2003 - SSAAM

SNOBtr
SERVICES
iAAM
REGIONS
EH Division Scolaire
Franco-Manitobaine
LJ Interlake
LJ Metro Winnipeg
LJ Northern
D SoHf/i Central
D
D Westman/Parkland
STUDENT SERVICES ADMINISTRATORS
ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA
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