Inclusive Learning

May 28, 2024

School Based Team

The school based team consists of classroom teachers, school administration, Learning Coach and other staff that provide support to the student such as an Educational Assistant, Youth Development Coach, or Family School Liaison Counsellor. This teams meets to collaboratively plan to ensure the most appropriate educational program for the student:

Learning Coaches: Learning Coaches work collaboratively to build teacher capacity in sustaining an inclusive environment in meeting the diverse needs of all students. Learning Coaches work cooperatively with parents, the school based team and school linked team to ensure programming is responsive to the student’s needs.

Family School Liaison Counsellors (FSLCs): All schools have access to counseling services. FSLCs provide short term counseling, small group support and skills training, and universal classroom supports around social-emotional learning. Our FSLCs also support families in providing parent information and connecting families to outside agencies.

School Counsellors: School counselors have a teaching background and are located in all of FSD’s high schools.

Youth Development Coaches: Youth Development Coaches work collaboratively with the school based team in supporting the positive development of student behavior and social-emotional learning.

Educational Assistants: Under the direction of teachers, the educational assistants work directly with students individually or in small groups to deliver activities that reinforce and advance the educational program.

School Linked Team

Director of Inclusive Learning: The Director of Inclusive Learning is responsible for ensuring and supporting a strong continuum of supports is present and accessible in all schools, ensuring that both the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes for personal excellence are developing in all students in a safe, caring and welcoming community.

Behavior Learning Strategist: The Behaviour Strategist is responsible for working closely and collaboratively with students, parents, classroom teachers, administrators, other school personnel and professionals to support and help create effective intervention strategies for students who are experiencing behavioural difficulties that put them at risk of not achieving their full potential.

Counseling Coordinator: The Counsellor Coordinator is responsible for working closely and collaboratively with all Family School Liaison Counselors to support and help create a strong continuum of supports in each school including both proactive measures and individualized supports for students who are experiencing social-emotional difficulties in ensuring a safe, caring and welcoming school.

Therapists: We have a number of therapists who regularly visit our schools to provide wrap-around services for our students. The learning coach, in consultation with parents and teachers, accesses this team:

Speech Language Therapists: Speech-Language therapists provide support to our students with a number of communication needs. Supports include but are not limited to: articulation, speaking in full sentences, learning word meanings, listening comprehension, and augmentative/alternative communications systems.
Occupational Therapists: Occupational therapists provide support to our students with fine motor and sensory regulation needs.
Physical Therapist: Physical therapists provide support to our students with gross motor or well-being needs.
Psychologist: School division psychologists come in to work collaboratively with teachers in supporting the emotional and behavioral needs of our students. Assessments and recommendations of strategies are provided to support the well-being of our students.
Consultant for the Blind or Visually Impaired (BVI): These professionals provide support for learners who have low vision or are blind. They provide training and consultation on issues such as access to the learning environment, assistive technology, braille literacy, and orientation and mobility.
Consultant for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing(DHH): Consultants for students who are deaf or hard of hearing provide support in optimizing the learning environment for students with hearing loss.

Inclusive Education Partnership

Foothills School Division is a member of the Inclusive Education Partnership (IEP), which works collaboratively to shape an inclusive culture of education where relationships are built, varying perspectives are understood and networks are formed.

Other members of this partnership include:

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Certificate of Completion programming is a pathway to ensure students with individualized needs are fully participating members of a community of learners while pursuing individualized goals and objectives specific to the student. All students are entitled to reasonable access to learning, achievement and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their educational program.

Registration in Certificate of Completion programming requires the informed consent of a parent(s)/guardian(s). Informed consent means that parents/guardians are fully aware that the Certificate of Completion Program has academic outcomes that are different than their grade level program of studies and have a greater emphasis on individualized goals and objectives in supporting the personal strengths and needs of each student and a greater emphasis on individualized programming.

Please contact the school today to make an appointment with an administrator and/or a learning coach to discuss the High School Pathway appropriate for your student.

Click the link below from Alberta Learning for more information:

Achieving a Certificate of School Completion