Thursday, January 14th, 2016 6:00 p.m.

Grimsby Lincoln Room – Education Centre

Committee Members Present: Linda Morrice (Chair) Pathstone Mental Health Shannon MacDonald (Vice-Chair) CNIB Amy Dunn Autism Ontario, Niagara Chapter Ashley Short Learning Disabilities Association Niagara Region Jodi Delage Niagara Support Services Dale Robinson Trustee, District School Board of Niagara Danielle Reynolds FASD

Administration/Resource: Jen Currie OPC Representative: Elementary Therese Grenier Student Achievement Leader: Special Education Catherine Matheson OPC Representative: Secondary John Dickson Superintendent of School Support Services

Regrets: Kerry Thomas Community Living Welland Pelham Staci Whittle Niagara Children’s Centre Sandra Steeprock Niagara Regional Native Centre Jen Ajandi Trustee, District School Board of Niagara

Recording Secretary: Charlene Airhardt

QUORUM/CALL TO ORDER Quorum was established and the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm.

WELCOME – STUDENT VOICE Student Achievement Leader Therese Grenier introduced a Grade 9 student from Sir Winston along with her mother and Carol Purcer, her Administrator. The student attended the Reaction 4 Inclusion Student Conference in November which was hosted by Community Living and held in Orillia. She spoke very highly of all the sessions. She noted that having other adults and students tell their stories and how they were struggling with their disability and how to cope with these situations was very insightful and inspiring. She made new friends and she would like to attend again next year if that was possible.

Superintendent Dickson noted that the very reason we have a student voice at the SEAC meetings is that it is really inspiring for the committee to hear their stories and it helps us to develop a better understanding of the diverse needs of all the learners in our schools as we move forward.

INTRODUCTIONS Chair Morrice asked the committee to introduce themselves.

MINUTES

SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SEAC)

SEAC MEETING MINUTES January 14th, 2016

Page 2 of 3

Jodi Delage is the new representative for Niagara Support Services. Chair Morrice also welcomed four students from Brock University and Lisa Mooney, Chair of the Parent Involvement Committee.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Morrice requested a motion to approve the Agenda of the January 14th, 2016 SEAC meeting.

Moved by Ashley Short, Seconded by Shannon MacDonald “That the Agenda dated January 14th, 2016, be approved as presented.”

CARRIED APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Chair Morrice requested a motion to approve the Minutes of the December 10th, 2015 meeting

Moved by Amy Dunn, Seconded by Dale Robinson “That the Minutes dated December 10th, 2015 be approved as presented.”

CARRIED BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

Nil

PSYCHOLOICAL ASSESSMENTS

Dr. Lisa Linder’s presented a power point (attached) on Psychological Assessments and Learning Profiles.

REPORT FROM SPECIAL EDUCATION

Student Achievement Leader, Therese Grenier, reviewed Other Related Information of the Special Education Report: Section 1 - Early Identification Procedures and Intervention Strategies, page 33.

Question – Item number 6 – Are teachers receiving professional development to help in the screening of early years’ students. Answer - The DSBN is always offering professional development to staff e.g., Functional Screening, BAS and LLI etc. Resource staff are available to collaborate with teachers and if need be can work directly in the classroom.

Question – If a Kindergarten teacher does informal literacy assessment, it is common practice to share with the parents? Yes, informal assessments or testing is shared with parents. There is a process in place through the In-School Team (IST).

Student Achievement Leader, Therese Grenier reviewed Other Related Information of the Special Education Report: Section 2 – Educational and Other Assessments, page 37. No questions were brought forward.

ASSOCIATION AND BOARD INFORMATION

Niagara Support Services Jodi Delage NSS children’s movement program received a grant for $10,188 from Goodlife Kid’s Foundation which has allowed the waitlist to be eliminated.

Niagara FASD Danielle Reynolds No Report.

CNIB Shannon MacDonald No Report.

