2003 - SSAAM

Year: 2002 - 03 AGM November 29, 2002 

Past President: 

President: 

1st. Vice President: 

2nd Vice President: 

Treasurer: 

Secretary: 

Pat Burgess 

Paul Gillespie 

Monique Pillion 

Twyla Kastrukoff 

Bill Wan-en 

Lesley Weisshaar 

Professional Development: Helen Pearson 

Advocacy & Public Policy: Sandy McCaig/Teri Bembridge 

Public Relations: 

Historian: 

Regional Reps 

Metro: 

Parkland/Westman: 

South Central: 

South East/Interlake: 

Northern: 

Olia Jesson 

Arlene Cherepak 

Robert McDill 

Tanya Edgar 

Wilma Ritzer 

Glenda McKim/Annette Holowka 

Linda Anderson 

Manitoba Education & Youth: Joanna Blais 

Healthy Child Manitoba: Wendy Church

Honorary Life Membership 

1987 BobScarth 

Joe Gieni 

Lucille Blanchette 

Edna Siemens 

Elmer Bartel 

1988 BillKormylo 

Jean-Yves Rochon 

Al Stevens 

Martin Sveistrup 

1992 Helen Loeppky 

1993 DelKitch 

Hugo Stephan 

1994 Bonnie Thiessen 

1995 Bob Bell 

Vivian McGregor 

Joan Dary 

Jean Chaput 

1997 Larry Torske 

Anne Schmidt 

1998 Mickey Kuprowski 

Doug Reynolds 

1999 Fran Dagg 

2000 Bert Cenerini 

2001 Arlene Cherepak 

2001 Wayne Kroetsch 

2002 Julien Fradette 

Victor Thordarson 

John VanWalleghem 

2003 Karen Botting 

Larry Budzinski 

Patti Dobroski

Certificate of Recognition 

1989 Fred Cole 

Jack Latter 

Linda Kohut 

Victor Kuzyk 

1993 Gloria Costello 

Ed Dolloff 

Joan Ferris 

1995 EdTichon 

Fred Cole 

1997 PatFeir 

Roger Dubois 

Marie Sedor 

1999 Irene Huggins 

Jack Jonasson 

Joan Lonsbeny 

Ken McCluskey 

Diana Mackenzie 

Bev Dalmage 

2000 Irvin Harms 

2002 Bill McBride 

Mark Peterson 

2003 Phil Baker 

Michelle Frechette 

Sharon Spak

NAME/ADDRESS 

Monique Pillion 

Louis Riel School Div. 

50 Monteray Road 

R2J 1X1 

Pat Burgess 

Hanover School Div. 

Box 2120, Steinbach 

ROA 2AO 

Paul Gillespie 

Portage la Prairie S.D. 

32-5th Street N. W, 

Portage la Prairie 

R1N 1J2 

Bill Warren 

Southwest Horizon S.D. 

Box 370, Melita 

ROM 1LO 

Helen Pearson 

Pine Creek School Div. 

Box 420, Gladstone 

ROJ OTO 

Olia Jesson 

Box 700 

Beautiful Plains S.D. 

Neepawa 

ROJ 1HO 

Sandy McCaig 

Winnipeg School Div. 

1075 Wellington Ave. 

R3G OJ7 

Arlene Cherepak 

576 Fairmont Road 

R3R1B1 

Tanya Edgar 

Mountain View S.D. 

Box 400, Winnipegosis 

ROL 2GO 

Twyla Kastrukoff 

Prairie Spirit School Div. 

Box 77, Pilot Mound 

ROG1PO 

Lesley Weisshaar 

Seine River School Div. 

475-A Senez Street 

Lorette 

ROA OYO 

Student Services Administrator's Association of Manitoba 

Revised January 20, 2003 

PROVINCIAL 

REP 

Vice President 

Past President 

President 

Treasurer 

Professional 

Development 

Public 

Relations/Social 

Advocacy & 

Public Policy 

Historian 

Parkland/ 

Westman 

Second 

Vice President 

Secretary 

Michelle Frechette 

DSFM #49 

P.O. Box 204 

Lorette 

ROA OYO 

Larry Budzinski 

Mountain View S.D. 

505 Main Street S. 

Dauphin 

R7N 1L3 

Joanna Blais 

Program & Student Services 

Branch 

Rm W130-1970 Ness Ave. 

R3J OY9 

Wendy Church 

Healthy Child Manitoba 

219-114 Garry Street 

R3C 4V6 

Linda Anderson 

Kelsey School Div. 

Box 4700 

The Pas 

R9A 1R4 

Bob McDill 

Winnipeg School Div. 

700 Elgin Avenue 

Winnipeg 

Wilma Ritzer 

45 Main St. S. 

Carman 

ROG OJO 

Teri Bembridge 

Frontier School Div 

1402 Notre Dame Ave. 

Winnipeg 

Glenda McKim 

Interlake School Div. 

192-2ndAve. W. 

Stonewall 

ROC 2ZO 

Annette Holowka 

Lakeshore School Div. 

Box 100 

Eriksdale 

ROC OWO 

-rrcuvTNClATT 

REP 

DSFM 

Parklands/ 

Westman 

Manitoba 

Education and 

Youth 

Healthy Child 

Manitoba 

North 

Metro Winnipeg 

South Central 

Advocacy & 

Public Policy 

Southeast/ 

Interlake 

Southeast/ 

Interlake

SAAM 

REGIONS 

LJ Division Scolaire 

Franco-Manitobaine 

LJ Interlake 

LJ Metro Winnipeg 

LJ Northern 

D South Central 

D South East 

LJ Westman/Parkland 

STUDENT SERVICES ADMINISTRATORS' 

ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA 

Agenda: 

1. Approval of Minutes of May 26, 2003 

2. Approval of Agenda 

SSAAM Provincial Committee Meeting 

Portage la Prairie School Division 

535 - 3rd Street N.W. 

Monday, September 29, 2003 

9:30 a.m. 

3. Business Arising 

3.1 Update on website and new role - Larry B. (12:00) 

4. Correspondence 

5. Officer and Committee Reports 

5.1 President - Paul Gillespie 

5.2 Past President - Pat Burgess 

5.3 First Vice President - Monique Pillion 

5.4 Second Vice President - Twyla Kastrukoff 

5.5 Treasurer - Bill Warren 

5.6 Professional Development - Helen Pearson 

5.7 Public Relations/Social - Olia Jesson 

5.8 Advocacy & Public Policy - Sandy McCaig/Teri Bembridge 

5.9 Secretary - Lesley Weisshaar 

5.10 Historian - Arlene Cherepak 

6. Reports (written would be appreciated) 

6.1 Metro - Robert McDill 

6.2 Parkland/Westman - Tanya Edgar 

6.3 South Central - Wilma Ritzer 

6.4 South East/Interlake - Glenda McKim/Annette Holowka 

6.5 Division scolaire franco-manitobaine - 

6.6 Northern - Linda Anderson 

6.7 Manitoba Education and Youth - Joanna Blais 

6.8 Healthy Child Manitoba - Wendy Church 

7. New Business: 

7.1 Membership survey - final report 

7.2 Presentation from MPT - Matt Land (9:45 a.m.) 

7.3 Presentation from MFEAT - Eldon Strachan (10:45 a.m.) 

7.4 Slate of Officers for 2004 election at AGM in Brandon 

7.5 Guidelines for the Continuation of Programming for Students Involved with Youth 

Correction Services 

7.6 Feedback re: orientation for new SSAAM members

Minutes of the Provincial S.S.A.A.M. Meeting 

Portage la Prairie S.D. (Victoria School) 

Monday, September 29, 2003 

Present: Paul Gillespie, Helen Pearson, Teri Bembridge, Bill Warren, 

Twyla Kastrukoff, Joanne Blais, Robert McDill, Monique Pillion, 

Larry Budzinski, Tanya Edgar, Pat Burgess, Lesley Weisshaar. 

Wilma Ritzer, Susan Swaak 

Absent: Sandi McCaig, Olia Jesson, Arlene Cherepak, Annette Holowka, 

Glenda McKim, Marge Daman, Wendy Church, Dean Grove 

Chair: Paul Gillespie 

Recording Secretary: Lesley Weisshaar 

1. Approval of Minutes 

Twyla Kastrukoff/Helen Pearson 

Motion: THAT the minutes of the May 26, 2003 meeting be approved as 

circulated. 

CARRIED 

2. Approval of Agenda: 

3. Business Arising: 

Pat Burgess/Wilma Ritzer 

Motion: THAT the agenda be approved. 

• Larry Budzinski updated the executive on the SSAAM homepage 

http://lb.pein.org/ssaam/ssaam.htm 

• Larry also described his role as an ME&Y consultant (attached). 

4. Correspondence: 

CARRIED 

4.1 ME&Y re: ABA: School Aged Advisory Committee Adair Morrison has agreed to 

be the SSAAM representative. 

4.2 ME&Y re: Student Services/Inclusive Education Consultation Committee Susan 

Swaak has agreed to be the SSAAM representative (first meeting October 20th).

4.3 ME&Y request to invite MPIC to speak: Matt Lind and Al Hildebrand presented 

information re: funding of students who have been injured in motor vehicle 

accidents. For information contact website: www.mpi.mb.ca 

5. Officer and Committee Reports: 

5.1 President's Report - (attached) 

5.2 Past President - (attached) 

5.3 First Vice President - (no report) (distributed information re: National Guidance 

and Counselling Conference May 26, - 28, 2004. 

5.4 2nd "Vice President -(no report) 

5.5 Treasurer - (attached) 

5.6 Professional Development - (attached) 

(Executive members are invited to dine with presenter Tim Lucas on 

Wednesday December 3rd at 6:00 p.m. R.S.V.P. to Helen) 

5.7 Public Relations - (no report) 

5.8 Advocacy & Public Policy - Sandi McCaig, Terri Bembridge and Elaine 

Sourisseau will meet with Dale Kendall (ACL) re: National Inclusion week. 

5.9 Secretary - (no report) 

5.10 Historian - (no report) 

6. Reports: 

6.1 Metro - Teri Bembridge (attached) 

Guidelines for Cognitive Assessments by CGC 

Distributed information re: Winnipeg #1 PD and ASCD 

6.2 Westman - Susan Swaak, Brandon is the new rep. 

6.3 South Central - Wilma Ritzer (attached) 

6.4 South East/Interlake - (no report) 

6.5 DSFM - Marge Daman (attached) 

6.6 Northern - Dean Grove from Flin Flon is the rep. - (no report) 

6.7 ME&Y - Joanna Blais (attached) 

Draft of dispute resolution to be reviewed by SSAAM executive 

November 21, 2003. 

6.8 Healthy Child Manitoba - (no report)


7.1 Membership survey - (attached) 

7.2 MPIC Presentation (see 4.3) 

7.3 MFEAT Presentation: (attached) 

Eldon Strachan and Heather Milne provided information on ABA. 

7.4 Slate of Officers for 2004 (election at AGM Brandon) 

Pat Burgess requested that current executive members email her by 

Friday October 3rd if they are not returning to their positions. 

7.5 Guidelines for Transition of Students Involved with Youth Correction Services. 

Paul serves on this committee. 

Next meeting: 

November 21, 2003 

9:30 a.m. 

Portage La Prairie 

** Regional are requested to submit AGM resolutions to Monique Pillion by 

November 14, 2003.

Canadian Counselling Association Conference 

Association canadienne de counseling conference 

^ 

Friendly Manitoba 

L'amical Manitoba 

May 26 - 28 

du 26 au 28 mai 

www.ccaccwinnipeg04.ca

Canadian Counselling Association Conference 

Winnipeg 2004 

Illuminating Practice: Spirituality, Story & Song 

May 26 - 28, 2004 

Fort Garry Place & Hotel Fort Garry 

222 Broadway Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba 

For Hotel Accommodations Call 1-800-665-8088 

Featured Speakers:* 

• Susan Aglukark, A Canadian vocalist whose music expresses the traditions of her culture. 

• Hon. Judge Murray Sinclair, Manitoba's first Aboriginal Justice and Canada's second, co-commissioner of the 

Aboriginal Justice Inquiry. 

• Senator Maria Chaput, First ever Franco Manitoban woman in the Canadian Senate. 

• Hon. Glen Murray, Mayor of Winnipeg since 1998. 

• Miriam Greenspan, A pioneer in the area of women's psychology whose recent book "Healing Through the Dark 

Emotions" focuses on the integration of psychology, spirituality and ecology. 

• David Zinger, Author of the book "Value-able", speaker, humor in counselling presenter, lecturer. 

• Norma Drosdowech, Author, spiritual leader, counsellor. 

• Note: program subject to change. 

Call for Papers: 

Proposals to be received by December 1,2003 

E-mail: schulzwe@ms.umanitoba.ca or ibmeyrowitz@shaw.ca 

Website: www.ccaccwinnipeg04.ca 

E-mail: ccaccwpg@mts.net 

Conference Chair: 

Marge Winters 

wintersm@ms.umanitoba.ca 

204-474-7111 

City of Winnipeg: 

Located in the heart of the continent, at a juncture of the famous Red and Assiniboine Rivers. Join festivities at the Forks, 

Thunderbird House, Goldeyes baseball and others. CCA 2004 promises to be an exciting, fun filled learning experience. 

Conference de ('Association canadienne de counselling 

Winnipeg 2004 

Une pratique qui illumine : spiritualite, contes et chansons 

du 26 - 28 mai 2004 

Place Fort Garry et ('hotel Fort Garry 

222, avenue Broadway, Winnipeg, Manitoba 

Hebergement a I'hotel: composer le 1-800-665-8088 

Conferenciers* : 

• Susan Aglukark, Chanteuse canadienne qui exprime les traditions de sa culture par I'entremise de sa musique. 

• L'Honorable juge, Murray Sinclair, Le premier juge autochtone manitobain et le deuxieme co-commissaire de 

I'Enquete judiciaire autochtone. 

• Madame la senatrice, Maria Chaput, Premiere franco-manitobaine au Senat canadien. 

• L'Honorable Glen Murray, Maire de la ville de Winnipeg depuis 1998. 

• Miriam Greenspan, Une pionniere dans le domaine de la psychologie des femmes dont le livre recent "Healing 

Through the Dark Emotions" concentre sur I'integration de la psychologie, du spirituality et de I'ecologie. 

• David Zinger, Auteur du livre Value-able, conferencier, humoriste en couselling, charge de cours. 

• Norma Drosdowech, Auteur, chef spirituelle, conseillere. 

• Programme provisoire 

Appel des communications : 

Faire parvenir toute proposition au plus tard le 1er decembre 2003 

Courriel: schulzwe@ms.umanitoba.ca ou ibmeyrowitz@shaw.ca 

Site Web : www.ccaccwinnipeg04.ca 

Courriel: ccaccwpg@mts.net 

President de la conference : 

Marge Winters 

wintersm@ms.umanitoba.ca 

204-474-7111 

La ville de Winnipeg : 

Situee au cceur du continent, au confluent des rivieres Rouge et Assiniboine. Soyez des notres a la Fourche, a Thunderbird 

House, au baseball des Goldeyes et autres. La CACC 2004 s'annonce excitante et remplie d'experiences enrichissantes.

