School-Based Supports
The Classroom Teacher:
The classroom teacher is key to every student’s educational program and acts as a member of a collaborative team to support the inclusion of any student identified as having special needs. The classroom teacher is responsible for the planning, implementing, assessing and reporting of the student’s educational program. Any questions about your child's learning and development should always start with your classroom teacher.
Collaborative Models of Support Teacher (CST):
A Collaborative Models of Support system brings teachers together for purposeful dialogue using data to plan invisible, universal interventions for students while also creating job-embedded learning for teachers. Each school's collaborative support teachers work with classroom teachers to co-plan, co-teach, and co-assess for personalized student learning.
Learning Support Teachers (LST):
These specialist teachers have advanced training and knowledge in special education in order to provide direct and indirect support to staff and students to address the diverse learning needs of students in classrooms. They are experts in Universal Design for Learning as well as specific learning disorders and how they impact a student’s abilities. LST’s are typically the case managers for students with Individual Education Plans (IEP) and are responsible for their co-creation and implementation. LST’s are also trained on the implementation of Level B assessments, which are norm-referenced and can be used to compare the ‘trait’ of student achievement against that of other learners within a particular cohort.
Educational Assistants (EA):
EAs work directly with students in classrooms and other settings to implement IEPs and to support students’ educational programs in a number of ways.
Principal and Vice-Principals:
The school Principal/Vice-Principal are instructional leaders and are responsible for the implementation of education programs. They oversee each child's classroom placement, student learning plans and educational progress. When necessary they assign case managers to students and oversee the Individual Education Plan process. Accordingly, the Principal/Vice-Principal ensures that every student has the support they need to be successful at the school site.
Counsellors:
Similar to a CST, counsellor staff design for student success. They help facilitate the educational, personal, social and emotional development of elementary students in schools and in the community. Counsellors provide support to individual students, groups of students and classes in response to the current needs of each school. They are a resource for families and provide consultation for school staff.