Autism Ontario, Niagara Chapter Amy Dunn Friday, March 4th marks the 2nd Annual Trivia Night. This year the focus will be on the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, & 90’s! Tables of 8 are $140.00 or $20.00 per person. The Annual “Raise the Flag” day for Autism will be held on Monday, April 4th as World Autism Awareness Day falls on a

SEAC MEETING MINUTES January 14th, 2016

Page 3 of 3

Saturday. School Registration closes February 20th. Visit www.raisetheflagforautism.com

Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Ashley Short There will be a Reading Rocks Jr. program this summer thanks to a $5000.00 donation from the Sleep Cheap charity.

Secondary Administration Representative Catherine Matheson This is a busy time of year as Semester 1 is near the end. Intention sheets/course options forms are being completed for next year. This year they are being completed on line, printed and signed by the parents and/or students and returned to the school.

Elementary Administration Representative Jen Currie Teachers are completing classroom assessments and working on report cards. The Grade 8 to Grade 9 transition to high school process has begun noting that each year the transition process becomes smoother. Kindergarten Open House is January 28th from 10 am to 6 pm. Children and parents will meet the teacher, see the classroom and receive a goodie-bag filled with fun and educational items. Visit www.dsbn.org/kindergarten for more information.

Student Achievement Leader: Special Education Therese Grenier The transition process has begun as the Spec Ed teams are visiting pre-school children.

Superintendent John Dickson Superintendent Dickson noted the Board is looking at the budget for the 2016-17 school year. The DSBN Strategic Plan for the next five years has begun. Superintendent Dickson noted that he was at the Regional Special Education Committee meeting on December 10th.

Trustee Report Dale Robinson Trustee Dale Robinson noted the first Strategic Plan meeting was held on January 14th. There were 70 participants, from across the system including students and community partners. They will be looking at the DSBN Mission, Vision and Value Statement to decide if it is still valid language and to create strategic priorities. The Board is using a facilitator, former director and a company called Thoughtexchange to help in the creation of surveys. To join the conversation click on www.dsbn.org and follow the link to infocus DSBN Strategic Framework for Student Success to share your thoughts. Two more meetings have been scheduled for February 22 and March 24th.

Pathstone Mental Health Linda Morrice The Early Years consultant has been facilitating transitions for pre-school children. Ellis Katsof, CEO announced his retirement in late December. An interim CEO will be announced later in the month.

CORRESPONDENCE Superintendent Dickson received an email on January 12th, 2016 from Ethna Bernat, ABC Ontario - Niagara Chapter noting they will be leaving the SEAC Committee.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS None

ADJOURNMENT Moved by Shannon MacDonald, Seconded by Amy Dunn.

“That the Special Education Advisory Committee meeting adjourns.” CARRIED

The meeting adjourned at 7:14 pm.

ATTACHMENTS Psychological Assessments and Learning Profiles power point

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, February 11th, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. – Grimsby Lincoln Room

Presented by Dr. Lisa Linders, M.S.(Ed.), Ph.D., C. Psych.

DSBN Chief Psychologist/Mental Health Leader.

Why do we assess? Assessments help teachers with programming

Psychological assessment is not the first step Many steps to go through prior to considering an assessment

IST, Area Team

If a student is not benefitting from instruction, thedefault line of thinking is that there is a mismatchbetween the method of instruction and the student’slearning style, NOT that there is something “wrong”with the student

Who Conducts PsychologicalAssessments? In order foran assessment to be considered

“psychological” it must be signed off by a registered psychologist In Ontario, need to be a member of the College of

Psychologists of Ontario In order to use an assessment for IPRC purposes, it

must be a psychological assessment There is no “list” of “accepted” psychologists from

whom we accept reports Can always use reports for programming purposes

Informal Measures Personal Health Information Form Interviews with teachers/school staff/parents/other

involved professionals Observations of the student Analysis of informal interactions with students Review of OSR