A. Respondent Characteristics 

12% 

Poge - 3 

HIGHLIGHTS OF FINDINGS 

One objective of the survey was to obtain information about SSAAM 

member characteristics. The information provided on the questionnaires 

is presented in the following discussion. 

1. Membership Status, Gender, and Age 

Eighty-eight percent2 of respondents (n=50) described themselves as 

"active members" of the association. (SSAAM's definition of active 

membership is described as "administering and coordinating student 

services and programs at a divisional level," as well as "providing 

consultation and support for special education, resource and general 

education teachers.") 

Graph 1 

Age of Respondents 

16% 

Over three-quarters of the 

respondents (77%) were female. 

Furthermore, 72% of SSAAM 

members were 46 to 55 years of age 

(Graph 1). 

2. Educational Attainment 

72% 

Members appeared to be evenly 

36 to 45 Years a 45 to 55 Years distributed between holding 

56 Years and Older 

undergraduate and graduate degrees. 

When asked their highest level of 

formal education, approximately half of respondents (47%) indicated 

having a degree at the Master's level. In comparison, 42% declared an 

undergraduate degree as their highest level of formal education. 

Approximately, three-quarters of respondents (73%) reported holding 

Special Education Coordinator Certification. 

All numbers referred to in the text can be found in the detailed tables in the Appendix. 

Student Services Administrators' Association of Manitoba 

Highlights Report 

proactive

3. Current PositionfTitie 

Page-4 

Members were asked to identify their current position/title from a list 

provided. Fifty-two percent of SSAAM members (n=29) described 

themselves as Student Services Administrators/Coordinators. 

Approximately a quarter of the respondents (23%) reported their current 

position as being Assistant Superintendents. 

4. Years in Student Service Administration 

In addition to identifying their current position, respondents were asked 

how many years they had worked in a position related to student services 

administration. Approximately 40% of members (n=21) responding had 

worked in a related position for 

five years or fewer (Graph 2). Of Graph 2 

the 21 SSAAM members working Number of Years in Position Related 

in related positions for five years to student Services Administration 

or fewer, 17 were female. 37o/o 

Furthermore, of these 21 33%members, 

14 were 46 to 55 years 

of age. 

30%- 

It was also noted that one-third of ° 5 Years or Fewer ° 6 to ] ° Yea rs 

members (n=19) had worked in °U Years or More 

positions related to the administration of student services for 11 years or 

more. Of these 19 respondents, eight were male. In addition, 13 of the 19 

respondents were 46 to 55 years of age. 

5. Region of Current Employment 

SSAAM members are employed throughout Manitoba. Twenty-eight 

percent (n=16) reported working in the City of Winnipeg, while 25% 

(n=14) worked in Westman/Parkland region and 18% (n=10) worked in 

South Central region. 


Highlights Report

D I V I S I O N ' S C O L A I R E 

FRANCO-MANITOBAINE 

Division scolaire franco-manitobaine n° 49 

Case postale 204, 1263, chemin Dawson 

Lorette (Manitoba) ROA OYO 

Tel.: (204) 878-9399 Telec. : (204) 878-9413 

Sans frais : 1 800 699-3736 www.dsfm.mb.ca 

SERVICESAUXELEVES ET PROGRAMMATION 

Request for an update of our activities at the DSFM 

1. Threat Assessment Training for our divisional and school teams with Kevin Cameron- 2 

day seminar was given to our staff- one day in the spring and one day this fall ( 

September 24th). Great turn out. 

Nous avons eu 2 journees de formation avec nos equipes Services aux eleves 

divisionnaires et ecoles sur L'evaluation en cas de menace avec Kevin Cameron. Ce fut 

excellent comme formation et preparation pour formuler notre protocole et nos 

procedures divisionnaires. 

2. Nous avons offert 6 journees de formation accreditees pour les orthopedagogues dans le 

domaine d'intervention en lecture et ecriture au debut d'aout. Nous avons eu 13 

participants a nos sessions. 

We offered 6 day training for new resource teachers in Identification, Evaluation and 

Intervention in Reading. We had 13 participants that gave their time during the month of 

August to participate. 

3. Our divisional workshop day for Student Services was held again this year. School 

Teams met to plan for the year and review roles and responsibilities, work on special 

projects, review Crisis Plans and Emergency Plans. A total of 23 schools and 81 

participants were present. 

Nous avons eu notre journee divisionnaire Services aux Eleves le 15 septembre . Cette 

journee fut dedie a faire notre planification annuelle, revoir les roles et taches des 

equipes, travailler les projets speciaux, revoir les plans en temps de crise et les plans 

d'urgences. Un total de 23 ecoles avec 81 participants etaient presents pour la journee. 

4. Quatres orthophonistes de la division vont participes cette annee a une formation avec 

Leslie Goertzen pour mettre en place « Speech and Language Outcomes Mesures » en 

fran9ais dans notre division. 

Four of our Speech and Language Consultants will work with Leslie Goertzen to become 

familiar with the Provincial Outcomes Mesures Project ( in French). We are very pleased 

to finally be able to come on board.

5. Le programme Premiers Pas " First Steps Program" au sud-est de la province s'etendra 

cette annee pour aussi offrir des sessions d'information aux parents des enfants dans le 

programme. Nous regardons a etendre le programme dans toute la division. 

Our First Steps Program offered in the south east region of the division will be offering 

sessions for parents this year who are participating in the project. We would also like to 

look at the possibility of offering the program division wide. 

Marge Daman 

Coordonnatrice des Services aux Eleves

Meeting held on Friday, Sept. 5, 2003 

Prairie Rose School Division Office 

Carman 

Provincial SSAAM 

South Central Report 

September 29,2003 

Discussion: 

• Clinician and Resource Teacher Evaluation 

• Healthy Schools update (RHA received funding) 

• URIS changes 

• RHA training 

• Student Services Pilot 

• Special Education Review: Legislation re: Appropriate Educational 

Programming/Inclusion 

• MB ASCD Memberships/partnerships with regions 

• Provincial SSAAM Conference 

• Class size and Composition Grant 

Early Numerically Project: 

• Regional Project 

• Helen Kelleher will facilitate the Workshop 

« Similar to the Victoria, BC model 

• Build a leadership team for the division (10 members) 

• Workshop dates: Oct. 1 (K, Gr. 1) Assessment; Nov. 25/Follow-up on the 

Assessment/Develop Intervention Plans; April 27/Share learnings 

Updates: 

• Psychology Outcomes Project 

• SLP Outcomes Project 

• Regional Healthy Child Coalition 

• Children's Therapy Initiative 

Intersectoral Committee: 

• Meeting to be held on Sept. 18 

• Committee to target regional needs 

SCPD: 

• SC YAG booklet distributed 

• SC Workshop Oct. 15 

Faye Browntee 

• Michele Borba Workshop: Prairie Spirit SD 

Presentation: 

• Partners Promoting Healthy Youth 

• Project Coordinators will meet with schools to determine needs 

« Will focus on violence with special reference to violence against women 

Respectfully submitted by: Wilma Ritzer

MEY UPDATE 

September 2003 

1. New Staff-New staff are in place, a listing has been sent to all SSA's in the 

province. We have had one additional staff change and that is Jim 

Hoddinot, who has been working on the SERI has accepted a position 

with River East Transcona S.D. as a consultant. 

2. SERI, August 30, 2003 marked the last day of SERI. The ongoing work of 

implementing the recommendations of the Special Education Review will 

be assumed across the School Programs Division, with lead in the 

Program and Student Services Branch. An Advisory Committee on 

Student Services/Inclusive Education will replace the SERI Advisory 

Committee. Membership will be by invitation to partnership groups. 

3. Categorical Grant Support-Submissions for the 2003-04 school year 

Additions and Deletions are due October 4th for Special Needs Funding 

4. URIS- The URIS RHA Pilot for URIS Service to S.D. and Licensed Child 

Day Cares is underway with pilots occurring in: 

• Winnipeg (Rivereast Transcona S.D.,Louis Riel S.D. and St. James 

S.D.) 

• Brandon 

• North Eastman 

• Parkland 

• Norman 

• Interlake 

A Provincial Coordinator for the Pilot has been hired - Sandra Dalke 

5. MEY REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS FOR THE 

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN SCHOOL - A GUIDE FOR 

PARENTS AND FAMILIES 

• SSAAM has partnered on the development of the support document 

(Sandy Mccaig and Tanya Edgar) 

• meetings have been held with representatives of MTS, MAST, MASS, 

MAPC, and the Parent Coalition 

• request was made to provincial SSAAM for regional SSAAM to host 

consultation evenings for parents last may 

• to date, swan valley S.D., Brandon S.D., southeast SSAAM (2 

sessions), and garden valley S.D. has offered to host sessions 

• consultations are to be completed by the end of October 

6. Student Services Plan 

• Report due by November 30, 2003 

• Assessment and Evaluation is preparing a summary report of last 

years submissions

7. Student Services Grant 

• 2 day planning meeting scheduled for October 

• Interim report being prepared from feedback provided by the pilot 

schools 

8. Bill 17 Appropriate Educational Programming 

As you are aware in May of 2003, Bill 17 - The Public Schools 

Amendment Act (Appropriate Educational Programming) was given first 

reading but the spring election interrupted its passage. This delayed our 

progress toward putting in legislation the entitlement we believe all 

students with special needs have, but it did not stop our work toward this 

goal. 

During the coming months we hope to re-introduce this important piece of 

legislation and upon it's successful passage we will consult with families, 

educators and communities to develop regulations respecting appropriate 

educational programming.


Professional Development Report 

September 29, 2003 

December conference & AGM 

Pamphlets have been sent to Student Services Coordinators, as well as 

MEY 

Tim Lucas will arrive early on Wednesday and would like to have supper 

with SSAAM members. If there is anyone who would like to join us for 

supper, I will be making reservations at the Victoria Inn for 6:00. 

Larry Bremner - yes his name is misspelled on the pamphlet.. .my bad 

handwriting. Are there suggestion for structuring the facilitate 

discussion? 

MEY Spring Conference 

On September 18/03,1 attended a planning meeting for the spring MEY 

conference, (formerly the Clinicians Workshop/ SERI Workshop) 

Audience: Clinicians, Student Services Administrators 

Draft Title: Legislation in Education: Policy to Practice 

Date of conference: May 7/04 

Location: Caboto Centre 

Stu Whitley - morning presenter to provide background to and content of 

Bill 17 (Broad picture - of society/ethics, need for law, implications) 

Panel Discussion - panel made up of Justice, Family Services & Housing, 

Education and SSAAM to share thoughts on impact of Bill 17 and their 

service. We need suggestions for panel members. 

Planning for 2004 Conference 

Conference Evaluation forms will include a section on future conference 

topics; as well SSAAM's future PATH may provide a focus for next years 

conference.

sruoewr 

SERVICE 

ISSOOiTKM UMAmTMA 

SAAMI 

REGIONS 

LJ Division Scoluire 

Franco- \lanitobaine 

EH Interlake 


Northern 

LJ South Central 

South East 

Westman/Parkland 



\genda: 

1. Approval of Minutes of March 24th , 2003 






Monday, May 26, 2003 

9:30 a.m. 

4 Correspondence 

4. 1 Michelle Frechette - DSFM 

4.2 Adair Morrison ad hoc rep to ABA Committee 

4.3 Joanna Blais - MEY re: orientation session 2003 -2004 


5 1 President — Paul Gillespie 

5 2 Past President - Pat Burgess 



5.5 Treasurer — Bill Warren 

56 Professional Development - Helen Pearson 

5.7 Public Relations/Social -Olia Jesson 




6. Reports (written and forwarded to Lesley Weisshaar would be appreciated) 

6. 1 Metro - Robert McDill 

6.2 Parkland/Westman - Tanya Edgar/Larry Budzinski 

6 3 South Central Wilma Ritzer 

6.4 South East/lnterlake - Eesley Weisshaar 

6.5 Division scolaire franco-manitobaine - vacant 


6.7 Manitoba Education and Youth - Joanna Rials 


1 . New Business: 

7.1 

7.2 

7.3 

7.4 

7.5 

7.6 

bpdate on Pro Active - surveying the membership, etc. (Paul) 

SSAAM representative on the ABA Committee - update (ad hoc committee) 

SSAAM AGM -December 4-5. 2003 - Planning update - (Helen) 

Public Awareness - website update (Larry) 

Joint orientation session with MEY for new Student Services Adminstrators (Paul) 

Report on feedback session for new Autism support document (Paul)

7.7 Report on input session for proposed document supporting effective processes for 

handling conflicts between schools and parents (Paul/Pat) 

7.8 Report on Minister of Education's Committee on Safe Schools (Paul) 

7.9 Report on MEY initiative with Justice involving children being released from custody 

and/or on probation (Paul) 

7.10 Regional Consultation for the Support Document for Parents (Joanna) 

7.1 1 Replacement plan for personnel retiring from MEY - additional considerations (Leslie)



May 26, 2003 

SSAAM Conference and AGM December 4th & 5th, 2003 

Wednesday, December 3rd, Hospitality Room 8:00 pm — midnight 

Thursday, December 4th 

Conference 

I contacted TW Branun & Associates to provide profiles on speakers whose 

area of expertise is "Skills Administrators need to make sustainable changes". 

The PD Sub-committee met on April 11th and reviewed the profiles. The top 

three choices were Michael Fullan, Mike McKay & Tim Lucas. Michael 

Fullan was not available, and after discussing the topic in further detail with 

Kate Hill, Speakers Bureau Coordinator, it was decided Tim Lucas would be 

the best match. 

Tim Lucas is Peter Senge 's co-author of the educational field book titled "Schools That 

Learn: A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook", awarded 2001 Book of the Year by the National Staff 

Development Council. A former Principal, and School Superintendent, he is currently 

Director of Curriculum & Instruction and Co-chair of The Crisis Response Team in 

Glenrock, New Jersey (a community 13 miles from New York City, dramatically impacted by 

the events of 9-11). He designed activities and offered training for the counselors and school 

support staff from the "Schools that Fled" in NYC, located in the neighborhoods of the World 

Trade Center and coordinated the development of a ten district Crisis Flight Team made up 

of school support staff and guidance counselors to support students, staff and parents during 

traumatic and school-based crisis. 

Recent Presentations and Projects include: "Schools That Are Learning Organizations," 

"Systems Tools for Supporting and Evaluating Performance ", "Building a Learning 

Organization with Mapping and Modeling," "Building a Sustainable Learning Community, " 

"Creating Rivers of Change: Sustainable Transformation in Schools'" and "Making 

Sustainable changes in the Deeper Structures of Schools. " 

Tim has been booked for December 4th, 2003, 9:00 to 3:30, Victoria Inn, 

Brandon. I will be emailing & talking to Tim this month to provide him with 

more specific details on our topic. 

Wine & Cheese Reception 7:00 -10:00 

Hospitality Room 10:00 pm to midnight 

Friday, December 5th 

8:30 am -11:00 SSAAM Survey: Who are we? Where are we going? - Facilitated 

by Larry Bremner, Proactive Information Services 

11:00-12:00 AGM 

Conference poster will be circulated by mid June. Pamphlet to follow by the 

beginning of September. 

