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Anne Kresta, the Inclusive Education Consultant for Community Living Manitoba organized a successful institute in Winnipeg this summer. Her update on the event follows.
In addition, Bruce and Krista talked about the new approach to funding personal supports being developed in New Brunswick. It is a positive policy development created in large part as a consequence of lobbying and joint planning between government and NBACL. In communities across Canada, individuals, family members, educators and organizations are actively promoting inclusive education. Through workshops, consultations, Summer Institutes and other events run by provincial and territorial Associations for Community Living, local and national efforts are being linked. Many partners in the education system are being engaged and a variety of partnerships, networks and dialogues are being launched to move commitments to human rights and inclusion in education into actual policies and practices in communities across the country. Promoting Inclusive Education across Canada: Yellowknife Association for Community Living The Yellowknife Association for Community Living (YKACL) shares the Government of the Northwest Territories’ (GNWT) belief that “inclusive Schooling is more than a method or strategy; it is a way of life that is tied directly to the belief system that values diversity.” (GNWT ECE Departmental Direction on Inclusive Education, 1996). YKACL has shown their commitment to Inclusive Education by operating the Literacy Outreach Centre, in partnership with Aurora College, since 1996. The program offers basic literacy support to people with and without disabilities in an inclusive classroom. In 1999-2000, the Association facilitated workshops in elementary schools in Fort Rae and Yellowknife to encourage inclusion. The Family Project was established in 2001 and its goal is to consult with families about their needs and work towards meeting those needs. Inclusive Education was an area identified by families as a concern. Since 2001, the Family Project has sponsored workshops for parents, providing information on the school system and working with educators. The project also provides advocacy and support for parents during meetings with school officials regarding the education of their children with disabilities. Our most recent endeavour is the Inclusive Education Forum. The Forum was attended by parents, educators, government officials and community agencies. The results of this forum, outlined in this report, will be shared with ECE; school boards; community agencies, and parents and distributed through web sites. The Yellowknife Association for Community Living will follow up on the recommendations stemming from the Forum beginning in the 2005-2006 fiscal year. British Columbia Association for Community Living The following are general guiding principles for the BCACL's education policies:
BCACL has produced an education booklet, which is now available on-line: Everyone Belongs in Our Schools: Making the case for inclusive education in British Columbia » download file (BCACL, 2002, 20 pp.) This booklet makes the case for inclusive education by shattering myths, presenting research findings on the positive impact of inclusive education, and telling the stories of five young people who, with the support of their teachers and families, are a testament to the value of inclusion. Includes references and ideas for how to support and advocate for inclusive schools. A useful information tool for teachers, school boards, families, advocates and community organizations. BCACL attended the Executive Committee Meeting of the BC Teachers Federation to Present Charlie Naylor with his Inclusive Education Award. Association for Community Living – Manitoba On October 21st, 2004 ACL-Manitoba convened an Inclusive Education Summit. The goals of the Summit were:
The day-long event included:
To download a copy of the Report of the Manitoba Inclusive Education Summit, click here. L’Association du Québec pour l’intégration sociale (AQIS)
The Quebec Association for Community Living (QACL)
New Brunswick Association for Community Living Over the past two decades New Brunswick has come to be seen internationally as a forerunner in building an inclusive public education system. Since the passage of Bill 85 in 1986, a cornerstone of its education policy has been the unconditional acceptance of all children into regular classes and the life of the school. Inclusive Education: A Review of Programming and Services
To review the Terms of Reference for the review, click here. To download a copy of the New Brunswick ACL’s written submission (May, 2005), click here. The Roles and Responsibilities of Teacher Assistants Within an Inclusive Education System NBACL hears many positive comments from parents who are more than satisfied with the help that teacher assistants provide to their sons and daughters. At the same time, however, NBACL hears from other parents of their concerns and frustrations about the way teacher assistants work with their children. These concerns suggest that the manner in which teacher assistants are used can build undesirable dependency and can interfere with student learning. The concerns around the role, supervision, training, and scheduling of teacher assistants are not exclusive to the New Brunswick educational system. They are well documented in educational research. In fact, they are often expressed by teacher assistants, and classroom and resource teachers, themselves, who are frustrated by lack of clarity about their roles and expected working relationships, and the lack of structures to promote the kind of communication necessary to establish an effective working relationship. The purposes of NBACL’s position paper on the roles and responsibilities of teacher assistants are:
To download a copy of NBACL’s Postion Paper on the Roles and Responsibilities of Teacher Assistants Within an Inclusive Education System (July, 2004) click here. Prince Edward Island Association for Community Living Inclusive schooling is a vital factor in preparing students with intellectual disabilities for a life in their community. That is why the PEI Association for Community Living has made inclusive education one of its primary objectives. The Association held a preliminary meeting on Saturday, September 11, 2004 to bring various stakeholders together to discuss the progress that has been made toward developing inclusive education in our province. The resulting report – Discussion Results: Consultation on The Status of Inclusive Education in Prince Edward Island – summarizes the discussion of the participants and highlight some of the issues that were identified. We trust this report will serve as a useful basis for discussion of the issues at subsequent meetings. |
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New Brunswick has been called a leader in inclusive education in Canada and NBACL continues to provide leadership in this area. The NB group has been the Secretariat for the National Action Committee set up by CACL and Provincial/Territorial Associations that consider inclusive education a priority for joint action. They have agreed to continue in this role. Seen here are Shana Soucy, the NBACL staff member who works on IE issues, President Marlene Munn, who chairs the NAC, and NBACL Executive Director Krista Carr. They are currently revising the action plan of the NAC and setting up strategies to collaborate with their colleagues from across the country on actions that can be carried out in the coming months.
Bruce Rivers, Executive Director of Community Living Toronto, the largest local member in the Community Living movement in Canada recently visited with Krista Carr, the Executive Director of the New Brunswick ACL. Bruce visited the NBACL offices in Fredericton and discussed several issues with staff members of NBACL. The key topic was inclusive education and the strategies that NBACL uses to promote inclusion in schools throughout the province. Ken Pike and Julie Stone, who both work on education issues were part of the discussion. In addition, NBACL arranged for Brian Kelly, the Director of Student Services for the NB Ministry of Education to discuss education issues. Part of the discussion centered on the MacKay Report on inclusion that was completed 2 years ago and is being used to guide on-going actions. The NBACL input into that strategy was discussed.
