February 26th, 2014
On Monday, February 24, 2014 starting at 7:00pm, the Waterloo Region District School Board held its monthly Board Meeting. The agenda and reports for the meeting can be found online here.
Consent Agenda
Trustees received/approved the following minutes:
- Special Education Advisory Committee Meeting of January 8, 2014
- Board Meeting of February 10, 2014
- Committee of the Whole Meeting of February 10, 2014
Trustees received/approved the following reports
- Suspension Expulsion Report to January 31, 2014
- Staffing Information – Retirements and Recommendations
- Staffing Recommendations – Appointments
No delegations appeared at this meeting.
Reports
Status Report of Partial French Immersion for 2012-13 and Status of Partial French Immersion for 2014-15
The grade 1 component of the Partial French Immersion program represents approx 25% of the total grade one enrolment in the WRDSB. The classes are organized to accommodate the greatest number of students as a result, for the 2013-14 school year, there was a spot in the program available for all families willing to provide transportation.
In an effort to meet the changing needs of WRDSB communities, Learning Services implemented on-line registration, which has proven to be a success, resulting in fewer concerns from parents. To further refine the process, the “first-come-first-served” past practice was stopped. The new registration practice continues to give priority placement to home school students, however, all families who register within the registration period, will be considered for home school placement or their preferred location when space permits.
Currently there are 42 elementary schools operating the Partial French Immersion program, and five secondary schools.
As of January 31, 2014, a total of 1193 requests for the program has been received.
Special Education Status Report
The Special Education Review Committee was established to review the “opportunities for improvement” section of the Waterloo Region District School Board’s Special Education Review Report that was completed on September 8th, 2010. The mandate of this committee is to establish priorities from the “opportunities for improvement” and develop a plan for the implementation of these priorities.
The two areas of focus as identified by the Special Education Review Committee for the 2013-14 school year were Alternate Program Reporting and Individual Education Plans (IEP).
When developing, implementing and reviewing a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) in the Waterloo Region District School Board, it is the expectation that the school principal or an assigned designate will actively consult with parents and, where appropriate, other community based professionals. It is these consultations, which allow for all stakeholders to be engaged in the IEP process, and ensure that a student’s needs are being represented and met to optimize student learning and achievement.
To date, Learning Services – Special Education Consultant Staff have had 2 half-day planning sessions to assess and evaluate the Board Individual Education Plans using an IEP Rubric developed by the Ministry of Education. Through this assessment and evaluation process, consultant staff have had the opportunity to work collaboratively and are currently in the process of defining consistent IEP expectations and practices that will be implemented throughout the Waterloo Region District School Board.
The goal of the Alternative Program Report Card is to assess, evaluate and describe a student’s ability to demonstrate the achievement of the program goals as identified in their IEP. Decisions regarding programming for exceptional students are based on assessment data and student need while at the same time taking into account the appropriate and necessary accommodations to support student learning needs as identified in a student’s IEP.
An Alternative Program Report Card Committee was initiated in the fall of the 2013-14 school year, and was made up of Learning Services – Special Education Consultants and a Learning Services – Program Consultant. The first mandate of this committee was to review the assessment and evaluation principles of the Growing Success Document and in doing so, determine possible changes that could be made to the current Alternative Program Report Card expectations in the Waterloo Region District School Board, and have it better align with Growing Success. Through this audit process it was decided that the Alternative Program Report Card comments currently being used did not meet the requirements outlined in Growing Success, and as a result the committee, in collaboration with Learning Services – Special Education Program Leads, would develop Alternative Program Report Card comment exemplars for every program area. Currently, exemplars for every program area have been created and are now being shared with various stakeholders for feedback.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:10pm
Categories: Board
