UPPER GRAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
The Special Education Advisory Committee of the Upper Grand District School Board met
on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in the Boardroom at 500 Victoria Road North,
Guelph.
The following Association Members were present: Kim Brenner, Parents for
Children’s Mental Health-Wellington County, Pauline Busby, Community Living GuelphWellington, Sharon Dills, Learning Disabilities Association of Wellington County, Jason
Offer, Association for Bright Children-ABC, Sue Shaw and Carrie Proudfoot, Autism
Ontario-Wellington County, Don Richardson, Integration Action for Inclusion in
Education and Community (Ontario)
Present from Staff were: Carla Anderson, Special Education Consultant, Trudy
Counter, Coordinator-Communication, Language and Speech Services, Jacqueline
Foster, Special Education Coordinator, Christine Kay, Principal, Tracey Lindsay,
Principal of Program, Doug Morrell, Superintendent of Program, Sandra Roberts, VicePrincipal, Sandra Szpular, Special Education Coordinator / Collaborative Projects Lead
Trustees Present: Marty Fairbairn and Jennifer Waterston
Regrets: Beth Haworth, Community Member-at-Large, Stacey Stevens, VOICE for
Hearing Impaired Children
Absent: Carole Craig, Parents for Children’s Mental Health-Wellington County
Marty Fairbairn called the meeting to order.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Pauline Busby moved that the Agenda of the June 12, 2013, Meeting be
approved.
The motion carried.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Jennifer Waterston moved that the Minutes of the Meeting held on May 8, 2013
be approved.
The motion carried.
REVIEW OF ACTION ITEM:
Doug Morrell asked for clarification around the request to have someone present on
Parliamentary Procedure at an upcoming meeting. It was decided that we would not
move forward with this.
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 2
June 12, 2013
SPECIAL EDUCATION REPORT 2012-2013
Sandra Szpular, Special Education Coordinator provided information about the Special
Education Report 2013 provided to members. She began by speaking about the
Board’s Consultation Process that has been added and indicates the ways our board
shares information about our Special Education programs and services. Also added to
the Report this year under the Special Education Advisory Committee section is a chart
outlining the topics presented, information provided to SEAC throughout the 2012-2013
school year and the recommendations made by SEAC for each topic.
The revisions made to the Protocol for Partnerships section of the Report – the last
section to be reviewed this year, highlights the collaborative agreements the Upper
Grand DSB has with our community agencies. Some changes in Appendix A were
made to improve clarity, contains SMART goals from the Board Improvement Plan for
Student Achievement (BIPSA) and strategies used in 2012-2013.
Based on the “Instructions Regarding Special Education Plans and Reporting
Requirements on the Provision of Special Education Programs and Services” Ministry
memo, the Special Education Report and Special Education Plan along with the
Checklist will be submitted to the Ministry of Education and posted on the board website
by the July 31, 2013 deadline.
In closing, Sandra Szpular asked members if there were any questions or comments on
the Special Education Report 2013.
In response to a question from Jason Offer in the Individual Education Plans section
“setting and writing annual programs goals will remain a focus for professional
development on the results of the 2011-12 audit”, Sandra Szpular responded that the
review showed this was an area that our board needed to work on and noted this is
unique to each student.
Don Richardson suggested a fourth column be added to the chart created to include
“What has been done to complete the action”.
SPECIAL EDUCATION PLAN 2013-2014
Sandra Szpular introduced the Special Education Plan 2013-2014 provided to members
which contains the same information as the Special Education Report with the addition
of the Targeted Goals for Students with Special Needs. The Special Education goals
are also embedded in the Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (BIPSA).
The five topic areas are based on the Ministry direction and the System Foci contained
in the BIPSA. These topic areas are: Individual Education Plans based on Ministry
Review; Transition Plans based on Ministry Direction with a focus on the integration of
transitional goals for students with developmental disabilities; Grade 8 Refresh Initiative
– Special Equipment Amount; Social Emotional Programming in consultation with
community partners and Board Initiatives; and Student advocacy targeting short-term
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 3
June 12, 2013
intervention (Itinerant Teachers). The goal, specific objectives, and monitoring of each
of the five topics were reviewed with members. Sandra Szpular commented that these
are the goals in addition to our BIPSA goals.
Also added to the Special Education Plan was the Board’s Consultation Process that
contains information about our next steps in obtaining feedback from members of the
broader community.
Carrie Proudfoot inquired what age groups “Reaching In…Reaching Out” and “Tools for
Life” were designed for. Sandra Szpular responded that “Reaching In.…Reaching Out”
is for early years and “Tools for Life” is for JK to grade 8 students. Sharon Dills
commented “Tools for Life” is designed to be used throughout the span as there is a
common language used and noted there is a parent package for parents’ use.
Pauline Busby inquired about the sexuality kits that were distributed to the
developmental disability programs and whether these were being used or were on hold
due to the Ontario Curriculum around sexuality. It was noted that these kits were
developed locally and were not tied into the Ontario Curriculum. Pauline Busby
suggested we receive a report at SEAC regarding this.
