Education Committee: 430 pm chair by Trustee Sam Hancheroff
Updates on K-12 Innovation Strategy and District Learning team restructuring – more individualized learning plans for students. In future schools will be linked by a mentoring higher institute of learning as part of a provincial policy direction to innovate in the schools.
SD 53 Completion rates – Hancheroff states: “Everything trustees do is intended to increase the completion rate and the School District is proving that it can be innovative.”
Superintendent Bev Young told the committee 67 people failed to receive a Dogwood Certificate (Grade 12 completion within 6 years of Grade 8) with some leaving the district for other areas in BC and other provinces. Most – 37 fell off the system. Many having issues with drugs/alchohol/mental illness and family problems.
2015-2016 School Calendar – Pro D days scheduled for first week of September and Easter/Spring break – 6 days in school year in total for Professional Development
Learning Forum: 6:30 pm Response to Intervention (RTI)
The RTI model is a system-level approach to school psychology service delivery that integrates instruction, the scientific model, formative assessment, and the psycho-educational assessment process. With a focus on boosting the quality of school-wide instruction, implementing school-wide screening, and a tiered model of service delivery, the goal is to enable 80% of students to be successful through classroom-based, school-wide interventions. A second tier of interventions is ‘delivered to a wide range of students in the same way’ with instructional decisions made by the school-based team. The third tier increases the intensity of support to a smaller number of individuals, with ‘special education eligibility’ considered. This model is shown graphically with a funnel, the wider end being Tier 1, all students, Tier 2, the interventions to a smaller group, and Tier 3 at the funnel’s narrowest end, with the most intensive interventions for a small number of students.
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs. The RTI process begins with high-quality instruction and universal screening of all children in the general education classroom. Struggling learners are provided with interventions at increasing levels of intensity to accelerate their rate of learning. These services may be provided by a variety of personnel, including general education teachers, special educators, and specialists. Progress is closely monitored to assess both the learning rate and level of performance of individual students. Educational decisions about the intensity and duration of interventions are based on individual student response to instruction.