Formal Measures Cognitive/Intellectual tests Academic/achievement tests Processing tests

E.g., memory, visual-motor integration, visual processing, executive functioning

Rating scales/questionnaires completed by teachers and parents Social, emotional, behavioural functioning Adaptive functioning Executive functioning

Exceptionalities Certain exceptionalities require a psychological

assessment: Developmental Disability Mild Intellectual Disability Learning Disability Giftedness

Several exceptionalities share their name with adiagnostic label – DD, MID, LD

Diagnosis versus Identification Diagnosis - controlled act performed only by certain

professions under the Regulated Health Professions Act (e.g., physicians, psychologists/psychological associates) provides a professional opinion concerning the CAUSE of

an individual’s symptoms by linking it to a neuropsychological disorder

Educational Identification of an Exceptionality -comes via the IPRC which is governed by the Education Act

based on Ministry of Education categories of exceptionalities carried out solely for the purpose of planning how best

to meet the pupil’s NEEDS in an educational environment

Learning Prof i les o n the Norm al Curve

RangeDescriptor

E

% ofpopulation

----DD--. .MID LD

GIFrED

2.2% 6.7% 16.1% 50% 16.1% 6.7% 2.2%

:xtremely Low

8on:lor1il LowAverage

Awen1go Hi"1Average

SUporior Vory superior

IQ Score 70 80 90 100 110 120 100Percentile 2nd 9th 25th 50th 15th 91 st 98th

Average Learner Profile Academic performance = learning potential

IQ range 90 - 109

Minimal intra-individual differences Cognitive skills equally developed

Most students within this range Curriculum aimed at students within this range (and

above)

Average Learner Most students in the class in this range Will benefit from UDL, but not dependent on it to be

successful Should not need an IEP to be successful Capable of higher order levels of reasoning Will have strengths and weaknesses but weaknesses do

not have significant impact on academic functioning

Learning Disability (LD) Profile Average or above intelligence Significant academic delay Psychological processing deficit

Potential for success in regular class with appropriate strategies and accommodations

LD Students Require specif ic teaching strategies and/or

accommodations to learn and to demonstrate their knowledge and skills

Have the same potential to learn as the Average learner, in their areas of strength

Prevalence rate – approximately 10% of population have a LD

Mild Intellectual Disability (MID)Profile Lowercognitive functioning

IQ between 70–79 (2nd to 8th percentile) Academic performance on par with intelligence

Weak academic performance relative to peers Minimal intra-individual differences

low f lat profile In secondary school – usually SSTW

About 7 % of population

MID Students Difficultywith all academic subjects Delays in speech &/or language acquisition Difficulty acquiring & remembering new information

as well as isolating relevant information (saliency) Easily confused by abstract & figurative language Experience greater success with routine and repetitive

tasks Often difficulty with social relationships

MID Profile Summary Difficulty with all aspects of intellectual

functioning BUT can succeed at school with appropriate levels of support

Not that “learn” at slower rate – must be taught every fact individually due to poor generalization

Due to limited incidental learning, tend not toknow as much as peers

Require over-learning and repetition benefit most from rote learning – drill and practice

approach

Developmental Disability (DD) IQ at or below the 2nd percentile (IQ < 70)

About 2% of the population

When considering a diagnosis, also need to look for: Deficits in adaptive functioning (≤ 2nd percentile) Onset before age 18 years

Developmental Disability Profile Global cognitive deficits cause problems with everyday

functioning, judgment, and academic achievement Degree of impairment varies considerably from mild to

profoundly impaired Require significant support and structure in learning

and throughout their lifetime

Developmental Disability Profile Four main goals in the education of DD students:

Prepare for successful employment Prepare for independent living Competence in life skills Successful integration into school and community

Learning for All K-12 Supports:

Teachers’ understanding that each student progresses along an individual learning and growth continuum from Kindergarten to grade 12 (p. 9)