Students who find it difficult to achieve success at school need support. They may develop negative attitudes about themselves and not feel as capable as their classmates or siblings. The Learning Support program helps students to be confident and to build on their successes, despite having an identified learning difficulty in key academic areas such as reading, writing and mathematics.
When teachers raise concerns about a student’s progress, students are brought into the program through a team approach that involves parents, teachers, the counselor, and the school psychologist. Upon referral, a full psychological and educational evaluation of academic, cognitive, and social-emotional strengths and needs is completed and discussed with parents and teachers prior to being enrolled in Learning Support. Exiting from the program also requires a similar assessment.
Our Learning Support program is focused on a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), which has been developed collaboratively with the student, parents, teachers, counselors, psychologists, learning support teachers, and speech therapist. Each student has a Learning Support teacher to keep track of their progress. Students’ needs are met in the mainstream classroom with Learning Support and core content teachers working together.
The Alternative Day Classroom (ADC) program was added to the Learning Support offerings at the beginning of the 2017–2018 school year. The ADC program is uniquely crafted in that it addresses both academic and life skills. The program is designed for children and young people with different abilities who are better served by learning within the framework of a mostly individualized program. Students are scheduled into a combination of mainstream classes and one-on-one learning time. Individualized studies are conducted in the ADC classroom, which is designed as a contemporary, open-plan learning space that provides for individual and small-group learning.
