Minutes - Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board
Minutes - Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board
Minutes - Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board
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Special Education Advisory Committee Page 2<br />
<strong>Minutes</strong> of February 26, 2009_________________________________________________________<br />
Approval of the minutes<br />
Moved: Kelly Mathieson<br />
Seconded: Thelma Goodfellow<br />
Business arising from the minutes<br />
There was no business arising from the minutes.<br />
That the minutes of January 22, 2009 be approved.<br />
Carried<br />
Continuous Assessment Process Overview<br />
Superintendent FitzGibbon introduced Cindy Waite, who is a speech/language pathologist <strong>and</strong> part of<br />
our specialized services team. A h<strong>and</strong>out was distributed which provided an overview of the Ontario<br />
Psychological Association (OPA) project from 2006 to 2008.<br />
Cindy shared that OPA received a grant of $20 million to be used to support school boards to reduce<br />
wait times for students requiring psychological assessments <strong>and</strong> to enhance teacher capacity. In<br />
recognition of the importance of early identification of a student’s learning needs, the Ministry targeted<br />
students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 4 as priorities for assessments through this project.<br />
The board identified priority items, which focussed on psycho-educational assessments, teacher case<br />
conference participation, speech <strong>and</strong> language educational assistant learning network, Strategies for<br />
Success: A Program for Students with Learning Disabilities resource, TOWL-3 (which is a test of written<br />
language), <strong>and</strong> Using Continuous Assessment as an Intervention Model: A resource guide for student<br />
intervention from the classroom to psycho-educational services.<br />
As a result of the OPA grant, the following initiatives were achieved:<br />
• 98 additional psycho-educational assessments were contracted out;<br />
• wait times for all psycho-educational assessments were reduced;<br />
• 110 teachers were able to participate in post-assessment conferences with psychological<br />
services staff <strong>and</strong> resource teachers;<br />
• educational assistants were supported to meet with speech <strong>and</strong> language pathologists to review<br />
programs <strong>and</strong> share best practices, as well as the creation of an on-line “chat” network;<br />
• Strategies for Success resource document was developed <strong>and</strong> distributed;<br />
• Various assessment tools were researched, which resulted in the selection of the TOWL-3 test;<br />
• Using Continuous Assessment as an Intervention Model resource was developed based on the<br />
assessment <strong>and</strong> intervention model presented in Education for All <strong>and</strong> distributed;<br />
• Training of key staff on the Using Continuous Assessment as an Intervention Model resource,<br />
TOWL-3 assessment tool, Strategies for Success resource, <strong>and</strong> Key Math 3 assessment tool.<br />
It was noted that all of the focus items are sustainable <strong>and</strong> will continue to be used beyond the scope of<br />
the OPA funding. A discussion ensued <strong>and</strong> various questions were posed regarding the OPA project<br />
as well as the cessation of Ministry funding.<br />
System Principal Portt then shared an overview of the Continuous Assessment document to provide a<br />
more in-depth underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the guide, which has proven to be a very practical tool. Trustee<br />
Marissen shared that he felt the document was very well done, <strong>and</strong> will be a great resource for years to<br />
come. One suggestion was to share the document with community agencies. SEAC members will<br />
receive a copy of the Continuous Assessment binder at the March meeting.