-rf

South Central Region Report to Provincial SSAAM 

May 26, 2003 

The South Central Student Services group met on April 25th. 

Topics discussed at this meeting included: 

Pre-school Wellness Fairs 

-Concerns around how to reach at risk families 

-RHA involvement 

intersectoral Committee 

- Next steps needed to move ahead with the establishment of a South Central Committee 

to address the needs of our region 

Child and Mental Health 

- Discussed concerns around service delivery and referral process 

School Psychology 

-Discussed issues around assessment tools 

-Need for psych assessments to support funding 

M and I Designations 

PATH Process 

-Shared models 

-Discussed how the process can be used to assist in strategic planning in schools 

-Model supports other use than student transitions 

Professional Development Opportunities 

-Confirmed Faye Brownlie for October 15, 2003 

-Curriculum Committee is exploring bringing in Heather Kelleher for regional PD in Early 

Numerically 

Paediatric Therapy Initiative 

-Received funding for our pilot project to explore the needs in our region

SAAMi 

STUDENT SERVICES ADMINISTRATORS' ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA 

REPORT FROM MEY'S STAKEHOLDER'S CONSULTATION MEETING 

"Transition for Children in Custody or on Probation" 

May 21" -1:00 - 3:00 PM 

Manitoba Youth Centre, Winnipeg 

Stakeholder Groups: Manitoba Youth Centre (Adrien DeRuyck), Manitoba Education and Youth (Allan Hawkins), Student 

Services Administrators' Association of Manitoba 

Also Invited: Kathy Harness (COSL), Aggassiz Youth Centre (Bernie Latoski), Jane Graham 

a Allan Hawkins facilitated the meeting provided the focus - the development of a support document for 

students transitioning from custody in the youth corrections system to the public school systems 

a Document intended to parallel those previously developed for pre-school aged children transitioning into 

school and for children hi the care of welfare agencies 

a Discussion about the basic principles on which the document would be based - importance of correctional 

system and school systems working as a team to support the student's return; importance of school 

systems and correctional system maintaining contact while the youth is incarcerated 

a Roles and responsibilities for all parties would be identified as in previous documents 

a Document originally to focus only on students in custody, but consideration will be given to inclusion of 

process for youth on probation 

a Probation services will be invited to join the stakeholder's group 

o Next meeting will be held hi June when a first draft will be presented to focus the discussion of the larger 

group

ISAAM1 STUDENT SERVICES ADMINISTRATORS' ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA 

REPORT FROM MINISTER OF EDUCATION'S 

"Safe Schools' Committee" 

iOWaf&i -1:00 - 3:00 PM 

Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg 

Stakeholder Groups: Manitoba Association of School Trustees, Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, Parent Advisory 

Council Student Services Administrators' Association of Manitoba 

Representatives from the Ontario Government and the Alberta Government were invited to share their Safe Schools Initiatives with 

the stakeholders groups 

a Ontario's initiative seemed to be very much a top-down response to providing safe schools 

a Clear delineation of offences for which students could be suspended or expelled —expulsion applies to and 

is upheld by all school divisions in the province 

a Rights and responsibilities of students defined 

a Response focused on principle that students who were expelled did not have consistent opportunities for 

meaningful intervention - Safe Schools Project - to set policy and standards for safe learning and teaching 

environment; support the implementation of safe schools and; monitor implementation of safe schools 

a Led to revisions to the Ontario Education Act; development of Code of Conduct and outlined 

mandatory suspensions and expulsions as well as appeals process 

a Identified mitigating circumstances ie limited capacity to understand consequences of behaviour 

a Established preventative measures through curriculum on social skills and decision making as well as 

Choices Into Action (guidance document) 

a Provided training for Senior Administrators, Board members, Coordinators, Teachers and all related 

personnel 

a Also developed Strict Discipline Programming as a mechanism for preparing fully expelled students 

for re-integration hi Ontario Schools — highly structured intervention that focuses on both academic 

and non-academic curricula to enhance school achievement and address behavioural problems that led 

to explusion - involves teachers, social workers and youth workers - readiness for re-entry must be 

assessed 

a Alberta's response had a top-down element but seemed to be more bottom-up 

a Appeared to be less of a focus on legislation 

a Focus of the initiative more on encouraging and supporting Boards to develop clear and consistent 

discipline policies - attempt centered around George Sugai's model throughout the province 

a Lots of work being done on Bullying programs with strategies for schools 

a Clear message that expulsion did not eliminate the school system's responsibility for the student 

a Minister of Education appears to be in mode of gathering information to support the development of his 

own safe schools initiative and policies 

a Next meeting was scheduled for approximately 3 weeks but has been put on hold until after the election 

•-—


REPORT FROM MEY'S CONSULTATION MEETING 

"Improving Processes For Schools To Handle Conflict 

Between Parents And The School" 

May 8th - 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM 

1970 Ness Avenue, Winnipeg 

Representative Groups: First Nations' Resource Centre, Educational Administrators' Service, Manitoba Association of Parent 

Councils, Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, Manitoba Association of School Trustees, Manitoba Teachers' Society, 

Special Education Review Initiative, Student Services Administrators' Association of Manitoba 

Also Attending: Joanna Blais, Tim Thome, Carol Ann Browning 

a Joanna Blais and Tim Thome facilitated the meeting and began by thanking those in attendance for 

volunteering their time to provide input into the establishment of a support document that could be used to 

improve processes for schools to handle conflicts between parents and the school 

a Joanna put the importance of the input session into perspective and Tim followed up with a power point 

presentation on general theories and approaches to dealing with conflicts or disputes 

a There was a clarification that the support document produced will identify six approaches to dispute 

resolution ranging from problem-solving to litigation but will concentrate on the first three: problem 

solving, negotiation and conciliation that focus on informal dispute resolution 

a Participants were divided into three working groups that mixed the various stakeholder groups attending 

a Working groups were given a variety of tasks that included: 

1. Identifying what we believed to be the key components of dispute resolution 

2.- Consideration, based on personal experience with disputes, of what aspects of the dispute resolution 

process made you feel that you were being treated fairly and respectfully 

3. Exploring other dispute resolution documents to identify key components 

4. Selecting key components they we felt should be included in the support document being produced by 

Manitoba Education and Youth. 

a Next Steps: 

a First draft hopefully by the end of June 2003 

a MEY staff to deal with revisions over the summer months 

G Group to be invited to reconvene for consultation on a first draft in the Fall 

a Possible distribution of the support document by Christmas Break

i 

PROVINCIAL SSAAM COMMITTEE 

PRESIDENT'S REPORT 

The period from January March 24th- May 26th , 2003 provided lots of opportunities for 

awareness and input 

a Correspondence has been more limited (except for e-mails!): 

• Letter from Michelle Frechette advising of her immediate resignation as a 

regional representative for DSFM 

• Letter to Adair Morrison thanking her for accepting our invitation to serve as 

the ad hoc representative for the Provincial Executive on the ABA Committee 

• E-mail from Joanna Blais regarding joint PD session for new Student Services 

Administrators for the 2003-2004 school year 

• Responded to Larry Budzinski e-mail request regarding bricks and mortar for 

the revived SSAAM Website 

• E-mail from Helen Pearson regarding speaker for AGM 2003 

a I have begun to appreciate the wisdom in the old adage "be careful what you ask 

for.. .you might just get it". In pursuing our goal to have SSAAM become more 

involved in provincial issues, I have attended the following input sessions 

representing Provincial SSAAM: 

• Minister of Education's Committee on Safe Schools - April 10th 

• MEY's feedback session on the new Autism support document - May 5th 

• MEY's input session on the proposed document supporting effective 

processes for handling conflicts between schools and parents — May 8th 

• Department Superintendent, Manitoba Youth Centre re: initial planning 

meeting to discuss increased sharing of information for young offenders who 

are returning from provincial detention centres to public school systems - 

May 21st 

a I had numerous telephone and e-mails contacts with Larry Bremner from ProActive 

to finalize and launch the members survey 

a Met with the Professional Development sub-committee to discuss planning for the 

2003 AGM-April 21st 

a Attended the South East - Interlake Regional Meeting - May 2nd



SUPPORTING INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS: 

A Handbook For Developing and Implementing Programming 

for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders 

May 5th-7:00-8:30 PM 


Stakeholder Groups: Autism Society, Manitoba Families for Effective Autism Treatment, Parents, Health Sciences Centre, 


Also Attending: Writing Team Members — Tim Thorne, Mark Robertson, Betty Ann Turner, Joey Kneish, 

a Tim Thorne facilitated the meeting and began by thanking those in attendance for volunteering their time 

to provide feedback on the draft of the Autism support document that they had to been sent in advance to 

review. 

a The target group for the support document was identified as classroom teachers 

a Questions from the group included clarification on the intent of the document ie. written as a "self-help" 

manual vs. as providing an awareness of collected information (best practices) for working with children 

with autism 

a Concerns were raised that there be some clarification around what is feasible and possible to expect of 

classroom teachers given the number of students they deal with in regular classes and the number of other 

special needs children that might be included in their classroom - need acknowledgement of what is 

practical and functional 

a Concerns were raised regarding how teachers would know which strategies to choose and when to use 

them 

a Concern was raised that this support document might create a false sense of security amongst teachers in 

believing that it provided all the support needed to program effectively for students with autism - felt that 

there was clarification needed regarding the importance of not trying to work in isolation of other 

resources 

a Feeling expressed that there needed to be more emphasis on assessment beyond on-going observation - 

teachers and other support team members needed to be taught what they were looking for and what a 

particular observation indicates — need to use those observations to make decisions regarding where to go 

next 

a Request that the book stress the importance of consistency of programming, expectations, personnel, etc. 

in working with children with autism spectrum disorder 

a Suggestion that the book needed to establish a consensus of what the important focus areas are - still a 

need for advocacy 

a Request made that supports in dealing with sexuality should be added for parents of adolescents with 

autism spectrum disorder 

a General consensus that support document would be well-received by classroom teachers and this it was an 

important step in providing resources to teachers and parents 

a Point made that there are few resources outside the perimeter for parents or teachers of children with 

autism - need to find creative ways through technology of getting information out — Joey mentioned upcoming 

tele-health session on autism being offered through local health centres as an example of the 

recognition of and response to that need 

a Next draft probably ready for review in 7-8 weeks.


REPORT FROM MEY'S CONSULTATION MEETING 

"Improving Processes For Schools To Handle Conflict 

Between Parents And The School" 

May 8th - 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM 


Representative Groups: First Nations' Resource Centre, Educational Administrators' Service, Manitoba Association of Parent 

Councils, Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, Manitoba Association of School Trustees, Manitoba Teachers' Society, 

Special Education Review Initiative, Student Services Administrators' Association of Manitoba 

Also Attending: Joanna Blais, Tim Thome, Carol Ann Browning 

a Joanna Blais and Tim Thome facilitated the meeting and began by thanking those in attendance for 

volunteering their time to provide input into the establishment of a support document that could be used to 

improve processes for schools to handle conflicts between parents and the school 

a Joanna put the importance of the input session into perspective and Tim followed up with a power point 

presentation on general theories and approaches to dealing with conflicts or disputes 

a There was a clarification that the support document produced will identify six approaches to dispute 

resolution ranging from problem-solving to litigation but will concentrate on the first three: problem 

solving, negotiation and conciliation that focus on informal dispute resolution 

a Participants were divided into three working groups that mixed the various stakeholder groups attending 

a Working groups were given a variety of tasks that included: 

1. Identifying what we believed to be the key components of dispute resolution 

2. Consideration, based on personal experience with disputes, of what aspects of the dispute resolution 

process made you feel that you were being treated fairly and respectfully 

3. Exploring other dispute resolution documents to identify key components 

4. Selecting key components they we felt should be included in the support document being produced by 

Manitoba Education and Youth. 

a Next Steps: 

a First draft hopefully by the end of June 2003 

a MEY staff to deal with revisions over the summer months 

a Group to be invited to reconvene for consultation on a first draft in the Fall 

a Possible distribution of the support document by Christmas Break

SAAM 


REPORT FROM MINISTER OF EDUCATION'S 

"Safe Schools' Committee" 

Htyfaftfr -1:00 - 3:00 PM 

Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg 

Stakeholder Groups: Manitoba Association of School Trustees, Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, Parent Advisory 

Council Student Services Administrators' Association of Manitoba 

Representatives from the Ontario Government and the Alberta Government were invited to share their Safe Schools Initiatives with 

the stakeholders groups 

a Ontario's initiative seemed to be very much a top-down response to providing safe schools 

a Clear delineation of offences for which students could be suspended or expelled -expulsion applies to and 

is upheld by all school divisions in the province 

a Rights and responsibilities of students defined 

a Response focused on principle that students who were expelled did not have consistent opportunities for 

meaningful intervention - Safe Schools Project - to set policy and standards for safe learning and teaching 

environment; support the implementation of safe schools and; monitor implementation of safe schools 

a Led to revisions to the Ontario Education Act; development of Code of Conduct and outlined 

mandatory suspensions and expulsions as well as appeals process 

a Identified mitigating circumstances ie limited capacity to understand consequences of behaviour 

a Established preventative measures through curriculum on social skills and decision making as well as 

Choices Into Action (guidance document) 

a Provided training for Senior Administrators, Board members, Coordinators, Teachers and all related 

personnel 

a Also developed Strict Discipline Programming as a mechanism for preparing fully expelled students 

for re-integration in Ontario Schools — highly structured intervention that focuses on both academic 

and non-academic curricula to enhance school achievement and address behavioural problems that led 

to explusion - involves teachers, social workers and youth workers - readiness for re-entry must be 

assessed 

a Alberta's response had a top-down element but seemed to be more bottom-up 

a Appeared to be less of a focus on legislation 

a Focus of the initiative more on encouraging and supporting Boards to develop clear and consistent 

discipline policies - attempt centered around George Sugai's model throughout the province 

a Lots of work being done on Bullying programs with strategies for schools 

a Clear message that expulsion did not eliminate the school system's responsibility for the student 

a Minister of Education appears to be in mode of gathering information to support the development of his 

own safe schools initiative and policies 

a Next meeting was scheduled for approximately 3 weeks but has been put on hold until after the election

SAAMI 



"Transition for Children in Custody or on Probation" 

May 21st -1:00-3:00 PM 

Manitoba Youth Centre, Winnipeg 

Stakeholder Groups: Manitoba Youth Centre (Adrien DeRuyck), Manitoba Education and Youth (Allan Hawkins), Student 

Services Administrators' Association of Manitoba 

Also Invited: Kathy Harness (COSL), Aggassiz Youth Centre (Bernie Latoski), Jane Graham 

a Allan Hawkins facilitated the meeting provided the focus — the development of a support document for 

students transitioning from custody in the youth corrections system to the public school systems 

a Document intended to parallel those previously developed for pre-school aged children transitioning into 

school and for children in the care of welfare agencies 

a Discussion about the basic principles on which the document would be based - importance of correctional 

system and school systems working as a team to support the student's return; importance of school 

systems and correctional system maintaining contact while the youth is incarcerated 

a Roles and responsibilities for all parties would be identified as in previous documents 

a Document originally to focus only on students in custody, but consideration will be given to inclusion of 

process for youth on probation 

a Probation services will be invited to join the stakeholder's group 

a Next meeting will be held hi June when a first draft will be presented to focus the discussion of the larger 

group

Report for Provincial SSAAM 

May 2003 

Manitoba Education and Youth 

Submitted by Joanna Blais 

School and Division Planning-Letter sent to school divisions as of May 15, 

2003. This outlines the reporting requirements for School, Division and 

Student Services Plans. The ADAP will no longer be required but rather an 

integrated or separate Student Services Plan (form available). Divisions are 

encouraged to maintain a compilation of policies and directives in their 

Student Services Binder that would be available for parents. Divisions are 

also encouraged to continue to engage in a planning process with families. 

