Etobicoke Centre Special Education Forum Minutes Tuesday, October 18, 2016 – Martingrove Collegiate
In Attendance: Sperry Bilyea (Co-chair, John G. Althouse MS) Bogdan Matiu (Parent, Rosethorn) Christian Garate (Parent, Hilltop MS) Randy Palermo (Principal, Martingrove CI) Chris Glover (Trustee) Viral Patel (Parent, John G. Althouse MS) Nora Green (SEAC Representative) Vivek Rao (Parent, John G. Althouse MS) Elizabeth Haas-Barota (Parent, St. George’s/John G./ Syma Saleem (Parent, St.George’s/John G. Althouse MS) Martingrove) Xubo Tang (Parent, St. George’s JS) Anila Jiwani (Parent, John G. Althouse MS) Nancy Trendoff (Shared Services Liaison) Maria Lo Bianco (Supervising Principal, Special Education) Steven Truelove (Parent, Wellesworth JS) Rob Macoretta (Parent, Eatonville JS) Heather Vickers (PIAC Representative) Alexander Maksimenko (Parent, John G. Althouse MS) Glenford Duffus (Superintendent)
1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS – Chris Glover
Meeting called to order at 6:35 pm Chris welcomed everyone to the meeting. All in attendance introduced themselves.
2. INTRODUCTION TO MARTINGROVE – Randy Palermo
Martingrove had a great start to the school year with the Grade 10 Leadership Camp to Manitou. The very first Nuit Blanche event was held on September 30 with a fabulous evening of drama, song, dance and visual arts. Martingrove students can choose from over 30 clubs and sports teams. The school offers a wide range of special education and academic programming including Gifted and AP (Advanced Placement) programs.
3. SEAC (Special Education Advisory Committee) REPORT – Nora Green
The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is a Ministry of Education mandated advisory committee for the Board to offer support and direction in the area of special education. Links to SEAC, agenda and minutes, and contact information can be found on the Board website at: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Community/HowtoGetInvolved/CommunityAdvisoryCommittees/Specia lEducationAdvisoryCommittee.aspx
Communication to Parents: SEAC is spending a lot of time talking about inclusion. The goal is to have children with special needs growing up with the other children in their own neighbourhood. We are looking at how we can prepare our community schools to properly support students with both learning disabilities as well as behaviourial issues.
4. PIAC (Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (REPORT) – Heather Vickers
The Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) is a Ministry of Education mandated advisory committee for the Board with the purpose to support, encourage and enhance parent engagement in order to improve student achievement and well being. Two representatives from each ward attend monthly meetings. More information can be found at www.torontopiac.com.
10 th Annual Parent Conference: Saturday, November 19, 8:00 am to 3:45 pm, Earl Haig Secondary School, 100 Princess Avenue This is a free, full-day conference and is open to all parents/guardians offering a variety of workshops related to parenting, student learning and school councils. Childcare will be available. Register at www.tdsb.on.ca/parentconference or call 416-395-4808 for more information.
Live Interactive Webcast on Equity: Thursday, October 20, 7:30-8:30 pm Parents are invited to join Director John Malloy in an interactive talk about how the TDSB is working around equity to ensure that all students have what they need to succeed. The link is found at http://www2.tdsb.on.ca/stream/Director/livewebcast.html
5. SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE – Glenford Duffus
Glenford is one of seven superintendents working in Learning Centre 1 and one of three assigned to schools in Etobicoke Centre. One of his responsibilities is with inclusive and equitable schools. Student achievement, well-being and equity are the three main focus points. The board will be doing consultations across the city and there is also opportunity to give feedback on the TDSB website. For information, http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Community/PublicConsultations/Equity.aspx.
QUESTION: I have heard talk about changing the HSP (Home School Program) model. What are some of the changes?
One of the considerations is the idea of reintegrating students back into their home classroom. The special education teacher will work with the regular classroom teacher to find ways to assist the student. We are looking at furthering our analysis of how students in HSP do in the long run. We are trying to be more flexible with our resources but we will not be reducing our allocation of special education staff. We recognize that some students may need more intensive support and this will continue.
