Superintendent's Monthly Message

May 2008

- An Overview of Student Services -

The Director of Student Services is responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and monitoring of school board personnel, programs, and services utilized by students with learning difficulties. The following overview of the roles and responsibilities within this Department, as well as the close working relationships with schools and outside agencies, serves to illustrate the critical role these folks have in the provision of these essential services to our youth.

The Western School Board supports the establishment of Student Services Teams at the school and the Board level. School-Based Student Service Teams are a vital component of making a school a caring and inclusive environment for all students. While some work of Student Services resides with the school counsellor(s) and Resource/Special Education teachers, educators know student services is delivered by all teachers in their classrooms through good teaching strategies. Supporting classroom teachers in providing for the academic, social, emotional and behaviourial well being of their students is the School-Based Student Services Team with representation from Administration, School Counselling, Resource/Special Education and Classroom teachers. This dedicated and multi-skilled group of teachers work together to find solutions, determine interventions and identify resources which will help address the needs of students. Frequently, other key members in supporting students are Educational Assistants and Youth Service Workers. Many School -Based team members have specialized skills such as completing Educational Assessments and developing Behaviour Support Plans that often lead to successful interventions for students.

A major function of the School-Based team is to work collaboratively with other professionals such as Western School Board Student Services Team , Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, (APSEA, HEAR,) Department of Health, ( SLP, OT, Audiology, Mental Health, Addiction Services), Department of Social Service and partner agencies such as the Council of the Disabled or other community-based organizations.

The Western School Board Student Services Division itself includes a number of specialized personnel:

Special Education Consultants provide direct service to students and schools by participating in School-Based Student Service Team meetings, providing staff training, completing educational assessments, supporting program planning, supporting IEP program planning, accessing resources for teachers, and participating in case conferences. Special Education Consultants are part of Transition Planning process for specific students which includes meeting with personnel, school based and from outside agencies, to ensure that programs and services necessary to support the student’s learning plan are implemented and maintained during important transitional times. The Special Education Consultants ensure schools have the necessary resources, training and information necessary to provide quality education programs to students with various learning needs.

Autism Consultants provide support to approximately 61 students in the Western School Board. These Students have been diagnosed with either Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Asperger’s Syndrome, or Pervasive Development Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Consultants provide individual consultations, individualized programming support, behavioural interventions, behavioural teaching, educational assessments, transition planning, IEP support and training to both students, schools and families. Autism Consultants provide direct service to students and are required to have knowledge of curriculum outcomes and knowledge of best practices and current research in Autism.

The Student Services Consultant co-ordinates and consults with schools in matters relating to the promotion, development and implementation of school/community interagency collaboration, alternative education and provincial and regional health initiatives. The Student Services Consultant is principal of the four Alternative Education Programs which provide settings for students requiring support with attendance, behavior and/or motivation. Each site has a teacher and youth service worker who provide small group instruction and a life skills program.

School Psychologists’ primary role consists of providing psychological services for the school system with particular reference to programs and services as they relate to students’ academic, social and emotional needs. Major responsibilities of the School Psychologists’ are providing intervention services for students, parents and school staff in response to crises and traumatic events, assessing threatening and dangerous behaviours in schools and creating safety/intervention plans in collaboration with the school team and parent(s)/guardian(s), conducting behavioural assessment, intervention consultation and/or support to schools, conducting and interpreting psychological assessments to clarify and understand the intellectual/cognitive, educational, behavioural, social-emotional and familial difficulties of students, providing specific recommendations to aid in academic planning, including individual and classroom-based interventions for the remediation of learning, behavioural and social/emotional difficulties, and making appropriate referrals to other personnel and community agencies for further assessment, recommendations and/or other services related to the specific needs of the student.

The Director of Student Services provides support to WSB SS Team and all of the WSB School-Based SS Teams. The WSB Team meets twice yearly with School-Based Teams, in September, teams discuss needs for current year and, in February, teams begin planning for the next school year. Also, the Director and WSB Student Services Team member(s) provide professional development /meetings for School Counsellors, Resource/Special Education teachers, Educational Assistants and WSB Youth Service Workers.

Each Director also has responsibilities for direct liaison with a group of schools and would regularly consult with individual principals over matters involving students, parents, and/or staff as well as the general operation of the school - from financial management to maintenance concerns to curriculum and program requirements and demands. Each Director is responsible for the performance review of the school principal and also provides advice and support to the principal in his/her own evaluation and supervision of staff.

Among other tasks which fall under the Director of Student Services and her role as a member of our Senior Management Team: Career Education, Student Engagement, SAFE Schools, Crisis Response Intervention, Drug Strategy, Learning Disability Strategy, Trades Education, and all initiatives from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Student Services Division.