Don Richardson commented it was good to see a Special Education Plan and Special
Education Report and was pleased to see the targeted goals outlined in the Plan. He
further commented that he will be tabling a Minority Report he would like included with
the Special Education Report and provided explanation regarding the Minority Report.
Doug Morrell spoke about the community consultation Don Richardson referred to and
noted that this is part of the Board’s Consultation Process information contained in the
Special Education Plan as a next step.
The Minority Report was distributed to members.
DRAFT BOARD IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT 2013
Tracey Lindsay, Principal of Program spoke about the Board Improvement Plan for
Student Achievement (Draft 2013-2014) that was distributed to everyone. She began
by reminding members this is a three-year plan which started in 2011 and is revised
yearly by a Committee that has representation from the Superintendents of Education,
Special Education department, Student Success, School Effectiveness Leads following
input received from Administrators, Trustees, Superintendents, Program Services,
SEAC and will be shared with the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) in September.
Some of the revisions made for this year are a result of feedback received from the
Ministry of Education both at the Review in April and a recent teleconference. The
information contained was colour-coded to draw attention to the changes made
following input received, current information and information that will be changing once
the data has been received (i.e. EQAO data).
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 4
June 12, 2013
The changes made in the System Foci section were reviewed as were the additions of
information around bullying and First Nations, Metis and Inuit students in the
Community, Culture and Caring information. The transition information contained in the
Pathways area is further defined in the student engagement area and draws attention to
ensuring students with special needs are a priority. The Smart Goals – If/Then
Statements were reviewed and highlighted the goal to have all staff see themselves in
the BIPSA. The additions and changes made in the Targeted Evidence Based
Strategies/Action were shared as well as those made to the Monitoring and Professional
Learning sections.
Tracey Lindsay concluded by commenting that the Board Improvement Plan for Student
Achievement is still in draft and will be updated once the necessary data has been
received. This is expected to be complete in September. She further reminded that the
School Improvement Plans align with the BIPSA and asked if there was any feedback.
Carrie Proudfoot suggested that parents be part of understanding the learning goals so
they are able to support students at home. Don Richardson suggested that the goals
and objectives for students with special needs in the BIPSA be included in the Special
Education Plan. Sandra Szpular commented that this information is included in
Appendix A of the Special Education Report and added she will put this in the Plan as
well. He further suggested that areas not specific to special education be integrated
into the Plan so our Special Education Plan aligns with other Board Plans.
Following an inquiry from Carrie Proudfoot about the BIPSA, Tracey Lindsay responded
that the BIPSA is posted on the Board website and will be updated once the revisions
are complete.
Sharon Dills asked if in the Professional Learning area there was a way to extend this to
include a broader community not just the school community.
OPEN FORUM
Sharon Dills reported that the June Learning Disabilities Association of GuelphWellington newsletter has been distributed. They are in the process of planning their
fall sessions and hoping to have a session on non-verbal learning disabilities.
Pauline Busby reported that the Community Living Annual Member’s meeting is taking
place soon.
Carrie Proudfoot reported that the Annual General Meeting was held recently. The new
Leadership Council can be seen online. Sue Shaw referred to the flyer distributed this
evening regarding transition planning for IEP students and their families in preparation
for College /University taking place at St. James Catholic HS on June 20, 2013.
Don Richardson reported the recent Integration Action for Inclusion Conference held in
Kingston was well attended and positive feedback was received by attendees. He also
reported that he is now the Director for Guelph - Integration Action for Inclusion.
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 5
June 12, 2013
Jason Offer thanked Doug Morrell for his work with the Special Education Advisory
Committee this year.
Kim Brenner reported that Parents for Children’s Mental Health is working on producing
a video about Children & Youth Mental Health from the perspective of family members
with funding received through a grant.
Marty Fairbairn referred to the dates for our SEAC meetings for the 2013-14 school year
which was distributed to members. He also thanked Doug Morrell for his work during
this year.
UPDATES FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PROGRAM
Doug Morrell referred to the email sent to members requesting information from each
association representative to be included in the Special Education Plan as outlined in
the “Standards for School Boards’ Special Education Plans” document. He asked
members to provide this information to Donna Glodziak at the end of the meeting this
evening.
TRUSTEE REPORT
Jennifer Waterston spoke about the Board as Budget Committee 2013-2014 Budget
presentation on June 3, 2013 noting as there were no delegations received, the final
Board as Budget meeting will be held on June 25, 2013.
The boundary reviews for Sir Isaac Brock PS and the Settlers Creek PS were approved
at the June 11, 2013 Business Operations meeting and it is anticipated that these will
be ratified at the June 25, 2013 Board Meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Jennifer Waterston moved that this Committee adjourn at 8:43 p.m. to report to
the Board.
The motion carried.