools;
¨ provide residential facilities five days
per week for those students who do not live within reasonable commuting
distance from the school.
Transportation to Provincial Schools for students
is provided by school boards.
Each school has a Resource Services Department
which provides:
¨ consultation and educational advice to
parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and school board personnel;
¨ information brochures;
¨ a wide variety of workshops for parents,
school boards, and other agencies;
¨ an extensive home-visiting program delivered
to parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing preschool children by teachers
trained in preschool and deaf education.
Provincial Schools for Students with
Severe Learning Disabilities
Each provincial Demonstration School has an enrolment
of forty students. The language of instruction at the Amethyst, Sagonaska,
and Trillium schools is English; at Centre Jules-Leger, instruction
is in French.
Application for admission to a provincial Demonstration
School is made on behalf of students by the school board, with parental
consent. The Provincial Committee on Learning Disabilities (PCLD) determines
whether a student is eligible for admission.
Although the primary responsibility to provide
appropriate educational programs for students with learning disabilities
remains with school boards, the ministry recognizes that some students
require a residential school setting for a period of time.
The Demonstration Schools were established to:
¨ provide special residential education programs
for students between the ages of 5 and 21 years;
¨ enhance the development of each student’s
academic and social skills;
¨ develop the abilities of the students enrolled
to a level that will enable them to return to programs operated by a
local school board within two years.
In addition to providing residential schooling
for students with severe learning disabilities, the provincial Demonstration
Schools have special programs for students with severe learning disabilities
in association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD).
These are highly intensive, one-year programs.
The Trillium School also operates Learning for
Emotional and Academic Development (LEAD), a special program for students
with severe learning disabilities who require an additional level of
social/emotional support.
Further information about the academic, residential,
LEAD, and LD/ADHD, programs is available from the Demonstration Schools
through the Special Needs Opportunity Window (SNOW) website at http://snow.utoronto.ca.
An in-service teacher education program is provided
at each Demonstration School. This program is designed to share methodologies
and materials with teachers of Ontario school boards. Information about
the programs offered should be obtained from the schools themselves.
Number of Students Currently Attending
Provincial and Demonstration Schools
Following are the number of Lambton Kent District School
Board students attending Provincial and Demonstration Schools:
Amethyst School, London - 10 students
Robarts School, London - 7 students
W. Ross Macdonald School, Brantford - 6 students
Provincial School Contacts
Teachers may obtain additional information from the
Resource Services departments of the Provincial Schools and the groups
listed below.
Provincial Schools Branch, Ministry of Education
Provincial Schools Branch
255 Ontario Street South
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2M5
Tel.: (905) 878-2851
Fax: (905) 878-5405
Schools for the Deaf
The Ernest C. Drury School
for the Deaf
255 Ontario Street South
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2M5
Tel.: (905) 878-2851
Fax: (905) 878-1354
The Robarts School for the Deaf
1090 Highbury Avenue
London, Ontario
N5Y 4V9
Tel.: (519) 453-4400
Fax: (519) 453-7943
The Sir James Whitney School for
the Deaf
350 Dundas Street West
Belleville, Ontario
K8P 1B2
Tel.: (613) 967-2823
Fax: (613) 967-2857
School for the Blind and Deaf-Blind
W. Ross Macdonald School
350 Brant Avenue
Brantford, Ontario
N3T 3J9
Tel.: (519) 759-0730
Fax: (519) 759-4741
School for the Deaf, Blind, and Deaf-Blind
Centre-Jules-Leger
281 rue Lanark
Ottawa, Ontario
Tel.: (613) 761-9300
Fax: (613) 761-9301
Provincial Demonstration Schools
The Ministry of Education provides the services
of four provincial Demonstration Schools for Ontario children with severe
learning disabilities.
These schools are the following:
Amethyst School
1090 Highbury Avenue
London, Ontario
N5Y 4V9
Tel.: (519) 453-4408
Fax: (519) 453-2160
Centre Jules-Leger
281 rue Lanark
Ottawa, Ontario
KIZ 6R8
Tel.: (613) 761-9300
Fax: (613) 761-9301
TTY: (613) 761-9302 and 761-9304
Sagonaska School
350 Dundas Street West
Belleville, Ontario
K8P 1B2
Tel.: (613) 967-2830
Fax: (613) 967-2482
Trillium School
347 Ontario Street South
Milton, Ontario
L9T 3X9
Tel.: (905) 878-2851
Fax: (905) 878-7540