6. PRESENTATION: UNIVERSAL SCREENING PROCESS FOR ALL GRADE 3 STUDENTS – Maria Lo Bianco
The new screening process will: Provide information to teachers so they can better program for all students in the class Improve equity of access for all students to differentiated programming Align current processes for identifying students with an exceptionality of giftedness, with other boards across the province Move beyond the current single criterion of IQ score to attempt to capture students who possess a broad range of characteristics associated with giftedness
Assessment Considerations 1. Gifted Screening Parental Consent Forms will be sent home for signature by parents/guardians 2. Administered in the early fall to all students in Grade 3 (paper/pencil group test done in class) 3. Students meeting criteria on the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test (CCAT, the recommended screener) will be considered through In-School Team (IST) for the next step in the process 4. Students meeting criteria on Gifted Rating Scale, after meeting CCAT criteria, will go forward through School Support Team (SST) to be considered for an enhanced IEP or individual intelligence testing using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) 5. After the WISC-V has been completed, the information will be brought forward through the SST
CCAT Criterion Percentile scores on verbal, non-verbal and quantitative indices will provide a composite score and will determine whether a student should be recommended for a Gifted Rating Scale (GRS).
Gifted Rating Scale Students who meet CCAT criterion and also obtain a GRS score at or above the High Probability range will be recommended for an individual psychological test. Below 69th percentile indicates a low probability of being identified as gifted 69th - 83rd percentile indicates a moderate probability 84th - 97th percentile indicates a high probability 98th+ percentile indicates a very high probability
WISC-V Suggested Criterion General Ability Index (GAI) is the recommended score for use in gifted screening as it provides an estimate of general intellectual ability. Students who obtain a score at or above the 98th percentile on the GAI of the WISC-V and who meet the GRS criterion will be recommended for an IPRC.
Special Cases For students who have a learning disability (LD) in the area of language processing or are ELL (English Language Learners – English is not their first language), the WISC-V NVIQ is used as an alternative and is a verbal test. For students with a non-verbal learning disability, a score at or above the 98th percentile on the full verbal comprehension index and who meet the GRS will be recommended for an IPRC (Identification, Replacement and Review Committee).
External Assessment (outside TDSB) WISC-V is the preferred choice for gifted screening Is the only test that provides Canadian norms and GAI score GAI is seen as a better measure of overall ability since reduces emphasis on working memory/processing speed GAI provides a better source of comparison
Outside assessments will be accepted for consideration when: GAI score of WISC-V is obtained through a registered psychologist The test is completed when the child’s age is Grade 3 or later
The complete presentation can be found at: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/EarlyYears/SpecialEducation/TDSB%20Universal %20Screening%20Process%20for%20All%20Grade%203%20Students%20-%20Information %20for%20Parents%20-%20May-June%202016%20-%20revisedMarketing%20%20(3).pdf QUESTION: Why is such an important decision based simply on a test given to 8-year-olds who are put under a great deal of pressure?
It is not a test but it is a screening tool that gives us a starting point. Screening tools are important to inform us where students are at. CAT4 is another screening tool that is used in our model schools. It is done for Grades 2-8 in model schools which are named as per the Learning Opportunities Index.
Nora: SEAC is very happy with this standardized tool which goes beyond just simply teacher recommendation which was done in the past.
QUESTION: Will the board be training teachers to look at the results for all students?
Yes, that is our goal. The screening tool can be used to identify other issues as well and can address all of our learners, not just the gifted ones.
QUESTION: Is this phase one of the screening process?
Yes, this is the first step. In terms of next steps, we would like to expand it beyond Grade 3 but we needed to start small and see how this goes. We are working with other boards who have implemented this model for several years.
QUESTION: What happens once a child meets criteria in the CCAT 7 process and GRS?
The student will be discussed at SST and a referral for a psychological assessment will be made. Parents will be contacted by the school psychologist to obtain informed consent and explain the assessment he/she will conduct with their child.
7. ELEMENTARY SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS – Christian Garate
Christian has three children with special needs. Their disabilities are “invisible” unless you spend time with them in the classroom. They have been in 12 different placements and 9 different schools due to their complex needs. It has been very difficult moving around and they have had no consistency throughout their elementary years.
