Corresponding Peace Wapiti School Board Goals:

• Improve the teaching of students with special needs (including gifted as well as children with mild and moderate and severe disabilities).
• Research, develop and pilot a new IPP template for all Peace Wapiti School Board schools.
• Coordinate and inservice school staff members on a multi-agency service approach to more effectively meet the needs of students in Peace Wapiti School Board jurisdiction.   (i.e. Mental Health, Mistahia, Student Health, School Community Team, etc.)
• Re-evaluate private services to see what is reasonable for Peace Wapiti School Board.
• Provide guidance and counseling services for all students as an integral part of regular services and programs. Move more to consultation services from assessment.

Peace Wapiti School Board is dedicated to meeting the needs of individual students with special needs.  Each school has an allocation for special education based on the student populations.  Programs are developed for students in consultation with the special education/resource teacher, classroom teacher, parents, specialists and central office.  A range of students are served in each school; from those with mild to moderate learning difficulties to those who have severe disabilities.

Parent Satisfaction with Special Education Program

In 2002, 82.9% of parents of special education children indicated satisfaction with the success of the school in meeting the needs of children with special needs. (This compared to 67.1% for 2001 and 81.3% for 2000.) In addition, 81.8% of parents were satisfied with the overall quality of education that the special education children are receiving (76.6% in 2001,  83.1% in 2000) while 93% were happy with the services special education children receive (up from 75.0% in 2001, 76.6% in 2000). Click here to view complete survey results.
 

How satisfied are parents of special education students with:	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied
Parents are satisfied with their children's programs.	27.9%	58.1%	7.0%	7.0%
Parents are satisfied with the access to services for children with special needs.	22.7%	50.0%	18.2%	9.1%
Parents are satisfied with their children's involvement in regular classroom activities.	28.6%	64.3%	4.7%	2.4%
Parents are satisfied with the services their children receive.	27.9%	65.1%	2.3%	4.7%
Parents are satisfied with the progress and achievement of their children with special needs.	13.6%	77.3%	9.1%	0.0%
Parents are satisfied with the overall quality of education that their children are receiving.	25.0%	56.9%	15.9%	2.2%
Parents are satisfied with the success of the school in meeting the special educational needs of their children.	24.4%	58.5%	14.6%	2.4%

AISI Funded Projects

In addition to enhancing regular programs, Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) funds have been used for programs to assist students with special needs.  Here are several examples:

• Students at Risk (STAR) Project (Beaverlodge High School) - One component involves half-time on-campus programming through non-traditional delivery methods under the direct supervision of a teacher using ADLC resources.  The second component emphasis  work-related skill developments, knowledge of the expectations of the work place, and completion of the high school program within 4 years of entering it.  Significant improvements have been obtained by students in all areas.
• Extended Early Literacy Initiative - This project extends the Early Literacy Initiative (Grades 1 & 2) to include grade 3.  The goal of this program is to have all students in grade 3 perform at the provincial standard in Language Arts. Over a two year period an average of 79% and 82% of the students enrolled in this project performed at the acceptable standard in the reading and writing components respectively in the achievement tests.  This project is proving to be invaluable to the education of our students. 
• Special Education (Sexsmith Secondary School) - A half time special education teacher is added to the staff to teach the GLSP program and junior high resource program.  The goal is to integrate special needs students into the classroom.  Results support the value of this project. 

Student Health Program

The Student Health Program was developed through a partnership among six school divisions, Child and Family Services, Alberta Mental Health Board and the Mistahia Health Region, to provide coordinated service to students who are considered to be within the mild/moderate range of severity.

This program serves two major areas:

• Rehab services including speech/Language, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.
• Mental health services.

• Provide identification, assessment and program delivery services for students within the mild/moderate range of severity.  This service will be provided above the services that were previously available to these students.
• To assist students and parents adjust and/or fit into the education system better.
• Reduce stress on parents to find appropriate services with all community agencies.
• Review the effectiveness of the services to determine what services will continue to be provided in the future.  Yearly surveys conducted by Rehab and Mental Health will determine success.  Programs will be adjusted as needed.