Student Services
What is Student Services?
NGRD Student Services works with all schools in Northern Gateway Regional Division No. 10 to ensure appropriate services and supports for students with special education needs. The NGRD Student Services Coordinator liaises with school staff, parents and community agencies to ensure required services and supports for children, students and families as they move through their educational program.
Who are Students with Special Education Needs?
"Special education refers to the education of students and Early Childhood Services children identified with mild, moderate, or severe disabilities or as gifted and talented. It is founded on the belief that all children can learn and reach their full potential — given opportunity, effective teaching and appropriate resources. Instruction, rather than setting, is the key to success. Decisions related to the placement of students and children are best made on an individual basis, in a way that maximizes their participation in the experience of schooling." (Alberta Education website 2009)
How are Students with Special Education Needs Identified in our Division?
Children/students with special education needs are often initially recognized through parent and/or professional observations and assessments. Family doctors, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, health nurses and/or teachers may, together with parents, initially identify special education needs in children or students. In the school, classroom assessments, parent checklists, reading observations, portfolios, and inventories may serve as initial screening tools to determine a child or students' education programming needs.
Open dialogue between parents and school staff is a necessary element within the identification process.
With informed parental consent, students are formally identified as having special education needs through a variety of assessment practices. Specialized assessments for achievement, reading, language, cognitive abilities, or behaviour are used. Written informed consent from parents is acquired before specialized assessments are initiated.
What Supports are Available for Students in Schools?
The school principal is responsible for ensuring that students with special education needs are identified and provided with appropriate educational programming. Each community school within Northern Gateway Regional Division No. 10 supports students through effective programming practices and differentiated instruction. Many students with special education needs are supported through classroom or physical accommodations, instructional accommodations, and/or assessment accommodations. An Individualized Program Plan (IPP) is developed for each child/student identified as having special education needs.
A variety of professional consultants are available to work with district administrators, teachers, children/students and parents. Northern Gateway Regional Division No. 10 staffs collaborate with community agencies that support students with mild, moderate and severe special education needs, or that provide transitions and supports into adulthood.
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