How many people enjoy travelling in rush hour traffic? How many people have moved 3 times in the last few years? How many people have to commute every day?
Studies have shown that switching schools before Grade 3 affects academics. Children with special needs have trouble with long driving commutes and transitions.
TDSB busses travel for almost one hour each way with no bus monitors or aids on the bus riding with children with special needs. This is a real safety issue.
Why is it that so many special needs children in TDSB go through such traumatic experiences so often in school? Intensive support programs for children are distributed between schools (eg. Kinder to grade 2 at one school, grades 1-2 at another school, and grades 4-5 at another school)
Section 23 programs When children are reintegrated back into a community school in an intensive support program: They go to a different school Methods, resources and approach that are used are completely different They may lose much of the progress they made at another program
Children are not able to make friends, always feel like the new kid in class, and get picked on regularly.
How can the board really ensure that students with special needs are provided with equitable programs? Many children are sent home because there are not enough resources in regular classrooms.
Sunny View Public School caters to children with physical special needs from JK- Grade 8. This school proves that it is possible to provide intensive support service for children with special needs in one centralized facility that offers the environment, adequate personnel, curriculum and resources the children and their families require.
The TDSB should consider opening a school like Sunny View that can provide a quality education to special needs children with opportunities to learn and succeed.
Nora: SEAC has tried very hard to try to limit the “moving” of students in programs. Some schools have an MID (Mildly Intellectually Delayed) program that works very well.
Maria: The goal is to not have the children stay in an intensive support program forever but to reintegrate them eventually into a regular program. We are looking to make sure that special education programs are not going to be moved around. Sometimes it comes down to space constraints. We work closely with planning and we don’t want to open up a class just to find out it must be closed down. We need to know about future trends and other factors that determine where we open a program. We do agree with you and do not like to move programs around.
QUESTION: What happens to the children who are not capable of integration?
Nora: SEAC is overwhelmed by parents who are asking to go in the opposite direction and want their children included within their regular school. There needs to be a lot of training for teachers on how to deal with these students. Putting kids in specialized programs isn’t always the answer.
8. TRUSTEE UPDATE – Chris Glover
New Director of Education John Malloy has been appointed the new director at the board. He has reorganized board administration into four Learning Centres each with seven superintendents led by an executive superintendent. This will allow each superintendent more time to spend with their schools. Previously Etobicoke Centre was served by one Superintendent, Susan Winter. Now there are three Superintendents serving schools in our area – Glenford Duffus, Angela Nardi-Addesa and Annie Appleby.
Upcoming ARC (Area Review Committee) The committee will be looking at Scarlett Heights, Kipling and Richview. Since enrollment is low at Scarlett Heights and Kipling, the closure of one of these schools will mean that the Richview boundaries will have to change in order to accept these students.
Sports Partnerships A meeting was held on Monday to address the poor condition of sports fields at our schools. We are trying to develop partnerships with Etobicoke sports organizations that may be able to contribute to the refurbishing of some of the fields in exchange for permits to use the fields.
Next Ward Council Meeting Tuesday, November 8, 2016, 6:30 pm at Scarlett Heights, 15 Trehorne Drive A special panel discussion on youth violence that will feature students and guest speakers including Zya Brown from Think 2wice, a non-profit organization that works with “at risk” youth, and Elizabeth Correia, author of “If You Played in my Playground”. Both have experienced troubled childhoods but have overcome many obstacles and are now helping young people across the city. Please RSVP to [email protected].
Next Special Education Forum Tuesday, November 22, 2016, 6:30 pm at Central Etobicoke, 10 Denfield Street Speakers from Community Living Toronto will discuss the closure of sheltered workshops.
Shift Your Thinking LD Event Saturday, November 5, 2016, 9:30-4:00 pm at the Centre for Health & Safety Innovation, 5110 Creekbank Road, Mississauga This is a new event for parents of children with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia or anxiety. For more information, email [email protected].
Meeting was adjourned at 8:25 pm.
Thank you to all the parents, students and staff members who came. Your time and commitment to improving Special Education in Etobicoke Centre is greatly appreciated.
A special thank you to Maria and Christian for presenting and to Randy for introducing us to the programs at Martingrove. Trustee Chris Glover