The submission to the department is a report on the plan, not a plan in its 

entirety. 

Categorical Grant Support-Submissions for the 2003-04 school year are 

due May 30th for ECDI, AAA and ELI, June 30 for EBI and on the assigned 

dates for Special needs. 

Student Services Grant-Ongoing pilot for 2003-2004. Data collection has 

been completed for year 1 and a working committee is developing the 

financial accountability piece in consultation with Secretary Treasurers. 

Document Development-The School Support Unit will be, or are, consulting 

on the following documents that are in development: 

• Working Together: A guide to dispute resolution for Schools, Families 

and Communities 

• Building School Partnership: A handbook, for Parents, Families, Councils 

and the School Community 

• Aboriginal Parents, Families and School Involvement: Making it Work 

• Children with Special Needs: a guide for Schools, Families and 

Communities 

• Incorporating Aboriginal Perspectives in Curriculum 

• Supporting Inclusive Schools: A handbook for developing and 

implementing programming for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder 

• Para educator Framework 

• School Planning

Legislation- Legislation for "most appropriate educational programming" has 

been tabled. The announcement of an election means that this will be 

reintroduced in the next sitting. Regional sessions will be planned for the fall 

to ensure that there is consultation before regulations to accompany the 

legislation are developed. 

Other 

In the fall regional sessions will occur to support the release of documents 

developed by Family Services and Housing around the reporting of child 

abuse. These sessions will be inter-sectoral including, educators, nurses, 

childcare workers and social workers. 

Be sure to check our on line information, documents such as A time To 

Know, which outlines graduation requirements can be found in a print 

friendly format. 

Staffing: 

MEY has received approval to proceed with filling a number of positions. We 

hope to have a full complement of staff in both Program and Student 

Services and Program Development in the fall. 

Bob and Neil are retiring effective this summer. Yvette Yestrau our 

consultant for French Resource and Special Education is returning to Louis 

Riel School Division. We hope to have the following positions filled by 

September. 

Psychology 

Social Work 

School/Division Planning 

Guidance and Counseling 

French Resource/Special Education 

Special Education: Multi-handicapped 

Special Education: Policy Development, Intersectoral Planning

- 

Special Education Review Initiative (SERI) Update 

April, 2003 

We continue to make progress on the implementation of the Special Education Review 

recommendations and the SERI action plan that was developed with broad consensus in 

the educational community. The department remains committed to the action plan for the 

areas of policy, accountability and funding and to implementing it in a spirit of inclusion. 

You will have noticed over the past year that other branches and units in Manitoba 

Education and Youth share initiatives that were identified as priorities for SERI. We 

continue to work closely with staff from the School Support Unit, the Research and 

Planning Branch and Schools Finance Branch. 

We continue to work with our educational partners who are helping achieve the agenda. 

The input and support received from our partners is very much appreciated. The Review 

is a priority for all of us as we work together to ensure that all children receive an 

appropriate education. 

1. Status of the Special Education Review Initiative 

While SERI was originally conceived as a three year initiative, we think that there is 

some benefit to extending the end date. We intend to have the SERI team continue until 

August 31, 2003. At that time we can determine whether a future extension is desirable 

or useful. 

2. Student Services Grant Pilot Project 

Seven volunteer school divisions began working on the pilot last spring. They will help 

Manitoba Education and Youth learn whether a more flexible funding structure supports 

school and division planning more effectively while still distributing funds in an equitable 

way. The pilot will be in its second year during the 2003-04 school year. The decision to 

extend the pilot to a second year was to assist us in completing a full school planning 

cycle. The results will be analyzed and recommendations will be made at the time of the 

2004/05 funding announcement as to whether the pilot should be extended, be extended 

and expanded, or be concluded. 

The divisions/districts involved have recently completed a process for data collection. 

The data will assist the divisions in developing their Student Services plans for 2003- 

2004. For more information on the Student Services Grant Pilot Project, please see 

Update #2 that was sent to Divisions. 

3. Planning in Education Pilot Project 

In partnership with the Research and Planning Branch and the School Support Unit, we 

are integrally involved with the Division Planning Pilot Project which includes the seven 

divisions from the Student Services Grant Pilot and five more divisions. Those 12 

divisions are working toward: 

• outcomes-based planning; 

• involvement of their major stakeholders; and 

• integration of student services within overall division planning.

This pilot will help the department to advance division planning and reporting. The 

working committee is currently updating the reporting templates and procedures for 

2003-04. 

4. The Framework of Paraeducator Competencies 

The development of the educational assistant training process has involved: 

• Consultations with major stakeholders to discuss the process of developing 

the framework and identifying key issues 

• Meetings with representative paraeducators and supervisors of 

paraeducators, to describe and analyze the paraeducator job. 

• On-going discussion of a common title. 

Based on this information, the SERI staff are developing 

• Key responsibilities 

• Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes 

• Core Competencies 

Once the framework is completed, divisions/districts will receive a document which will 

include a model for educational assistant development. The model will be useful for 

educational assistants, schools and trainers to determine knowledge, skill and attitude 

gaps and plan for their development. 

5. Student Outcome Rubrics 

This Western and Northern Canadian Protocol partnership project involves 

Saskatchewan Education, Saskatchewan Tribal Councils, Indian and Northern Affairs 

Canada, three Manitoba School Divisions and staff from PSSB. This project focuses on 

the development of accountability processes for Individual Education Plans. More 

specifically, the divisions involved are developing personalized rubrics that will be used 

to determine progress on individualized learning outcomes. 

6. Interdepartmental and Intersectoral Initiatives 

The Department has integrated the work of SERI within broader initiatives, especially the 

Kindergarten to Senior 4 Agenda. As a result, SERI staff will continue to work with every 

branch of School Programs Division and Division du Bureau de I'education francaise. 

SERI works in partnership with Healthy Child Manitoba, the Provincial Coordination of 

Services Committee, and the Western and Northern Canada Protocol Directors of 

Special Education and has representation on the following inter-departmental 

committees: 

• Specialized Services for Children and Youth; 

• The Multi-Jurisdictional Implementation Team (Development of the Manitoba 

Strategy to Address High Risk/Vulnerable Children and Youth with a Focus 

on Sexually Exploited Youth); and 

• The Manitoba Children's Agenda

7. Professional development Initiatives. 

SERI works closely with the School Support Unit in providing workshops on a variety of 

issues related to students with diverse needs. Together, we continue to update and 

develop new sections for the "Handbook for Student Services."

General Considerations 

When to Assess 

Guidelines for Cognitive Evaluation 

June, 2003 

In our work in the context of the school system, a complete evaluation of a child should 

begin with a comprehensive academic assessment by the school's support team and 

classroom teacher and attempts to address the child's needs by a variety of approaches 

including but not limited to differentiating the instructional strategies. The Clinician can 

consult regarding these activities but only when such efforts leave unanswered questions 

should the process proceed to a formal psychological evaluation. 

Why to Assess 

It is the School Psychologist's job to describe, as completely as possible, the child's 

circumstances in relation to educational functioning. The holistic ecological approach we 

support includes an assessment of intellectual, adaptive, social-emotional and behavioural 

functioning, as well as personality, mental health, family and community relations. This 

can be achieved with the Psychologist providing either comprehensive data or more 

limited input as part of a Team Evaluation. However accomplished, the goal of these 

evaluations is to provide information useful in programming effectively to improve the 

child's opportunity for success in school and in life. It is not to generate a set of numbers 

in isolation in order to garner grant funds. It is the role of others in the system to 

determine if the child meets criteria for categorical funding or inclusion in a specific 

program, be it Divisional (e.g., placement in a segregated Special Education Centre) or 

Provincial (e.g., acceptance into the Inter-Divisional Program for Students with Autism). 

How to Report 

The same reporting guidelines apply to school reports, Manitoba Education and Youth 

Level 2 and Level 3 funding applications, as well as applications to Vocational 

Rehabilitation and Supported Community Living. In all CGC Psychology reports, 

single I.Q. scores, single number percentiles or age equivalents are not provided. If 

formal testing was completed, the ranges of the three summary scores (Full Scale, 

Verbal and Performance) and the appropriate descriptive terms provide the necessary 

information for the responsible parties to make educational support or placement 

decisions. Provision of ranges also protects against the reification of the specific I.Q. 

numbers in favour of the clinical judgment expressed. In every case, the Psychologist's 

opinion needs to be based on a thorough review of the historical evidence available, as 

well as an understanding of the child's current circumstances. The evidence supporting 

the Psychologist's opinion needs to be referenced in the report.



Content of Psychological Assessment Reports 

It is expected that all psychological evaluation reports contain the following information: 

I. Reason for Referral 

What are the specific questions being asked by the school which have not been answered 

through academic evaluation differentiated instruction and individual, group or classroom 

intervention by the school's support team and classroom teacher? 

II. Method of Assessment 

What are the specific tests and procedures the Psychologist has selected to provide a 

comprehensive overview of the child's circumstances and the most relevant information 

to address the school's questions about the child? 

III. Background Information 

This section should include information in, at least, the following areas: 

• Developmental & medical history (including hearing and vision) 

• Current family situation & relevant family history 

• School history & current academic functioning 

• Further details related to referral question(s) 

IV. Clinical Observations and Test Behaviour 

Observation of the child in the natural environments (e.g., classroom, playground, 

interacting with a parent) is important to a thorough understanding of the child's 

functioning and may provide clues regarding specific triggers or precipitants to the child's 

difficulties. Observations made during formal testing can provide important information 

about the child's attentional skills, activity level, social abilities, performance anxiety, 

preferred learning style, coping skills, creative thinking, and problem-solving ability. 

These observations must have more than descriptive value. They must be of 

interpretive relevance and need to contribute to the Summary and Clinical 

Impressions section. 

V. Assessment Results 

Cognitive, behavioural, personality, social, emotional, family, and adaptive functioning 

are described here. Specific results of standardized tests should be reported as per 

discipline guidelines. However, the primary focus should be on describing the child, 

not the test. Consistencies and discrepancies among the various findings should be noted. 

A statement regarding the validity of the results obtained also must be made.



VI. Summary and Clinical Impressions 

The goal of this section is to provide a holistic understanding of the child. A 

successful Psychology Report will leave the reader with the feeling that they know the 

child much better than before reading the report. It is within this larger framework that the 

Psychologist should address the specific referral questions posed by the school. Patterns 

and themes derived from the assessment information obtained should be used to confirm 

or develop further hypotheses. Diagnostic statements supported by the findings are 

appropriate here. If the Psychologist was unable to answer the referral question(s) or other 

relevant issues, this needs to be stated and explained and a plan for further evaluation 

outlined. Implications of any diagnostic statements made for the child's future 

functioning belong in this section (e.g., Borderline intellectual ability). 

VII. Recommendations 

Recommendations specify what needs to happen in order that circumstances change to the 

benefit of the child. Consequently, the report should link the assessment findings to 

recommendations that are as specific and detailed as possible. These include, but are not 

limited to; required educational supports, suggestions for teaching strategies, need for 

referral to or follow-up by another discipline or agency, home management strategies, 

further assessment, etc. In order to ensure appropriate follow-up of the recommendations 

by school and clinical staff, it is important to specify whom of the support team personnel 

will be responsible for implementing each recommendation and in what timeframe; e.g., 

recommended that school resource teacher talk to parents prior to the next meeting about 

referral to Speech Pathologist for further evaluation; with parental consent, school 

psychologist will write letter within two weeks to the Paediatrician requesting medical 

follow-up re- symptoms of ADHD. 

Re-Assessments 

Any estimate of cognitive functioning needs to be based on data judged to be appropriate 

by the Psychologist authoring the report. A psychological evaluation is not a benign 

experience for a child or family. It makes a statement about the level and nature of the 

perceived difficulty the child is experiencing that can, itself, have significant effects. 

Repeated evaluations carry even more pejorative connotations. Therefore, with respect to 

re-evaluations, if, in the view of the Psychologist, sufficient evidence exists from 

previous evaluations AND is consistent with current functioning, re-administration of 

formal measures is NOT required in order to confirm a previous diagnosis. Obviously, in 

the absence of appropriate confirmatory data, or in the presence of conflicting data, or if 

there has been a significant change in the status of the child (e.g., neurological trauma), 

the repetition of formal testing is warranted and required.



Verbal-Performance TQ Score Discrepancies 

Particularly in the case of significant Verbal-Performance skill discrepancies, judgment 

becomes paramount since the Full Scale IQ likely does not reflect the child's reality in the 

school system. Generally speaking, a discrepancy in favour of the student's Performance 

skills (e.g., VIQ = 46 to 58; PIQ = 78 to 84; FSIQ = 69 to 73) supports the diagnosis of a 

significant cognitive disability within the context of the school system, as verbal ability is 

highly correlated with academic success. 

A significant V-P discrepancy favouring the student's Verbal skills (e.g., VIQ = 78 to 84; 

PIQ = 46 to 58; FSIQ = 69 to 73) suggests a greater possibility of academic success with 

appropriate program accommodations. Nevertheless, a careful examination of the impact 

of this child's difficulties on his or her academic functioning may support a diagnosis of 

significant cognitive disability if supported by an appropriate evaluation of adaptive 

functioning. Other remediable difficulties in such areas as vision, visual-motor 

integration, fine motor skills etc. need to be examined as part of the adaptive evaluation. 

"Significant Cognitive Disability" and "TVT" Course Designation 

The term "significant cognitive disability" is one that is not derived from the 

psychological or psychiatric nosology. It has created a great deal of confusion among both 

school and clinical staff. This term originated out of the Manitoba Education, Training 

and Youth guidelines for "M" (i.e., modified) course designation and applied to senior 

years students only (see 1995 document entitled Towards Inclusion: A Handbook for 

Modified Course Designation, Senior 1-4). In this document, the M course designation 

is intended to be used "only with those students with special needs who have 

significant cognitive disabilities that necessitate modifications in curriculum goals 

and objectives or outcomes of 50 per cent or more to accommodate their special 

learning requirements" (p. 2). In follow-up workshops to inservice school staff and 

clinicians on the new M designation document (specific dates unknown), significant 

cognitive disability was defined as follows: 

"Current practice defines significant cognitive disability in terms of limitations in both 

intellectual skills and adaptive functioning. 

• The student will have significantly sub average general intellectual functioning and; 

• Limitations in adaptive functioning - how an individual copes with common life 

demands and how well he/she meets the standards of personal independence expected 

of someone in his/her age group, sociocultural background and community setting." 

