Etobicoke Centre

Special Education Forum Minutes

Tuesday, May 1, 2018 – Central Etobicoke High School

In Attendance:

Joan Bird (Curriculum Leader, Central Etobicoke HS)
Emil Boychuk (Co-chair, ACE / Teacher, TDSB)
Janice Chappell-Traimer (ACE Ontario)
C.J. Curran (Director, Transitions Strategy, Holland
Bloorview)
Anthony D’Souza (Parent)
Jill Elliott-Brennan (Social Worker, TDSB)
Mitchell Feinman (Teacher, Gulfstream PS)
Shannon Gibney (Educational Assistant, Seneca School)
Chris Glover (Trustee)
Maritza Guzman
Lucie Kletke (Principal, Central Etobicoke HS)
Lorraine Linton (Superintendent)
Marija Marcinko (Parent)
Carolyn McDougall (Occupational Therapist, Holland
Bloorview) / Okwii Modekwe (Parent)
Gary A. Newman
Patty Nixon
Vivek Rao (Parent/PIAC Representative)
Alex Sargent
Ushnish Sengupta
Kamnie Singh
Maureen Sturrock (Parent, Central Etobicoke HS)
Nancy Trendoff (Shared Services Liaison)
Irene Triant (Teacher, Thistletown CI)
Heather Vickers (Parent / Co-chair, PIAC)
Richard Wang (Parent)
Holly Yip
Lily Zohar-Pittari (Parent)

1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS – Chris Glover

Meeting called to order at 6:40 pm.

Chris welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave some background information about the Special Education Forum which began in 2011. All in attendance introduced themselves.

2. INTRODUCTION TO CENTRAL ETOBICOKE – Lucie Kletke

Central Etobicoke currently has 140 students; 90 are in the MID (mildly intellectually delayed) programand 50 are in the DD (developmentally delayed) program.The main focus of the school is on functional literacy/numeracy, employability and life skills. There is fantastic culinary and horticultural program. Central Etobicoke also offers students TTC training,co-operative education placements(in-school and outside),and an in-school experiential learning centre.Classes have beenvisiting a food bank and learning how to sort items.The City of Toronto will be modifying their program to help students attain food handler certificates which will help their employability skills.Students have also been working with seniors in the neighbourhood.Last Friday,the school held ananti-bullying assembly incorporating dance and music with motivational guest speaker “Unstoppable Tracy”.

3.PRESENTATION: TRANSITION TO ADULT LIFE– C.J. Curran, Carolyn McDougall,

Nadia Niles-Campbell

Who we are

Holland Bloorview are providers of care for children and youth with disabilities, medical complexity and those who require rehabilitation after illness or trauma.

Our vision

The most meaningful and healthy futures for all children, youth and families.

Who we serve

7,500 total clients with various diagnoses

55,000 outpatient visits serving the province of Ontario

Inpatients with: acquired brain injury (35%); Cerebral Palsy (25%); other developmental disorders (18%)

Outpatients with: developmental delays (27%); Cerebral Palsy (21%); autism (20%)

Why does Transition to Adult Life matter?

  • 25% of children with disabilities under 15 have unmet educational needs
  • 24% of children with disabilities live in poverty
  • 53% of children with a disability have no or only one close friend
  • Employment rate of working age people is only 49% compared to 79% for those without disabilities

Revolutionizing Rehabilitation

  • Generous foundation gifts have made it possible to build on our existing leadership in the area of transitions
  • Not just transitioning of youth and young adults adult health services and adult roles, but something greater…
  • Improving clients’ and families’ experiences by supporting meaningful participation and positive change across the life course

Overview of the Transitions Strategy

Building on existing strengths, knowledge, resources and aligned with research, we will change the conversation to be:

  • Strengths–based
  • Future-oriented
  • For all ages and all abilities
  • Put into the context of family and life
  • Client and family-centred
  • Focusing on life skills, resiliency, resourcefulness, and self-determination

Employment Participation Pathway

  • Volunteering program for 13-year-olds
  • Summer program for high school students (unpaid work experience plus coaching)
  • Coaching on job search action; volunteer or paid roles for older students
  • Provide attendant care support for those students who may need one at co-op placements
  • 30% of youth use a job coach
  • 25% use a personal support worker at their job location

