Minutes - Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board

Hastings and Prince Edward
District School Board
A Great Place to Learn and A Great Place to Work!
Chair: Judy Edgar Director of Education: Kathy Soule
Trustees:
Thelma Goodfellow
Kathy Peever
SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(S.E.A.C.)
May 26, 2005
6:00 pm
Board Committee Room, Education Centre
Belleville
M I N U T E S
Voting Members:
Wally Salamanchuk (Tourette Syndrome Association of Ontario)
Janice Quade (Down Syndrome Support Network, Quinte)
Michael Evans (Association for Early Childhood Education - Family Space)
Joanne TenWolde (Community Living Prince Edward)
Susan Seaman (Counselling Services of Belleville and District)
Regrets:
Kevin Hoskins (Children’s Aid Society)
Terry Swift (Children’s Mental Health)
Tracy Thomas (Member at Large)
Planning and Resource Members:
Jan Montgomery (Superintendent of Special Education)
Joanne Barry (Special Education Co-ordinator)
Alison McDonnell (Special Education Co-ordinator)
June Hagerman (Special Education Co-ordinator)
Marie Mitchell (Elementary Leadership, Harry J. Clarke)
Regrets:
June Rogers (Elementary Leadership, North Trenton)
Jennifer Meade (OSSTF)

Special Education Advisory Committee Page 2
2005 May 26
1.0 Welcome / Guests
Superintendent Jan Montgomery shared regrets from Director Kathy Soule. The Director will
bring greetings at the June 16 th meeting.
2.0 Approval of the Minutes of 2005 April 28.
Approved: Thelma Goodfellow
Seconded: Joanne TenWolde
That the minutes of 2005 April 28 be approved.
Carried
3.0 Business Arising from the Minutes
3.1 Report from the Suspension Review Sub Committee
Susan Seaman reported that the Suspension Review Sub Committee met prior to SEAC. The
Committee reviewed the Guiding Principles established at the April 28 th meeting and strategies
identified to enhance communication amongst all stakeholders. A copy of the minutes from this
meeting will be distributed with the SEAC minutes. The Review Committee will meet next month prior
to SEAC.
4.0 SEAC Communications
4.1 SEAC Roles & Responsibilities(seaclearning):Unit 5
Deferred to the June16th meeting.
5.0 Special Education Plan Review
Superintendent Montgomery noted that no feedback has been received from the Ministry of
Education regarding the 2004 Special Education Plan submitted in June 2004; the 2005 Plan is due
to the Ministry by July 1 st . Changes and revisions required for the 2005 Special Education Plan are
minimal and reflect the restructuring of Special Education central roles and responsibilities as well as
some reorganization of information presented in the document. Changes were reviewed and some
minor revisions and suggestions were noted. The appendices will be updated accordingly and
included with the Plan.
Moved: Joanne TenWolde
Seconded: Susan Seaman
That the Special Education Plan 2005 be approved.
Susan Seaman provided an overview of the ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder] School Consultant
Program, noted to in the Special Education Plan. A presentation /overview of this initiative will be
arranged for a fall SEAC meeting.
6.0 Staff Reports
6.1 Special Ed Organization 2005-06
Superintendent Montgomery provided an overview of the proposed organization for the Special
Education Services department. Christine Reidel and Susan Culhane will join the central team,
replacing Joanne Barry and Alison McDonnell who are moving to vice-principal roles. All system
resource support roles will be coordinator positions.
Carried

Special Education Advisory Committee Page 3
2005 May 26
Each coordinator will be responsible for a designated school group and all high needs within that group
of schools, a specified exceptionality area and lead responsibilities for specific special education
initiatives (eg. Pre-school Speech/Language). There will be 5.6 coordinator positions at the
elementary level and 2.8 at the secondary. The Vision Support role has been expanded to full time
and will include a life skills component for the low vision students serviced. A full-time psychologist,
Deanna Mayfield, has been hired and will join the team in June. All other support roles will continue
as they are.
6.2 Specialized Programs for 2005-06
An update regarding specialized programs at the system level was provided.
• Section 20 Programs - five programs will continue for September; Onesimus House has closed
due to a change in [their] mandate; the Parent Child Clinic program will accommodate students
from JK to Grade 2 age, a change from this year
• the Junior Intervention Class, Learning Disabilities Regional Centres and Learning Strategies
Programs will continue
• there will be an increase in the staffing at the Regional Autism Centre to accommodate for the
large number of JK/SK students entering in September
• an additional .5 staffing allotment has been added to Bancroft Public School in the North to
support a cluster of students with various high needs
• the secondary alternative program in Belleville [SHAPE] will have a slightly different look for the
fall; each associated secondary school will have a full time teacher, located in the SHAPE
classroom at Sir Winston Churchill, to support the students in the program
6.3 Other Updates
The transition for secondary aged students currently in the William R. Kirk program to secondary
schools is in place for September 2005. Students will be on the secondary school register and will
be taught by an OSSTF [Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation] member. The
administrative and resource support personnel at W. R. Kirk School will remain the same for
2005–06 and will work closely with the secondary panel to support this transition.
Superintendent Montgomery reported that representative staff recently attended a two-day Ministry
symposium to roll out the Expert Panel Report on Differentiated Instruction. This session focussed on
enhancing knowledge and skills on the instruction and assessment of performance of students with
special education needs. More information will be shared in the future.
7.0 Reports from SEAC Members and Resource Personnel
Wally Salamanchuk, Tourette Syndrome Association of Ontario
The annual walk-a-thon will take place on June 5 th at Zwicks Park beginning at 11:00am; a BBQ and
games will follow .
8.0 Other Business
8.1 June Meeting
Members agreed on a time change for the June 16 th meeting. The meeting will begin at 6:00pm rather
than 7:00pm, at the Education Centre. Times and location for future meetings will be discussed as well.
The suspension Review Committee will meet prior to SEAC, at 5:00pm.
9.0 Correspondence / Handouts / Information
9.1 Loyalist College: On-Line to Successful Learning
Received as information.
G:\SE\SEAC\Minutes\2005\May 26.wpd
NEXT MEETING
6:00 pm
Thursday, June 16 th
Education Centre - Belleville