The M course designation was not intended for: 

• Students without significant cognitive disabilities who may be considered as having 

special needs (e.g., physically disabled, emotionally/behaviourally disordered, 

learning disabled, visually impaired or hearing impaired);



Students with cognitive disabilities who are able to meet the goals and objectives or 

outcomes of the regular curriculum; and 

Students whose cognitive disabilities are so significant that they need individualized 

programming to meet their unique learning requirements. 

No specific IQ score was given as a cut-off criterion indicating significant cognitive 

disability in the provincial document. 

The Psychology Department of Child Guidance Clinic interpreted the provincial 

guidelines for "M" designation to be consistent with the DSM-IV standard for 

"significantly sub average intellectual functioning," i.e., IQ range = 65 to 75 or lower 

(Inter-Office Memorandum, January, 1999). In this context, the term was intended to 

describe children who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of Mental Retardation. Thus, the 

practices required by the American Association on Mental deficiency (Grossman, 1983) 

apply. The diagnosis of Mental Retardation can only be made by a qualified medical or 

mental health professional and MUST include an assessment of both intellectual potential 

and adaptive functioning. "Significantly low performance on a measure of general 

intellectual ability, such as the WISC-III, is a necessary part of any diagnosis of Mental 

Retardation, but it is not sufficient in itself to establish the diagnosis. The most 

accurate diagnosis will emerge from the use of multiple sources of information and 

include information on how the child functions at home, in school and in the community" 

(Wechsler, 1991 emphasis added). 

However, the provincial guidelines also state that the decision to provide a student with 

curriculum modifications should be made on a case-by-case basis and should involve 

collaboration among the in-school team (i.e., teachers, principal, guidance counsellor), 

the support team (i.e., psychologist, reading clinician, speech-language pathologist, OT, 

etc.), and the parent/guardian. It is expected that this team will consider all of the factors 

related to a student's profile and how these factors are impacting the student's academic 

functioning in making their decision. Thus, a school team may determine that a 

student with an IQ score higher than the formal cut-off for Mental Retardation with 

significant deficits or impairments in adaptive functioning, and whose academic 

functioning is severely hindered, is eligible for a modified course designation (taken 

from letter to Rudy Ambtman from John Carlyle, Deputy Minister of Education, April 20, 

1999). 

As critical members of the collaborative decision-making team, Psychologists are 

responsible for presenting an accurate picture of the child's intellectual abilities, along 

with other relevant data (i.e., school, home and community adaptive functioning). Under 

no circumstances should a child receive a diagnosis or label (e.g., Mentally Retarded, 

Significant Cognitive Disability) or should an I.Q. range be attributed to a child unless the 

data support such an attribution.

ASSOCIATION a HAHTMA 

SAAMI 

REGIONS 



Interlake 

LI Metro Winnipeg 

Northern 

South Central 

D South East 




Agenda: 

1. Approval of Minutes of January 20, 2003 



4. Correspondence 




Monday, March 24, 2003 

9:30 a.m. 












6. Reports (written and forwarded to Lesley Weisshaar would be appreciated) 




6.4 South East/Interlake - Lesley Weisshaar 

6.5 Division scolaire franco-manitobaine - Michelle Frechette 





7.1 Update on Pro Active - surveying the membership, etc. (Paul) 

7.2 Meeting with the Minister of Education - discussion of March 20th meeting (Paul and ad 

hoc committee members) 

7.3 SSAAM representative on the ABA Committee - update (ad hoc committee) 

7.4 SSAAM AGM -December 4-5, 2003 - Planning update - (Helen) 

7.5 Public Awareness - website update (Larry) 

7.6 Use of surplus Provincial SSAAM funds - update - (Larry) 

7.7 New MEY templates (Paul)

Minutes of Provincial S.S.A.A.M. Meeting 

Monday March 24, 2003 

Present: Paul Gillespie, Monique Pillion, Bill Warren, Arlene Cherpak, 

Sandy McCaig, Twyla Kastrukoff, Larry Budzinski, Joanna Blais, 

Bob McDill, Wilma Ritzer, Teri Bembridge, Glenda McKim, 

Annette Holowka, Lesley Weisshaar 

Absent: Pat Burgess, Helen Pearson, Tanya Edgar, Linda Anderson, 

Wendy Church, Olia Jesson 



1. Approval/Minutes: 

Twyla Kastrukoff/Monique Pillion 

MOTION that the Minutes of January 20th meeting be approved as circulated. 

CARRIED 


Bob McDill/Larry Budzinski 

MOTION that the Agenda be approved with the following additions: 

4.1 John Van Walleghem 

4.2 Deb Thompson 


None 


4.1 John Van Walleghem - SERI Committee will continue until end of June. 

Requested Pat Burgess to continue until end of June. Agreed 

4.2 Deb Thompson - re: CEC request to have joint meeting with minister. 

Appreciated our consideration of the request. 

CARRIED

5. Officer & Committee Reports: 

5.1 President's Report (attached) 

5.2 Past President - no report 

5.3 First Vice President - no report 

5.4 Second Vice President Report (attached) 

5.5 Treasurer's Report - (attached) 

5.6 P.O. Report - (attached) 

Discussion: 

• Think about Thursday evening format (banquet or reception). 

• Format of conference re: integration of survey data and plan with 

P.O. on change process. 

5.7 P.R. Report-none 

5.8 Advocacy & Public Policy Report: 

• Sandy - is a SSAAM Rep on "Project Charter". 

• Replaced Pat Burgess at SERI Meeting with Minister Lemieux on 

March 20, 2003. 

• Is a Rep on the Manitoba Safe Schools Committee. Materials from 

the Kids Safe Schools Conference distributed. 

• Distributed presentation from MASS re: new "Youth Criminal Justice 

Act" effective April 1st to replace the "Young Offender Act." 

• Advocacy issues - no SSAAM Rep on Ministers Safe Schools 

Committee. 

- need to clarify SSAAM's relationship to youth branch. 

- need to fill Denis Lucas' position. 

• Action: Paul will write a letter on behalf of SSAAM. 

5.9 Secretary's Report - none 

5.10 Historian's Report - none 

6. Regional Reports: 

6.1 Metro - (report attached) 

6.2 Westman Parkland - (report attached) 

6.3 South Central - (report attached) 

6.4 South East Interlake - (report attached) 

6.5 D.S.F.M.-no report 

6.6 Northern - no report 

6.7 MEY - (report attached) 

• Additions: SSAAM Reps will be asked to review upcoming documents: 

- Parent document 

- Autism 

- Handbook for Parents of Aboriginal Students 

- Handbook for Classroom Teachers to Integrate Aboriginal 

Perspectives 

- Support Document for Dispute Resolution 

• Good News: Russian delegation very impressed.

• Feedback requested: ABA 

Children in Care 

MPIC - Joanna will get legal opinion 

• Action: staffing gaps - give feedback to Joanna. 

• Joanna will invite "Youth" to a future meeting to explain who/what they are, 

services provided etc. 

6.8 HCM - no report 


7.1 Meeting with Proactive re: membership survey (Ad Hoc Cttee: Paul, Terri, 

Helen, Olia). 

• Survey areas: demographics, roles, training, issues, expectations, 

suggestions or SSAAM. 

• Discussion of distribution of survey. 

Action: Paul asked for input re: survey questions 

Sandy McCaig/Michelle Frechette 

MOTION that SSAAM decouple membership fees from the SSAAM conference 

registration and establish a process whereby those who participate as voting members 

at regional meetings are paid-up members of Provincial SSAAM. 

CARRIED 

Action: Regional Reps to take this matter to regional meetings and ascertain how 

many local participants are paid-up members of Provincial SSAAM. 

7.2 Meeting with Minister: (March 20: Paul, Monique, Terri, Twyla) 

• Discussion re: need to pass legislation and implications (regulations). 

• Presented 4 resolutions from AGM: 

- Role of S.S. Administrators 

- Funding (transportability) of Aboriginal students moving 

on/off reserve 

- Shortage of clinicians 

- Certification of Resource, CP. Ed., Counsellors 

• Requested to be considered for Minister's Advisory Cttee. On Safe Schools 

(Minister will reply to Paul by April 10th). 

7.3 ABA Cttee. Report (attached) 

• Terri passed out Terms of Reference. 

• Terri recommends that SSAAM become a member of this committee. She 

will attend the next meeting on March 26th. 

• Bob McDill will ask for a Rep from METRO SSAAM.

Action: Ad Hoc "Programs in Schools Committee" formed to strategize a 

response to alternative therapies (Sandy, Larry, Glenda, Lesley, Joanna, 

Monique). 

7.4 Website: template will be coming. 

7.5 Use of surplus Provincial SSAAM Funds: (Report attached). 

Larry Budzinski/Monique Pillion 

MOTION that SSAAM expend the surplus in the following ways: 

1. to fund the Proactive Survey 

2. Other projects (to be determined) 

7.6 MEY Templates: 

• Discussion - new templates again. 

• Difficult to report (or isolate) when outcomes embedded in school and/or 

division plans. 

7.7 Approach to New Members: Deferred to the next meeting. 

Next Meeting: May 26, 2003 - Portage La Prairie

SLAmant Centre 

Centre St-Amant 

St. Amant Centre 

Committee Terms of Reference 

Committee Name: Advisory Committee - ABA Program1 

Purpose: 

The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice and support to St. Amant Centre and Manitoba 

Families For Effective Autism Treatment (MFEAT) concerning the development, implementation and evaluation 

of an Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) program for Manitoba pre-school children with autism. The Committee 

provides advice to help, ensure that the program is conducted and evaluated as intended and is integrated with 

other services and supports presently available to children with autism and their families. 

Principal Functions: 

* To include major stakeholders in the development of the program to ensure program integrity and optimal 

coordination with other related services and agencies. 

* To assist in introducing and explaining the program to agencies and affiliates represented by or associated with 

Advisory Committee members. 

* To advise the program partners - St. Amant Centre and MFEAT - on all major program matters such as: 

* The development, assessment and ongoing revision of policies and procedures during the 

formative period of the program. This includes consideration of fundamental issues such as 

eligibility, program objectives, program scope, program timelines, funding requirements, essential 

partnerships, exit criteria, transition to school, evaluation purpose and methods, etc. 

* Recruitment and training of program personnel. 

* Structure of the program budget. 

* Monitoring of the program's evaluation outcomes to ensure meaningful outcome measurement 

and appropriate interpretation of outcome information. 

* Communication and liaison needed with other agencies or the public about the program 

* Changes needed in the size of the program in order to meet identified needs of eligible children 

* To assist in determining how the program compares to other ABA programs in Canada and the United States 

V To advise concerning best methods for transit!oning to school, including possible methods for extending ABA 

therapy into children's school years when families wish this upon termination of their children's participation 

in the preschool program 

Responsible to: The Committee advises but is not responsible to the partnering agencies (St. Amant Centre and 

MFEAT) for the ABA program. Committee members are responsible to the agency or association that they 

represent. 

Membership: 

The committee is formed by invitation of the partner agencies. Existing committee members may recommend 

additional members relevant to the program. The term of membership is indefinite. 

Leanne Boyd, Healthy Child Manitoba 

Jane Bow, Autism Program, Health Sciences Centre 

Dale Brownlee, Manitoba Health _ ....-,-, 

Eleanor Chornoboy, Children's Special Services 

Darlene Dyck, St. Amant Centre, ABA Program Executive Committee 

1 Operated In A Partnership With MFEAT 

02/27/03

SOUTH-EAST INTERLAKE COORDINATORS' REPORT TO THE STUDENT 

SERVICES ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA, March 24, 2003 

1. The SEICA group had Mary Hall, Safe Schools Manitoba, with a presentation on 

Sept. 13 which outlined the mandate of Safe Schools in the province. At this time, 

Mary informed the group about a Youth Conference on Nov. 22/23rd for students 

in Grades 7 to 11. 

2. On November 1st, the following topics were under discussion: " Opportunities for 

Independence", URIS with regard to bus transportation, the Lost Prizes 

conference to be held in Hecla in July, 2003, possible PD topics for provincial 

SSAAM and for a SEICA Student Service Conference, a new template for ADAP, 

Outcomes based planning and reporting, "Easy Discipline", and a balanced 

literacy survey that is being considered by Hanover School Division. We were 

informed of a WEVAS update being held at the Seine River School Division on 

November 18th and suggestions were put forth as to possible topics of discussion 

for Chuck Beaudry, Transportation Supervisor, Manitoba Education. 

3. On December 13th, Chuck Beaudry gave a presentation to the SEICA coordinators 

on "Transportation of Special Needs Students" 

4. SEICA Coordinators have been provided with brochures and information with 

regard to the Lost Prizes conference and a decision has been made to sponser 5 

students to this conference from the region. 

5. Professional Development collaboration opportunities thus far in the SEICA 

region are as follows: 

• March 4th - Dr. Lorraine Fox, Larter's Golf Course 

• August 29th - Marium Treherne, Seine River School Division 

• September 26t - Kevin Cameron, Interlake School Division

Student Services Coordinator Responsibilities - Then & Now 

(To illustrate the growing responsibilities of Student Services 

Coordinators in the Southeast/lnterlake Region.) 

Purpose: To examine the changing responsibilities of Student 

Services Coordinators (previously known as Special Education 

Coordinators) in the past decade. Conclusions to be drawn are left to 

the reader at this point. 

1. 10 Years Ago the responsibilities of Most/All Coordinators 

included: 

a Clinicians (if hired by school division) 

a Divisional Committees 

a Guidance Counsellor Programs 

a Occuational/Physiotherapy (if within certain radius of Winnipeg) 

a Professional Development Initiatives 

a Resource Programs 

a Students with Special Learning Needs (Level 1,2,3) 

-Funding Applications 

-lEPs 

a Teacher Assistants 

Manitoba Education Programs: 

a Annual Division Action Plans 

a Early Identification & Educational Programming 

a English Language Enrichment for Native Students 

a English Second Language Programs 

a Gifted Education 

a Student At Risk Grants/Programs 

a Vision & Hearing Screening 

2. Now the responsibilities of Most/All Coordinators include: 

a Attending Board Meetings 

a Clinicians 

a Divisional Committees 

a Guidance Counsellor Programs 

a Hiring of Student Services Personnel 

a Interagency Committees/Initiatives

a Legal Consultations 

a Occuational/Physiotherapy 

a Policy Development 

p Preschool Programs/Parent Child Centres 

a Preschool Wellness Fairs 

a Professional Development Initiatives 

a Representation on Various Provincial Organizations 

a Resource Programs 

a Students with Special Learning Needs (Level 1,2,3) 

-Funding Applications 

-lEPs 

a Suicide Prevention Protocols 

a Teacher Assistants 

Manitoba Education & Youth Programs: 

a Aboriginal Academic Achievement Program 

a Alternative Learning Centres 

a Alternative Programs for Students with Challenging Behaviors 

a Early Behaviour Initiative 

a Early Child Development Initiative 

a Early Childhood Instrument 

a Early Identification & Educational Programming 

a Early Literacy Programs (eg. Reading Recovery) 

a English Second Language Programs 

a Guidelines for Early Childhood Transition To School For 

Children With Special Needs 

a Guidelines for Registration of Students in Care of Child Welfare 

Agencies 

a Healthy Child Manitoba Initiatives 

a Interdepartmental Protocol Agreement for Children/Adolescents 

with Servere to Profound Emotional/Behavioural Disorders 

a Manitoba Transition Planning Process Support Guidelines for 

Students with Special Needs Reaching Age 16 

a MEY Liaison/Program Updates 

a Modified/Individualized Credits 

a Student At Risk Grants/Programs 

a Student Records Management 

a Student Services Divisional Plans 

a Unified Referral&Intake System (URIS) 

a Vision & Hearing Screening

3. Now the responsibilities of Some Coordinators also include: 

a Adult Education 

a Adult Learning Centres 

a Attendance (as Divisional Attendance Officers) 

a Breakfast Programs 

a Child Abuse Committees 

a Continuing Education 

a Crisis Response Planning 

a Dispute Resolution 

a Divisional Professional Development Committees 

a Divisional Transition Programs 

a Early Numeracy Programs 

a Emergency Preparedness Planning 

a Facility Planning 

a FIPPA (as Divisional Access & Privacy Coordinators 

a Grant Applications 

a Healthy School Initiatives 

a Labour Management 

a Library Services 

a Manitoba School Improvement Program 

a PHIA (as Divisional Privacy Officers) 

a Preschool Programs/Parent Child Centres 

a Rural & Northern Youth Intervention Strategy (AFM Youth 

Counsellor) 

a School Social Workers 

a Student Services Personnel Evaluations 

a Student Transportation Plans 

a Talent Development Programs 

a Teacher Recruitment Fairs 

a Teacher Resource Centres 

a Threat Assessment Protocols 

a Water Safety Programs 

Summarized in March/2003 by the Southeast/Interlake Student Services Coordinators

Minutes of the Provincial S.S.A.A.M. General Meeting 

Victoria Inn, Brandon, Manitoba 

Friday December 5, 2003 

Present: 46 Members 




Twyla Kastrukoff/Candace Borger 

Motion: THAT the agenda be adopted. 

