UPPER GRAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
2010 10 13
The Special Education Advisory Committee of the Upper Grand District School Board met on
Wednesday, October 13, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in the Boardroom at 500 Victoria Road North,
Guelph. The following were present:
Association Members
Margaret Abbink, Community Member-at-Large
Kim Brenner, Parents for Children’s Mental Health
Sharon Dills, Learning Disabilities Association of Wellington County
Jason Offer, Association for Bright Children (ABC)
Stacey Stevens, VOICE for Hearing Impaired Children
Laurie Whyte, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Staff
Carla Anderson, Special Education Consultant
Heather Boswell, Superintendent of Program
Bonnie Burgess, Coordinator of Speech & Language Services
Chris Kay, Elementary Principal
Sandra Szpular, Collaborative Projects Lead/Special Education Coordinator
Bonnie Talbot, Principal of Program
Trustee
Jennifer Waterston
Other
John Potocska, OSSTF District 18
Regrets
Sue Adams
Stephen Gayfer
Linda Busuttil
Absent
Pauline Busby, Community Living
Other
Beth Haworth, Community Care Access Centre
Pat Hlushko, Autism Ontario – Wellington
Sue Shaw, Autism Ontario – Wellington
Laurie Whyte welcomed everyone to the meeting this evening. Margaret Abbink spoke about
an article she had recently read about the March of Dimes.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Moved by Margaret Abbink
That the agenda of the October 13, 2010 meeting be approved with a change of presenter for
Item 4.
The motion carried.
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 2
October 13, 2010
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved by Kim Brenner
That the minutes of the meeting held on September 8, 2010 be approved.
The motion carried.
EQAO Results and the Board Improvement Plan
Sandra Szpular, Special Education Coordinator, provided a PowerPoint presentation
speaking about special education achievement noting achievement can be measured
in a variety of ways.
The EQAO results of students on Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) in Grades 3, 6
and 9 were presented (excluding students identified as gifted). Students in Grades 3
and 6 are assessed in reading, writing and mathematics. Students in Grade 9 are
assessed in mathematics. Results were also shared for students on IEP’s who wrote
the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). It is usually written in Grade 10
and is one of the requirements for secondary school graduation.
For secondary students, success rates by level of study (Academic, Applied, Locally
Developed Credit Courses-LDCC) showing both the Board and Province results were
provided. Also displayed was the breakdown of students taking the EQAO by
exceptionality as well as, the types of accommodations used (i.e. change in setting,
different presentation formats). Clarification was provided that students can use
Kurzweil for the OSSLT if this is listed in the student’s IEP and is regularly used by the
student.
Bonnie Talbot, Principal of Program distributed the Board Improvement Plan for
Student Achievement 2010-2013. This year the Special Education Plan and the Board
Improvement Plan are integrated into a K-12 document. The special education
information in the Plan was highlighted in yellow. The Long and Short Term Targets
in literacy, numeracy and special education were pointed out.
The Board
Improvement Plan is organized into three pillars with corresponding strategies An
example of a strategy in the Literacy/Numeracy pillar is to Establish baseline of
achievement for students on alternative curriculum (developmental disabilities).
Assessment materials have been purchased to assist with the collection of baselines
for these students, allowing us to set targets for next year. Also noted was the
Learning For All – K-12 document and how we are continuing its implementation (A+
for class and student profiles, the use of a language screening tool for kindergarten
students).
An example of the strategies in the Community, Culture and Caring Pillar is Promoting
increased understanding of student behaviour, enhancing staff capacity to implement
effective behaviour strategies and enhancing staff capacity to understand and
respond to mental health issues. Resource examples include Caring and Safe
Schools in Ontario and YooMagazine an on-line resource for secondary students.
Further explanation was provided by Heather Boswell who spoke about the role of the
Action
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 3
October 13, 2010
3 Child & Youth Counsellor – Behaviour Interventionists. It was recommended that
participation in school-based workshops on mental health be tracked.
The Board Improvement Plan has been shared with the Ministry in draft format. A
final copy will be submitted to the Ministry at the end of October.
Updates from the Special Education Funding Discussion Meeting
Sandra Szpular spoke about the Special Education Funding Discussion meeting
which was held on September 29, 2010. The Ministry is consulting with boards to
obtain feedback about special education funding. The discussions focused on
sharing effective practices, identifying challenges and issues and providing
suggestions on how to improve the special education funding model.
Heather Boswell, Superintendent of Program, Sandra Szpular, Coordinator of Special
Education, Sheila Parker, Manager of Budget and Financial Reporting, Stephen
Gayfer, Secondary Vice-Principal and Laurie Whyte, Chair of SEAC attended the
meeting on behalf of our board.