Bridging

  • Studies show that students with disabilities are less likely to apply to a post-secondary institution
  • Occupational Therapists offer consultative support for high school students preparing for a successful transition from secondary to post-secondary education
  • Involves ongoing collaboration and consultation with students and their families, school staff, community partners

Themes and Directions

  • Start even earlier
  • Make formal partnerships amongst organizations that support children and families
  • Share accountability for outcomes
  • Set goals and plan for the future using planning approaches that bridge across systems and are inclusive of life domains
  • 6 F-Words: Function, Family, Friends, Fitness, Fun, Future

VideoThe F-Words was shown:

QUESTION: It is sometimes difficult to let a child with special needs try things on their own. Do you have a process for that or training?

Yes, we have a program with calculated risk-taking. In the life skills program, the child is dropped off to us and spends three weeks doing things they normally haven’t done before. Things like laundry and we can help them on the road to independence.

QUESTION: Is there a set of best practices or a guidebook for parents that will set students on the road to better independence?

We are hoping to get to a point where we can have one collective meeting with the Board and places like Holland Bloorview rather than parents having to have separate meetings with different organizations.

Staff: We need the business community to be more involved because we are having trouble finding co-op placements for our students. We need more openness with the government as well.

QUESTION: At Holland Bloorview, are you able to do community work?

Yes, we are able to go out to communities.

QUESTION: How long do your students keep their jobs?

We are looking at our long-term programs beyond the two years.

QUESTION: We often hear about job fairs. Are there any job fairs organized for youth with disabilities?

Yes, there are, such as People in Motion, but it would be great to have them all under one roof.

Chris: We are developing partnerships with organization such as Griffin Centre and Toronto Community Living. We have some space in this building and this could provide a centre for excellence. Would you be interested in taking part?

Yes, we would definitely be interested.

4. BRAINSTORMING SESSION COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS:

  • We need to prepare parents for transitions such as grade 8 to high school
  • IPRC reviews should be used for transition planning
  • Feeder schools and high schools should have parent mentoring and networking groups
  • Meet-and-greet nights for parents
  • Transitioning from structured days to unstructured days in high school and post secondary
  • When it’s hard for parents to let go there is fear and uncertainty; students also have that same fear
  • Advocate for planning at the beginning at high school and have a clear plan where the student is going; taking the darkness out of the future
  • Teachers should change the way information is displayed; using visuals rather than complicated language; change the way we present things; making the message easy to understand for students with disabilities; simple language and affirming language
  • Simplifying the process for parents; there should be one place where parents can go to find all the services their child needs; it is difficult for families to navigate all the different pathways and agencies
  • Need for more advocacy with government
  • Need for translation services
  • More employment opportunities
  • More advocacy with Ministry of Education for the curriculum because we are developing it school by school and course by course
  • More incentives for businesses to give students with special needs a chance
  • More college programs should be available (George Brown and Humber offer limited positions with only about 60 in total)

5. TRUSTEE UPDATE – Chris Glover

Report to Programs and School Services

A motion went through at the Programs Committee inJanuaryasking the Board to develop an action plan that will improve outcomes for employment and post-secondary goals for students with disabilities. This began from discussions at the Special Education Forum about a year and a half ago. Only 26% of students with intellectual disabilities currently find employment after age 21. It was decided that the TDSB should take an active role in finding ways to increasing equitability for special needs students.A staff team has prepared a report that will be presented to the Board tomorrow evening that will explain how they will implement a plan to service our students with disabilities. The report can be found at:

Next Ward Council Meeting

The next Ward Council Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 17, 7:00pm at John English JMS, 95 Mimico Avenue. This is a joint ward forum featuring a special screening of the documentary Screenagers.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm.

Thank you to all the parents, students and staff members who came. Your time and commitment to improving Special Education in Etobicoke Centre is greatly appreciated.

A special thank you to C.J., Carolyn and Nadiafor presentingand to Luciefor introducing us to the programs at Central Etobicoke.

Trustee Chris Glover