CARRIED 

2. Minutes of the 2002 AGM 

Marge Daman/Gary Einarson 

Motion: That the minutes of the 2002 AGM be adopted as circulated. 

CARRIED 

3. Reports: (attached) 



3.3 1st Vice President - Monique Pillion 

3.4 2nd Vice President - Twyla Kastrukoff 




3.8 Advocacy & Public Policy - Sandi McCaig & Teri Bembridge 


4. President's Remarks: Paul Gillespie 

Paul thanked the P.D. Committee for their hard work and remarked that during this 

past year, the focus of the executive has been "all about us" (SSAAM). He also 

thanked the executive for their cooperation and dedication and thanked MEC&Y for 

partnering with SSAAM in the orientation sessions for new Student Services 

Administrators. As President, Paul visited many of the regional associations and was 

humbled by their creativity.

5. Resolutions: 

5.1 The following resolutions were presented: 

Resolution #1 

Motion: Candace Borger/Jean Hallas 

THAT whereas the Special Education Review recommended that "base Level I" 

support be increased to support the high level of needs within this population; and 

whereas Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth (M.E.C.Y.) has identified that the 

following areas require specific attention and funding: 

• Gifted and talented 

• Emotionally and behaviourally disordered students 

• Clinical Services 

• School Counsellors 

• Students at Risk 

• E.B.I. Grant; and 

whereas M.E.C.Y. has stated that the Level I grant will be incorporated into the 

Student Services Grant; and 

whereas the 2003 increase to Level I funding is not adequately meeting the needs and 

expenditures in the above-mentioned areas, 

Be it resolved that M.E.C.Y. increase financial support to the school divisions to 

address these areas of concern. 

CARRIED 

Resolution #2 

Motion: Sandi McCaig/Elizabeth Kozak 

THAT whereas all school divisions are currently experiencing difficulty in recruiting 

qualified clinical staff, and 

whereas this apparent shortage of clinical staff does not appear to be a temporary 

condition but rather, due to projected retirement rates in the clinical areas, an everincreasing 

issue, and 

whereas this issue is a concern with the number of clinical disciplines such as Speech 

and Language Pathology and Clinical Reading, it is particularly acute in School 

Psychology, with the closing of the only training program in the province and standards 

for certification difficult to obtain by the typical student,

Be it resolved that SSAAM request that Manitoba Education take a leadership role in 

reviewing certification requirement practices, and funding formulas to assure an 

adequate future supply of certified clinical school staff. 

Resolution #3 

Motion: Helen Pearson/George Penner 

CARRIED 

THAT whereas there is increasing concern for the at risk population who are not being 

served by the curriculum and who are unable to graduate under the current structure, 

and 

whereas Special Ed Review recommended that M.E.C.Y. develop a process to 

engage educators in the field in how to address the issue of struggling learners who do 

not qualify for the "M" designation, and 

whereas programming appropriately for struggling learners is one of our greatest 

challenges as educators, 

Be it resolved that, Manitoba Education institute an intersectorial committee to ensure 

that the academic needs of this population can be met. 

CARRIED 

Resolution #4 

Motion: Candace Borger/Elaine Sourrisseau 

THAT whereas the Special Education Review highlighted the need for a review of the 

grant structure, and 

whereas the present level of low incidence funding does not cover necessary 

educational supports as well as before school and lunch supervision supports for Level 

II and III students, and 

whereas the present funding arrangements discriminate against students between the 

ages of 18 and 21. 

Be it resolved that S.S.A.A.M. requests M.E.C.Y. increase funding for Level II and III 

Categorical grants. 

CARRIED

Resolution #5 

Motion: Sandi McCaig/Teri Bembridge 

THAT whereas school divisions are encountering 18 to 21 year old students who are 

still at risk due to a lack of service despite a Transition Protocol Agreement and a 

Coordination of Services Committee, and 

whereas specialized programming beyond the scope or expertise of the school 

division is often required to ensure safety needs and appropriate/desirable 

programming for these young adults, and 

whereas the present Transition Protocol supports the concept of Person-Centered 

Planning, 

Be it resolved that in order to achieve consistency with the Charter of Rights and 

Freedoms, Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, in collaboration with other 

government agencies, ensure that the outcomes for 18 to 21 year old students, as 

specified in the Transition Protocol, are met. 

CARRIED 

Resolution #6 

Motion: Teri Bembridge/Candace Borger 

THAT whereas the Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth has indicated his 

intention to re-introduce the changes to the Public Schools Act to enable appropriate 

educational programming for all students, and 

whereas the Manitoba Special Education Review recommended that Manitobans have 

the right to an inclusive education with appropriate educational programming, and 

whereas other provinces in Canada have articulated the educational rights and 

responsibilities related to students with special needs, and 

whereas these rights are consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedom; 

Be it resolved that, the Government of Manitoba adopt appropriate educational 

programming legislation and develop Guidelines to support its implementation. 

CARRIED

Resolution #7 

Motion: George Penner/Doug Anderson 

THAT whereas the number of certified resource teachers appears to be declining 

across the province, and 

whereas there continues to be an increasing number of students with diverse learning 

needs who require extra support during the school day, and 

whereas certified resource teachers have specialized training that enables them to 

effectively provide leadership within the school buildings to meet the needs of this 

diverse learning population, and 

whereas the Special Education Review clearly supported the need for certified 

professionals to support special needs students, 

Be it resolved that Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth require that Resource 

Teachers/Special Education Teachers be certified 

CARRIED 

Resolution #8 

Motion: Twyla Kastrukoff/Geroge Penner 

THAT whereas currently there are no M.E.C.Y. certification requirements for teachers 

to assume the role of a guidance counsellor within a school, and 

whereas there is an increasing number of students requiring specialized 

social/emotional support and counseling within the schools, and 

whereas certified guidance counselors would have the specialized training that 

enables them to provide this support, 

Be it resolved that Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth establish the 

requirements for guidance counsellor certification, and, 

Be it further resolved that Manitoba, Education, Citizenship and Youth require that 

guidance counselors be certified 

CARRIED

Resolution #9 

Motion: Cheryl Dyer-Vizier/Candace Borger 

THAT whereas there is presently no provision in the funding formula for guidance 

counsellor service at the Kindergarten to grade 4 levels, and 

whereas there is an absence of guidance counsellor service at the Kindergarten to 

grade 4 levels, and 

whereas there is an increasing number of students at the Kindergarten to grade 4 

levels requiring social/emotional support, and 

whereas there is an increasing number of students at the Kindergarten to grade 4 

levels requiring social/emotional support, and 

whereas research shows that early intervention is critical for developing healthy 

social/emotional relationships. 

Be it resolved that S.S.A.A.M. request Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth 

make provision within the funding formula to provide financial support to school 

divisions to hire guidance counselors to work at the Kindergarten to grade 4 levels. 

CARRIED 

Resolution #10 

Motion: Debbie Parrott/Bill Warren 

THAT whereas school divisions are encountering students with severe to profound 

apraxia which is a neurologically based speech disorder which significantly affects 

these student's social and academic progress in school, and 

whereas these students require specific/consistent interventions that cannot be met 

through Level I support, 

Be it resolved that S.S.A.A.M. requests M.E.C.Y. add severe to profound apraxia as a 

Level II category for funding 

CARRIED


Motion: Paul Gillespie/Marilyn Challis-Cozzuol 

THAT whereas flexible base supports allow school divisions to redirect funds to other 

areas, and 

whereas the Student Services grants are also intended to provide increased flexibility 

for School Divisions, 

Be it resolved that effective accountability mechanisms be developed to ensure that 

targeted areas are adequately funded. 

DEFEATED 


Motion: Helen Pearson/Elaine Sourriseau 

THAT whereas students with emotional behavioural issues remain one of the most 

difficult challenges for school divisions, and 

whereas Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth has published a document 

regarding best practices in the area of behaviouir, 

Be it resolved that M.E.C.Y. develop a provincial infrastructure to train school teams 

and offer continued support for positive behaviour intervention in Manitoba schools. 

CARRIED 


Motion: Twyla Kastrukoff/Gary Einarson 

THAT whereas the Student Services Grant Pilot Project approaching the end of its 

final year, and 

whereas the validated practices identified through the pilot should be published, and 

Be it resolved that Manitoba Education extend the pilot project schedule and revise the 

implementation process to ensure that any changes to the funding process make in 

the future will be based on effective practice and positive outcomes for students. 

CARRIED


Motion: Adair Morrison/Tammy Mitchell 

THAT whereas effective accountability mechanisms are necessary to ensure that 

targeted areas are adequately funded, and 

whereas increased flexibility in base supports allow school divisions to redirect funds 

to other areas, 

Be it resolved that S.S.A.A.M. requests M.E.C.Y. ensure that continued accountability 

mechanisms exits. 

CARRIED 


Motion: Elizabeth Kozak/Gisele Gregoire 

THAT S.S.A.A.M. work with Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth to promote the 

implementation of a coordinated intersectoral service delivery among the key 

ministerial departments in the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet: M.E.C.Y., Health, 

Justice, Family Services and Housing, Intergovernment Affairs, Status of Women, 

Health Living and Culture, Tourism and Recreation; further, this methodology be an 

integral part of addressing the needs of students and their families. 

CARRIED 

6. Elections of Officers 

George Penner/Kathy Baskerville 

Motion: THAT the following slate/Officers be approved for 2003-2004 

President Monique Pillion 

1st Vice President Twyla Kastrukoff 

2nd Vice President Adair Morrison 

Professional Development Tanya Edgar 

Advocacy/Public Policy Sandy McCaig 

Public Relations/Social 

Treasurer Wilma Ritzer 

Secretary Bob McDill 

Non Elected Positions 

Past President Paul Gillespie 

Historian (appointed) Arlene Cherepak 

CARRIED

7. President Elect Remarks: Monique Pillion 

Thanks to Paul and the executive members. Many of whom are leaving. Special 

thanks to Helen and the P.O. team. Everyone has been welcoming, open and 

supportive. Monique hopes to lead by "doing with" and hopes to focus on "mentoring" 

new members. 

8. Adjournment 

The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 by Bill Warren/Bob McDill.

SSMCB 

SAAMI 

REGIONS 



LJ Interlake 


D Northern 

D Central 

D 

D Westman/Parkland 



• 

Provincial SSAAM Annual General Meeting 

Victoria Inn — Brandon, Manitoba 

Friday, December 5,2003 

. ' ' ' ' :, 


• • 


Agenda: 


. • • 

. . ••• - . 

• '•• ' ••-'' ;•• 

' 

2. Approval of Minutes of the 2002 Annual General Meeting 

' • • ' • • ' • • ' ' • ' : = • . • " :< --. 

3. Provincial Executive Reports - • . . .- 

4. Regional Reports 

5. Resolutions: Monique Pillion 

6. Elections 

7. President-Elect Remarks 

8. New Business 

9. Adjournment 

- '

SNOBtr 

SERVICES 

iAAM 

REGIONS 

EH Division Scolaire 


LJ Interlake 


LJ Northern 

D SoHf/i Central 

D 

D Westman/Parkland 

STUDENT SERVICES ADMINISTRATORS 


PRESIDENT'S REPORT 

December 2003 

a With the support of the Provincial Committee we undertook to survey the SSAAM 

membership in order to do some long range planning around the direction our organization 

needs to take over the next several years. The survey was completed by Pro Active and the 

data is now available for our use. 

a With the support of the Provincial Committee we began the process of developing a website 

for SSAAM that is consistent with our needs as an organization. The project that has been 

coordinated by Larry Budzinski is an effort to increase awareness of our organization; to 

provide easier access to information about SSAAM to our membership and others interested 

in our organization; and can hopefully be used to let people know of the many opportunities 

across the province for professional development that are organized by SSAAM and its 

regional chapters 

a With the support of the Provincial Committee and in partnership with Manitoba Education, 

Citizenship and Youth we provided our first orientation session for persons who are new or 

earlier into their careers as Student Services Administrators. The session was well received 

and Ricki Valcourt and Sharon Spak delivered excellent presentations regarding the roles of 

Student Services Administrators in urban and rural settings 

a I had the privilege of representing Provincial SSAAM on multidisciplinary committees for: 

a) the development of guidelines for dispute resolution for families, schools and communities - 

the resulting document "Working Together: A Guide To Dispute Resolution for Schools, 

Families and Communities" will be released later in this school year 

b) the development of a support document for Autism - the resulting document is being prepared 

for release 

c) the development of guidelines for the continuation of programming for students involved with 

Youth Correction Services — guidelines are nearing the final draft and hopefully will be 

available later in the current school year 

d) the Minister of Education's Committee on Safe Schools - we were able to view presentations 

from Ontario and Alberta regarding the approaches they were taking to ensure the concept of 

safe schools. I believe the Minister was using this venue to consider the opinions of the 

various stakeholders before proceeding with an action plan for Manitoba. Unfortunately, the 

Spring election interrupted the process and with the recent Cabinet shuffle, there has been no 

indication whether or not the new Minister of Education will continue this process 

a Early in my role as President of Provincial SSAAM I had the opportunity to meet with the 

Minister of Education of the day, The Honorable Ron Lemieux, to bring forward the 

resolutions from the 2002 AGM for discussion. Our delegation was able to discuss with the 

Minister, the highest priorities that SSAAM had identified as well as having the opportunity 

of hearing the Minister's priorities. I believe that SSAAM is an organization whose opinion 

has been respected and sought by the last few Ministers of Education and I feel that if we 

continue to respect the relationship we have developed with Manitoba Education and the 

Minister of Education, we will continue to have the opportunity to be effective advocates for 

students with special needs in this province. 