Heather Boswell commented on the complexity of calculating the funds allocated to
boards for special education.
The Special Education Report and Special Equipment Amount (SEA) Group
Discussion
As a follow up to the September SEAC meeting, Sandra Szpular referred to the
Special Equipment Amount (SEA) information contained in the Special Education
Report. The question “What guiding principles or considerations would you like to
recommend to the Special Equipment Amount (SEA) Steering Committee?” was
discussed in small groups.
The recommendations were gathered from each group which will be compiled and
reviewed with the SEA Steering Committee.
As the Special Education Report continues to be updated, information will be shared
with SEAC each month and feedback will be requested. The information regarding
Special Education placements provided by our board was distributed in a handout this
evening. Attention was drawn to the developmental disability programs and the age
students are to graduate from the program. SEAC was asked to review this
information as feedback will be requested at the November meeting.
Memorandum regarding the Special Education Advisory Committee Survey
Laurie Whyte, referred to the memo from the Ministry of Education, Special Education
Policy and Programs Branch, entitled Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 4
October 13, 2010
Letter and Survey. The Ministry is requesting feedback from SEAC members about
SEAC practices, orientation, the SEAC Learning website and the development of
resources.
Association
Copies of the survey were distributed to everyone this evening and members were Members
encouraged to share this survey with their associations. An electronic copy of the
Donna
survey will be forwarded to members.
Glodziak
Feedback will be gathered at the November SEAC meeting and our completed survey
will be submitted through the survey website.
Open Forum
Margaret Abbink spoke about the recent Special Olympics planning meeting. This
year there will be a Special Olympics Pep Rally held before the Special Olympics.
The Program Department is providing some funding for the Pep Rally.
Jason Offer talked about the September 15 meeting for parents of gifted children
regarding the location of grade 4-8 gifted classes and a subsequent survey sent home
with all students in the gifted classes at F.A. Hamilton P.S. and Waverley Dr., P.S.
The results gathered from the survey indicated a strong preference to have all gifted
classes at Waverley Dr., P.S. Five members of the parent consultation committee
met with Heather Boswell, Sandra Szpular and Carla Anderson to share the survey
results.
Jennifer Waterston noted that the report regarding the Plan for Elementary Guelph
Gifted Classes for September 2011, prepared by Heather Boswell was presented at
the Business/Operations meeting on October 12, 2010. A motion was approved to
consolidate the gifted classes at Waverley Dr., P.S. for September 2011 which still
needs to be ratified at the Board meeting on October 26, 2010.
Sharon Dills reminded everyone about the workshop being offered by Dr. Louise Scott
on October 23. The Learning Disabilities Association is arranging a workshop on the
Disability Tax Credit. Once confirmed, more information will be provided. If you are
interested in purchasing tickets for the Guelph Storm, please contact Sharon.
October is Learning Disabilities month.
Kim Brenner referred to the Family Information Fair being held on October 30 in
Fergus.
Laurie Whyte referred to the Empowering Exceptional Parents event held on October
2, 2010 noting the positive feedback received. Nathan Ory will be presenting on
FASD on November 15 & 16. KidsAbility is also hosting an event on FASD on Assoc.
Members
November 15. Also mentioned was a reminder to have your association submit a
nomination letter for you to continue as a member of SEAC.
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 5
October 13, 2010
Updates from the Superintendent of Program
Heather Boswell reported that the Caring and Safe Schools in Ontario document that
was distributed to members last month was also provided to Principals/Vice-Principals
in September. Sandra Szpular will be attending November Family of Schools
meetings to share information about this document with administrators.
The following information about the Special Education Review Committee (SERC)
was provided. The committee is comprised of Principals/Vice-Principal
representatives from each of the Family of Schools groups and special education staff
who meet each month to discuss issues that impact students with IEP’s. Staff rely on
this group to offer recommendations. Representatives share information with their
colleagues at their Family of Schools meetings each month.
Heather Boswell also spoke about the Special Education Funding Discussion meeting
and referred to some best practices our team was able to share within their groups.
Others were interested in the consultative approach we have taken to evolve service
to better support student needs/achievement.
Sandra Szpular referred to the Special Education Resource Teacher meetings held
on September 23 and 24 and drew attention to an afternoon session where
community partners joined the meeting and focussed on discussion about how we
can better support the needs of our students and their families in the areas of mental
health and social emotional wellness.
Trustee Report
Jennifer Waterston reminded everyone of the October 25, 2010 election.
Meeting Summary, Recommendation(s) and Motion(s)
Assoc.
Laurie Whyte reminded everyone to review and share the SEAC survey with their Members
associations as this will be an item on the agenda next month.
Adjournment
Moved by Margaret Abbink that the meeting be adjourned at 9:26 p.m.
The motion carried.