Q One of my goals this year as President of Provincial SSAAM was to visit each of the SSAAM 

regional organizations. Although I was unable to visit the Northern region, I was able to 

attend regional meetings in Metro Winnipeg, South Central, Southeast-Interlake and

Westman-Parklands. I was very appreciative of the reception I received in each of those 

locations and was tremendously impressed by the number of projects being led in the various 

regions by Students Services Administrators and by the abundance of creativity our members 

demonstrated in dealing with the issues and challenges in the various regions. 

Q I would like to thank the membership for giving me the honor of serving as your President this 

past year. It was a tremendous opportunity to fully appreciate our organization and the many 

talented people in it who work so hard on behalf of the students of our province. 

Paul Gillespie.


Annual General Meeting 

December 2003 

Professional Development Report: 

As Professional Development chairperson, I would like to thank the Professional 

Development committee for their time and support in planning this year's conference. 

Thank you Twyla Kastrukoff, Bill Warren, Paul Gillespie & Olia lesson. The committee 

met three times to organize and to finalize details for the Annual Conference on 

December 4th & 5th, 2003 at the Victoria Inn, Brandon. 

The following was confirmed: 

Thursday, December 4l 

Feature Speaker - Tim Lucas 

"Tools for Managing Change Initiative" 

Evening - Wine & cheese Reception 

Friday, December 5th 

SSAAM's Future Path - Larry Bremner 

AGM 

A new initiative this year was to partner with MECY in organizing the 2004 Student .: 

Services Conference. I have attended three meetings and preliminary workshop :• 

information has been distributed. The workshop will be held on May 7, 2004, at the 

Centro Caboto Centre, 1055 Wilkes Avenue, Winnipeg. The topic is "Issues in 

Education, Policy to Practice" with Stuart Whitley, QC, as 

the featured speaker. 

Looking ahead to the 2004 Annual Conference, the dates of December 2nd & 3rd have 

been booked at the Victoria Inn, Brandon. The conference theme will link into the future 

focus of SSAAM. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Helen Pearson

Provincial SSAAM Report 

Division scolaire franco-manitobaine 

Brandon 2003-2004 

Report submitted by Marge Daman and Sylvie Huard-Huberdeau - Student Services 

Coordinators 

Activities and priorities for the year 

A. Division : Priorities 

1. Promotion and development of Literacy skills at all levels 

2. Emphasis on cultural and linguistic vitality of our students and communities 

3. Integration of technology for communication and information purposes 

4. Establishment of pre-school centres in all our communities 

B. Student Services Priorities: 

1. Support, training and maintenance of literacy programs and initiatives 

2. Support, training and maintenance of behavioural programs 

3. Support for inclusion of all students with IEP, and Behavioral Plans, and Health Plans 

4. Support of Resource Centres in secondary schools for At Risk Students 

C.Conferences, Workshops and Professional Development: 

Student Services School Teams- Divisional and School planning for the yearAE- September 16th and May 

7th 

Resource Teachers and Guidance Counsellors: Review of roles and tasks- Committee to put together and 

Administrative Guide for Student Services- October 31st, January 9th and March 22nd 

New Resource Teachers : 6 accredited sessions for Reading Intervention,( August 2003) 2 accredited 

sessions with SSPD-October 10th and February 6th 

Teachers and teacher aides : CPR and First Aid (In French)- November 28th 

Social workers, psychologists, guidance counsellors: committee to look at policy and procedure for Threat 

Assessment- October 23rd? 

Speech and Language Consultants: training at 1970 Ness for use of Speech and Language Outcomes 

Mesures (in French)» 

Provincial Conference off Association of French Language Speaking Resource Teachers- AOLFM- 

December 11th and 12th at Villa Maria in St. Norbert -Presenters : Michelle Tardiff of Alberta- presents 

the Alberta documents for "Programming for at Risk Students" and "Programming for Talented and Gifted 

Students" Joanne Dumaine -Intervention in Reading, Carole Michalik et Maryvonne Alarie- Workshop for 

the Integration of immigrant Students, Johanna Handford et Dianna Fabas-Pirie- Workshop on 

Mathematics, Gilles Labossiere, Workshop on Drop Out students, Huguette Gerardy-Intervention in 

Reading at the Primary Level.

Rapport pour 1'Association provinciale des coordonnateurs en Education speciale 

Brandon 2003-2004 

Region de la Division scolaire franco-manitobaine 

Rapport soumis par Marge Daman et Sylvie Huard-Huberdeau - Coordonnatrices des 

Services aux eleves 

Activites et priorites de I'annee 

A. Priorites divisionnaire: 

1. La promotion et 1'amelioration de la litteracie a tous les niveaux 

2. Emphase sur 1'aspect culturelle et linguistique de nos ecoles et communautes 

3. L'integration de la technologic pour ameliorer la communication et 1'information 

4. L'etablissement des centres de la Petite enfance dans tous nos communautes 

B. Priorites des Services aux eleves : 

1. Le soutien dans le domaine de litteracie 

2. Les programmes et appuis dans le domaine du comportement 

3. L'inclusion des eleves ayant des PEP/PMC et plans de sante 

4. La mise sur pied de centre ressources au secondaire pour les eleves a risque 

C. Formations et conferences: 

Equipe d'ecoles Services aux eleves- journees de planification divisionnaire de I'annee 

SAE- le 15 septembre et le 7 mai 

Orthopedagogues et orienteurs : Roles et taches- revue et mise sur pied de comite pour 

mettre en place un Guide divisionnaire SAE, le 31 octobre, le 9 Janvier, et le 22 mars 

Orthopedagogues : 6 sessions de formation pour PILE- accreditees- mois d'aout 2003 

Auxiliaires et enseignants : formation RCP et Premiers soins- le 28 novembre 

Travailleurs social, conseillers, et psychologues : formation des equipes ecoles et 

formation d'un comite pour mettre en place une politique et procedure pour 1'Evaluation 

de menace.- le 23 spetembre 

Orthophonistes divisionnaires : formation sur les resultats d'apprentissage langagiers 

avec le Ministere a 1970 avenue Ness « Speech and Language Outcomes Mesures »automne 

2003 

Conference provinciale AOLFM- a la Villa Maria St- Norbert- Invites : Michelle Tardiff 

de 1'Alberta- Trousse pour les eleves ayant des besoins speciaux et eleves doues, Joanne 

Dumaine - Intervention en lecture, Carole Michalik et Maryvonne Alarie- atelier sur 

1'accueil des nouveaux arrives, Johanna Handford et Dianna Fabas-Pirie- ateliers sur les 

mathematiques, Gilles Labossiere, atelier sur le decrochage, Huguette Gerardy- 

L'intervention en lecture au primaire. le 11 et 12 decembre- 2003

Regional Initiatives for 2003/04 


Annual General Meeting 

Brandon, Manitoba 

December 5, 2003 

SOUTH CENTRAL REPORT 

South Central Student Services Administrators partnered on the following initiatives: 

Children's Therapy Initiative - Demonstration Project 

• A regional steering committee made up of various stakeholders including Student 

Services Administrators was formed to review children's therapy services presently 

offered in the region. Through funding received from Family Services and Housing, 

Health and Education, Training Citizenship and Youth a regional coordinator was 

hired to collect data from the Regional Health Authority - Central Region. The 

purpose of the data collection is to identify similarities, differences, gaps and barriers 

to pediatric therapy services in the region and to make recommendations for a 

service delivery model. 

South Central Intersectoral Committee 

• Student Services Administrators in South Central Region took the lead in establishing 

a regional intersectoral committee whose mandate is to address issues in areas such 

as mental health services, program supports and information sharing between : 

agencies. 

Regional Numeracy Project 

« A regional partnership made up of all school divisions in South Central Region 

committed funding to develop divisional leadership teams whose mandate is to 

address early numeracy in the areas of assessment and programming. 

Professional Development 

The South Central Region Student Services Administrators group provided the following PD 

opportunities in 2003: 

February 2003 

"Solving School Problems: Strategies for Principals, Teachers and Counsellors". 

Presenter: Nancy McConkey 

October 2003 

"Collaborative Teamwork for Effective Inclusion". 

Presenter: Faye Brownlie 

Report respectfully submitted by: Wilma Ritzer

Southeast Interlake Report (Nov. 02 - Nov. 03) 

For Provincial S.S.A.A.M. 

Date: November 2003 

Submitted by: Jane Massey — S.E.I. Rep 

Members: Chair: L. Weishaar (2003) - Doug Anderson (2004) 

Pat Burgess/Hanover Doug Anderson/Evergreen 

Lesley Weishaar/Seine River Annette Holowka/Lakeshore 

Glenda McKim/Interlake Pauline Lafond-Bouchard/Red River Valley 

Marge Daman/DSFM Se O'Hagan/Leslie Eblie/Sunrise SD 

Jane Massey/Sylvia Bastable/LSSD Janice Fogg/Linda McLean/MECY 

Lisom Tam-Eveleigh/Pinawa 

Regional Meetings: Dec. 13,2002 Jan. 24,2003 

Feb. 27, 2003 Mar. 17, 2003 

May 2, 2003 June 2003 

Oct. 2003 Nov. 14, 2003 

All meetings were held at Larters Golf & Country Club except for 1 visit to Dawson Trail 

School in Seine River to view EBD/Literacy Initiative. 

Guests: Tracey Moore - URIS 

Allan Hawkins - Psychology Outcomes 

Paul Gillespie - S.S.A.A.M. 

Chuck Beaudry - M.E. Y. - Transportation of students with 

special needs 

Brian Stewart — League for Persons with Disabilities 

Maggie MacDonnell - Lakeshore - Cross-grade 

Numeracy groups 

Mary Hall - Safe Schools 

Regionally Sponsored P.P.: Lorraine Fox - Mainstreaming Behaviour Kids 

Terry Scott - Positive Behavioural Support Systems 

Lost Prizes - Hecla, Mb. 

Kevin Cameron — Threat Assessment 

Social Responsibility 

Duncan Mclnley - ADHD/Tourettes 

Action: - Letter to Minister of Education re: Children in Care in 

S.E.I. Region 

- Developed Student Services Responsibilities - Then & Now 

Surveyed Student Services & Supports across S.E.I. Region

Topics of Discussion: 

Student Services Grant 

ADAP/School Plans 

Class size & composition - Implications for special needs students 

Dispute Resolution Process 

Threat Assessment 

Healthy Child 

lEP's/AEP's 

PHIA/FIPPA 

Social Responsibility 

"Celebrations"

WESTMAN REPORT FOR PROVINCIAL SSAAM AGM 03 04 

Many initiatives have been started since Sept. 03. Here are a brief description of the 

major ones that are having some impact in Brandon School Division and areas or will 

have in the future. 

Effective Behaviour Support 

Brandon's year kicked off with this very informative two day training for four 

schools on school-wide behaviour plans which were identified as goals in each schools' 

growth plan for this year. One school invited every staff member while the other three 

had a school team take back the information to the rest of the staff. The presenters were 

Tom Hierck and Charlie Coleman from B.C. As a follow up the administrators from the 

above schools have met to determine how they are going to collect data to show their 

implementation plans have made a difference. 

Autism Capacity Building 

On October 20-23 Brandon had a one day session for principals, resource 

teachers, clinicians and parents with Leslie Burgess, a B.C. provincial consultant on 

Autism Spectrum Disorders. She provided a brief overview of Autism Spectrum 

Disorders, best practice positive programming strategies and behaviour management 

strategies. On the remaining days training in using sensory, communication^ and : 

behaviour checklists to complete a student profile and plan for four high needs students in 

the division was carried out with the school, divisional and community teams. These four 

days have improved working partnerships with the teams around these four students. 

The following week Westman Speech Therapists hosted the PECS two day workshop in 

Brandon for resource teachers, administrators, teacher assistants, clinicians and parents. 

This workshop meshed well with the previous one to enhance capacity building for 

students with autism spectrum disorders. 

Parent Support Document 

Brandon School Division hosted an evening for parents facilitated by Larry 

Budzinski from MEY to provide feedback on the parent handbook for children with 

special needs. The parents engaged in some animated discussions in their groups and 

provided some very useful feedback. 

Uris Pilot Project 

Brandon School Division has had a slow start in this project but will be ready to 

implement changes with the BRHA in the new year. Many of the coordinators from the 

Westman-Parkland region met with the department to field questions for each of their

school divisions. We are all at varying places but looking forward to positive changes in 

the future. 

EDI 

Many of our divisions have shared the results with parents/community 

organizations/principals. There is the issue of confidentiality for the smaller communities. 

Brandon SD has analyzed results revealing that girls did better than boys in all areas but 

one, non aboriginals did better than aboriginals in all areas and children having a 

preschool/daycare experience did better in all domains. 

Apraxia 

At our October 3, 03 meeting with Parkland a discussion ensued around the 

number of apraxic students in our divisions and the lack of funding to provide adequate 

programming for them. A resolution was brought forward to the Provincial SSAAM 

AGM meeting. 

Submitted by Susan Swaak 

Administrator of Student Services for 

Brandon School Division

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth 

UPDATE 

2003 

1. Bill 13, An Amendment to the Public School Act (Appropriate Educational 

Programming) has been introduced and had First Reading on November 

25th by the Honourable Minister Peter Bjornson. Second reading, which is 

the next step before the committee stage, will occur during this session of 

the Legislature. Organizations can make presentation to the committee by 

contacting the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly to be placed on a list of 

presenters. There will be consultations regarding the content of 

Regulations in early 2004. 

2. MECY had the first meeting of the Student Service/Inclusive Education 

Advisory Committee in October. This committee will continue the advisory 

role that the SERI Advisory committee provided. Representatives include 

MTS, MASS, MAST, MART, SSAAM and the Parent Coalition. The 

committee will meet 3-4 times a year. 

3. Student Services Planning: Student Services Plan is due November 30th. 

The letter to the field provided 2 options, a separate SS Plan or on 

integrated into the Division Planning Report 

3. MECY REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS FOR THE 

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN SCHOOL - A GUIDE FOR 

PARENTS AND FAMILIES 

• SSAAM has partnered on the development of the support document 

(Sandy Mccaig and Tanya Edgar) 

• meetings have been held with representatives of MTS, MAST, MASS, 

MAPC, and the Parent Coalition 

• Thank you to all the school divisions that participated and hosted a 

parent consultation session. 

7. Student Services Grant 

• 2 day planning meeting held in October 

• The next step in the pilot will be developing a funding formula. 

• Pilot divisions have made good progress in the implementation of 

programming changes. An interim report should be available soon.

Parkland/Westman Regional Report 

November, 2003 

URIS- Continues to be an issue. A number of divisions are involved hi pilots with their 

Regional Health Authorities, hopefully this will alleviate the problems the region is 

experiencing with the URIS implementation. 

Amalgamation implications- Amalgamation has provided the opportunity to create 

curriculum coordinator position in the rural area. Westman/Parkland SSAAM are 

including the curriculum coordinators in the regional meetings. Common interest and 

issues are discussed first on the agenda and then the group separates to address area 

specific agenda items. The group is looking into formerly organizing itself. 

The region hosted parent meetings with parents who have agreed to review the 

"Transition into School Handbook for Parents" the department has developed in 

partnership with SSAAM.

SAAMI 

REGIONS 



LJ Interlake 


LJ Northern 

D South Central 

D South East 


- 






Monday, January 20, 2003 

9:30 a.m. 

Agenda: 

1 . Approval of Minutes of November 29, 2002 


3. Business Arising — 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Correspondence 

4. 1 South East and Interlake Regions 

4.2 Carl Stephens - Chair - ABA Advisory Committee 

4.3 Arnold Reimer- MASS 

4.4 Deb Thompson - Public Policy Chair, Manitoba CEC 

' 

Officer and Committee Reports 







5.7 Public Relations/Social — Olia lesson 




Reports (written would be appreciated) 




6.4 South East/Interlake — iesisy^ 

6.5 Division scolaire franco-manitobaine - Michelle Frechette 



6.8 Healthy Child Manitoba - Wendy Church


7. 1 Taking stock of who we are and what we're about — surveying the membership, 

formation of ad hoc committee, etc. (Paul) 

7.2 Meeting with the Minister of Education - discussion of resolutions, date, 

SSAAM reps attending, etc. (Paul) 

7.3 CEC request for joint meeting with the Minister of Education (Paul) 

-7;4" S S AAM representative on the ABA Committee (Paul)-vitb-MASS 

(-upctate)-(Paul) — 

SSAAM-A6M— eeeemb€E4-S^ee3 - Flaming (IMea). 

7.7 Guest presenters (Paul) 

7.8 Provincial Committee/Executive members - terms of office, etc. (Paul) 

7.9 SSAAM Committees - who, how, how long, etc. (Paul) 

7.10 Public Awareness - getting the message out (Paul) 

7:44-Provineial Committee phone tree (Paul)- 

7.12 Resolution follow-up (Larry) 

7.13 EDI — concerns with process (Larry) 

7.14 Amalgamation Updates: changes to SSAAM positions (Larry)

Minutes of the Provincial S.S.A.A.M. Meeting 

Portage la Prairie S.D. 

535-3rd St. N.W. 

Monday, January 20, 2003 

Present: Paul Gillespie, Helen Pearson, Teri Bembridge, Bill Warren, 

Twyla Kastrukoff, Linda Anderson, Olia Jesson, Wendy Church, 

Arlene Cherepak, Joanne Blais, Robert McDill, Monique Pillion, 

Larry Budzinski, Tanya Edgar, Pat Burgess, Lesley Weisshaar 

Chair: 


1. Approval of Minutes 

• Larry Budzinski/Arlene Cherepak 

Motion: THAT the minutes of the October 21, 2002 meeting be approved. 

CARRIED 


• Arlene Cherepak/Twyla Kastrukoff 

Motion: THAT the agenda be approved with the following additions: 

- 4.5 Correspondence Arnold Reimer 

- 4.6 Correspondence Patti Dobroski 

- 7.15 New Business Larry Budzinski (PD) 

- 7.16 New Business Bill Warren (letterhead) 


7:15 Larry Budzinski - at the next meeting, the committee will share potential ideas 

for spending some of the balance. 


4.1 SEICA request for $200. to support P.O. was deferred until the next meeting 

when the committee will have clarified guidelines for regional requests. 

4.2 Carl Stephens request for SSAAM representative on ABA steering committee. 

- Teri, Monique and Sandi will meet with Carl to clarify concerns and report at 

the next meeting. 

4.3 Arnold Reimer (MASS) letter re: shared P.O. with MASS. 

- May explore for the following year.

4.4 Deb Thompson (CEC) re: quest for shared meeting with Minister - deferred to 

7.2. 

4.5 Arnold Reimer (MASS) - circulate Jerry Storie's memo re: Deaf Education. 

4.6 Patti Dobroski - Thank you card circulated. 

Email: pattido@telus.net 

Phone:250-658-5153 

5.0 Officer and Committee Reports: 

5.1 President - Paul Gillespie: 

- phone calls, correspondence 

- visits: Metro SSAAM December 13, 2002 

Westman/Parkland March 14, 2003 

5.2 Past-President - Pat Burgess: 

- Meeting with MDA (Special Materials) next week. 

5.3 First Vice-President - Monique Pillion: 

- No report. 

5.4 Second Vice-President - Twyla Kastrukoff: 

- ECDI Cttee report (attached to South Central) 

5.5 Treasurer - Bill Warren: 

- Treasurer's report (attached). 

- Conference report (attached). 

5.6 Professional Development - Helen Pearson: 

- P.D. report (attached). 

- Discussion re: focus and format for future P.D., possible future partnership 

with MASS and/or ME&Y. 

- Fall conference topic: Facilitation, Who are we? Where do we want to go? 

What do we do? etc. 

- P.D. Cttee - Helen.Twyla, Olia 

- Helen will join ME&Y Conference Planning committee. 

5.7 Public Relations/Social - Olia Jesson: 

- Will publish/newsletter a year. 

5.8 Advocacy/Public Policy - Teri Bembridge & Sandi McCraig: 

- No report. 

5.9 Secretary - Lesley Weisshaar: 

- Distributed a phone tree and contact list to check and update, if necessary. 

- Both will be distributed with the minutes.

5.10 Historian-Arlene Cherepak: 

- A file has been made for each year and Arlene will update if regularly. 

6. Reports: 

6.1 Metro - Bob McDill: 

- (attached) 

6.2 Parkland/Westman - Larry Budzinski, Tanya Edgar: 

- (attached) South Central has included data re: allocation of resource 

teachers. 

6.3 South Central - Twyla Kastrukoff 

- (attached) 

6.4 Southeast/lnterlake - 

- Lesley Weisshaar gave an update. 

- Glenda McKim and Annette Holowka are reps. 

6.5 DSFM - Michelle Frechette: 

- No report. 

6.6 North - Linda Anderson: 

- No report. 

6.7 Manitoba Education & Youth - Joanne Blais: 

6.8 Healthy Child Manitoba - Wendy Church: 

- Distributed copies of HCM reports distributed on November 20th. 

- P.O. will combine Provincial Forum for Coalitions and ECDI session (March 6, 

13, 14, 17 - locations undecided as of yet). 

- Distributed "Educare" document (contact Wendy wchurch@gov.mb.ca or 

(204) 975-8796) for more copies. 


7.1 Survey of Membership: Ad hoc Cttee of Paul, Teri, Helen, Pat and Olia will 

meet to develop a survey and plan for circulation. 

7.2 Meeting with Minister and 7.3 Correspondence (CEC): 

- Paul will inform Deb Thompson that SSAAM would prefer to meet separately. 

- Paul will select dates and advise re: Minister's response. 

- Participants: Paul, Monique, Twyla and Teri/Sandi. 

7.3 Correspondence 

7.4 Correspondence

7.5 P.O. Report 

7.6 Potential quest speakers: 

- Email suggestions to Paul. 

7.7 Provincial Executive Committee - Terms of Office: 

- Discussion re: terms of office, recruitment of new members, support for new 

Student Services Administrators. 

- Will include some questions in survey. 

- Will use results of survey to prepare potential changes to the Constitution at 

AGM. 

7.8 Committee Membership: 

- Paul and Pat will meet to discuss/clarify SSAAM Membership on external 

committees. 

7.9 Public Awareness: 

- Need to develop and maintain website. 

Bill Warren/Monique Pillion 

Motion: THAT Larry Budzinski be granted up to $1000. to hire someone to 

establish and maintain a SSAAM website. 

CARRIED 

7.10 Secretary's Report: 

- Larry will bring a draft to the next meeting. 

7.11 Resolution follow-up: 

- Committee meeting with Minister will priorize resolutions and bring them to the 

next meeting for discussion. 

7.12 EDI Report 

7:13 Amalgamation effects (changes to SSAAM positions): 

- Must closely monitor. 

7:14 P.D. Report: 

- Hopefully will get some information from survey. 

7:15 Letterhead: 

- Bill will purchase. 

Next meeting dates: 

March 24, 2003 i 

May 26, 2003 r 9:30 a.m. Portage la Prairie 

September 29, 2003

South Central Region Report to Provincial SSAAM 

January 20th, 2O03 

Since the last Provincial meeting on October 21st, the South Central group has met twice. 

Issues at these meetings included: 

• Student Services Grant Funding Model - Pilot Update 

• South Central Coalition for Healthy Child Manitoba 

• Community Mental Health Services in Central Region 

• Inter-sectoral Committee 

• ESL Programming 

• Children's Therapy Initiative Call for Proposals 

• Resource Teacher allocation ratios 

• Family Services' Summer Gap Program 

• Paraeducators' Framework 

• South Central Leadership Committee 

• Early Development Instrument 

• Updates from Manitoba Education - by Allan Hawkins 

Those who are responsible for curriculum in their divisions have also been meeting regularly 

throughout the school year, separate from the SSAAM meetings. 

Upcoming Professional Development: 

• February 7th, at the Pentecostal Church in Carman - Nancy McConkey presenting on 

"Solving School Problems: Strategies for Principals, Teachers and Counsellors" 

Early Childhood Development Initiative 

Advisory Committee Report 

The second meeting of the year was held on November 27Ul. Agenda items: 

a Early Development Instrument Update - 21 school divisions in Manitoba will be 

implementing the EDI in 2002 - 2003, with province wide implementation targeted for 

Spring 2005 

Q National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) Update - information from 

Human Resources Development Canada's Applied Research Branch website was presented 

related to NLSCY data; the PowerPoint information ("Growing Up in Canada") on the 

website can be accessed at the following address: 

www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/sp-ps/arb-dgra/nlscy-elnej/publications e.shtml 

a National Child Day Information - a government of Canada funding announcement was 

made regarding Early Childhood development (Visit website referenced below for details) 

www.canada.gc.ca/whats/whatsnew e.html; two Government of Canada reports were 

released (Early Childhood Development Activities and Expenditures: Government of Canada 

Report 2001 - 2002 and The Well-Being of Canada's Young Children: Government of Canada 

Report 2002. These reports can be accessed by telephone at 1-800-622-6232 or online at 

canada.gc.ca); two Provincial ECD reports were released (Investing in Early Childhood 

Development: 2002 Progress Report to Manitobans and Supplement to Investing in Early 

Childhood Development: 2002 Progress Report to Manitobans. These reports can be accessed 

online at www.gov.mb.ca/hcm/ecd report.html 

Q A Feedback Form was drafted for distribution to ECDI project contacts to gather 

information regarding professional development needs. 

a Next meeting is scheduled for April 

Respectfully submitted by: 

Twyla Kastrukoff

Provincial SSAAM Report 

Westman Parklands 

Jan 20/03 

1. Adolescent Treatment Centre Presentation at 1:00 Doug Cruikshanks , Debbie 

Carnegie 

Overview of service. Portage, USA Border, Swan area. Itinerent Psychiatry 2 

positions outpatients to Assiniboine RHA ,140 admissions, 3 weeks stay, multi 

disciplined approach. Transition times are critical. 

Some concerns were raised to Doug regarding Centre recommendations, 

communications, expectations of services in divisions, lack of programs and 

mental health workers, etc. More Mental Health Supports could help focus more 

family therapy services. Caseloads of 35 : 1 are suggested. 

What is the process for transistions? In most cases an exit meeting will be held 

when consent has been received from parent or student. 

Collect wait time, readmission, caseloads, complaints. Suggestions that we write 

the RHA's specifically with concerns 

2. WEVAS - Dorothy: What is the status of the training? Sherri-Lyn reported that 

dates are booked at EM MARCH Thl3.Frl4.M17.Tul 8.Wedl9th. Registration 

3. EDI: Parent letter and survey has changed. It was difficult to get the data in on 

time. Logistical problems with surveys. Fort la Bosse hasn't sent data. Lynda will 

forward. Cost could be a problem Cindy Walsh. Keep good records of costs to 

present for next year. Currently $11.00 student, letter came describing how to 

^ collect. Claims for expenses for training haven't been received. 

4. Sylvia Flint at 10:30 Anaphylaxis Policy 

Sylvia attended and discussed the need for policy. Canadian School Board 

handout. 

5. Student Services/Curriculum Coordinator survey - Bill results available. Salaries 

etc. Bill will send around the results. Dorothy will be arranging a meeting with 

MTS re financial obligations, salaries, etc.



January 20,2003 

Professional Development Issues: 

1. Partnering with MASS 

Arnold Reimer indicated MASS is interested in partnering with SSAAM 

METY in jointly planning and hosting fall conferences. Costs and profits 

could be shared 50/50 each year or on alternate years 100% of costs and 

profits. 

2. SSAAM Fall conferences 2003 

Projected Dates: 

MASS 

November 17-19,2003 

November 17-19,2004 

November 16-18,2005 

SSAAM 

December 4&5,2003 

December 1-3,2004 

November 30 - December 2,2005 

Dates - MASS has booked fall conference for November 19, 20,21, 2003. 

SSAAM had booked fall for November 20 & 21,2003. I have confirmed 

with the Victoria Inn, Brandon that we can change our date to 

December 4 & 5,2003. 

3. Focus and format for Fall 2003 Conference 

The topic of Safe Schools with Mary Hall colkborating/facilitating to develop 

the conference had been confirmed for the November dates. Is this still the 

direction we want for the conference? 

4. Members for the PD committee

DATE: August 10, 2001 

MEMO 

TO: Southwestern Manitoba Superintendents 

FROM: Jerry Storie, Superintendent 

RE: Deaf Education 

C.: Arnold Reimer, MASS 

At our last meeting I indicated that I had become a Board member of the Central Speech and Hearing 

Clinic. This Clinic offers auditory-verbal training to Manitoba children with profound hearing loss. 

The Central Speech and Hearing Clinic emphasizes the use of technology, hearing aids and cochlear 

implants, to support the development of "normal speech" in profoundly deaf children. They are not 

opposed to the use of sign language but feel strongly that every effort should be made to teach children to 

speak if that is at all possible. The logic is that individuals who can create intelligible speech can enjoy 

the benefits of mainstream society. Learning sign language, which has been the Department of 

Education's focus for many years, should only be taught as a last resort. They estimate that 90% of 

profoundly deaf children can learn to speak intelligibly 

There is a massive and growing body of evidence that indicates that the outcomes for children using the 

auditory-verbal approach are significantly better than for other approaches. This research has been 

collecting since the first successful cochlear implant in 1981. 

Attached you will find the brief and some background information that we presented to the government in 

our attempt to solicit more funds for the Clinic so that we could provide a broader level of service to 

Manitoba children. 

It is noteworthy that despite the success of auditory-verbal training and the success of students who learn 

intelligible speech, to my knowledge, there are no AV therapists or instructional assistants trained in 

using AV techniques operating within our school system. 

I would encourage you to share this information with your Coordinators of Student Services and anyone 

else involved with the education of hearing impaired children. 

This is the kind of information I believe is important to parents and to children who are affected by a 

severe loss of hearing. A number of school boards in Canada, including the Ottawa-Carlton Board of 

Education, have adopted auditory-verbal training in support of their hearing impaired children.

2003 - SSAAM

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