In the past, many schools disregarded special education. Catholic spirituality stresses the aid of the vulnerable. Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board believes that all students should get the opportunity to shine.
God's light shines on them no matter what disabilities they were born with.
The DPCDSB plan is based on several already-existing models. Such models are The Education Act, The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and The Ontario Human Rights Code.
The board offers a panoply of unique resources for students all the way from Kindergarten to age 21. (The board understands that it sometimes takes special education students a longer time to learn things.) The board will determine whether a student just needs special treatment or needs to be placed in specific special education classes.
If you have a child who needs special education treatment, you can rest assured that the board has it covered. The Ministry of Education sets certain guidelines that school boards have to follow, and the school boards must report their expenditures back to The Ministry, to make sure they're in compliance.
This chain of command doesn't stop there, however. The school board makes sure the principal is following these guidelines, and the principal makes sure that the special education teacher follows these guidelines. The parents are always kept informed on developments.
To determine whether a child has special needs, and needs to be put on a specific track, a board of agreed-upon people is assembled. These people figure out an individual child IEP — or individual education program.
There are two types of IEP’s: the first set regular academic standards for the child but gives them modified accommodations. An example of someone on this track would be a dead or blind student, with no mental impairment.
The second type of IEP is one that puts the student at a lower grade level. These are generally important for students with significant amounts of mental impairment. They're graded on different criteria from the rest of the students, so that they don't fall behind.
For more information on DPCDSB Special Education, check out this PDF.
The IPRC Process
The aforementioned process by which a student is assigned an IEP is conducted by the Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC).
Families are informed about their child's options for IEP's. This happens at the Catholic Education Center, in January of each year.
This board and plan always emphasize specificity. Each student needs their individual needs addressed. The board believes in a collaborative process of education between parents and students; each student's individual strengths will be taken into account when determining their plan.
The Dufferin-Peel process for helping out a child with special needs is intervention-based. These are based on a system of tiers, which help educators understand the different levels by which they can interfere with the learning of other students. The tiers focus on providing interventions that are universally designed, then, those that are good for some, then, those that are essential or few.
Tier one interventions support all students. This means that if your special needs student is struggling, the first steps that will be taken will be universal steps. To see if your student needs further help, the school will implement strategies that can be beneficial to all students, and see if it works.
Tier two interventions support some students. While they don't target all, they're still broad enough in their scope to catch some students who don't necessarily need a lower grade-level standard. If your child responds to this, that may just need some extra explanations in-class to help their education/
Tier three interventions are targeted at the few students who truly need hands-on help. These levels of help are too specific to help the full body of students and are more specifically focused on children with special needs. By the time this stage is reached, parents should be preparing for their children to need specific benefits.
Functional Academics and Daily Living Skills Resources
While children with special needs can learn a lot through school, Functional Academics and Daily Live Skills Resource are available to help students self-educate when they're at home.
The resources available to students focus on several main content areas: mathematics, religion, daily living, and literacy. These are some of the most important building blocks of learning for any student, let alone students with special needs.
The resources available are both resources that can be engaged with online, and engaged with pencil-and-paper by the students. This is extremely important for the development of children, as it means they can choose which way they prefer to learn.
In this day and age, internet literacy is extremely important and should be taught — but it's always good to remind students how important reading and writing in-of-themselves are extremely important.
It should be noted by parents that the online resources on this list aren't affiliated with DPCDSB in any way, they're simply resources we have found helpful. Understanding the resources that are available out there on the internet is extremely important in understanding how the internet can be used to learn. This should be used as a jumping-off-point for students use to further explore the internets resources and educate themselves.
The beauty of the internet age is that everyone is about to teach themselves. It's important to take an active role in the development of your child; do not simply rely on the school and teacher. Use these sights to help you further your goals for your child.
(Internet literacy these days can even help you figure out your financial situation.)
Since these resources aren't directly from DPCDSB, they may require the creation of their own separate account individual from the DPCDSB. They also may require Adobe Flash Player, which will you need to download for yourself, for no cost.
Literacy Websites and Resources
Literacy is extremely important in the development of the brain. Language isn't just the way that human beings communicate. It's the way that human beings think.
Literacy isn't just important in helping your child understand books. It's a crucial step in the development of their brain. If there's one thing that your student should take away from their school learning experience, it should be literacy.
Tumble Book Library
The Tumble Book Library provides is an important resource to help parents figure out which books to buy for their children. There is a lot of message-driven, even political, children's books that you want to stay away from with your child.
You want to make sure your child develops a sense of language qua language. You don't want them to develop their sense of language as a vehicle for someone else ambitions and political ideals.
The Tumble book library is a great resource for this. It provides children with both classic and new books that will help develop their brains. Learning to follow senses, and to develop a sense of narrative progression are both important.
Dance Mat Typing
In this day and age, typing is just as important as writing. Students need to learn how to communicate their ideas quickly and efficiently through their computer screens. Dance Mat Typing helps students get interested and invested in their typing education.
National Geographic Kids
It's important for a child to develop a sense of worldliness. The last thing you want is a child who only understands what their senses will let them experience. You want a child who's open to new experiences.
National Geographic Kids will help your child learn about the animal kingdom. Because of this, they'll likely develop favourite animals. A favourite animal is a great start to a child seeking to educate themself.
Toy Theatre
Toy Theatre provides an educational experience for kids through games. While stigma about video games still exists, there's really nothing to fear.
Games are systems based on mathematics, logic, and science. Often a developer has to play out several different statistical possibilities in order to figure out the way that their world will work.
Educational games provide a fun way for children to learn about various topics. The games on Toy Theatre provide options for Math, Reading, Music, Art, and more.
Mathematics Websites and Resources
But the resources don't just stop at literacy. Understanding mathematics is also extremely important for any child.
While many people understand the importance of the history of events, few remember the importance of the history of the mind. The contemporary brain was formed by many wonderful intellectual developments — many of them are through the world of mathematics. You only have to look at the Amazonian Tribe that doesn't have numbers to see just how far we've come.
Helping your child understand Math isn't just about learning their timetables. It helps their abstract reasoning and will help them make connections. This is why it's important to get them as many math resources as possible.
Coolmath Games
Coolmath games is an extraordinarily popular gaming website. Oftentimes it's the only gaming site that's not blocked by a school. It's obtained this status with its plethora of informative games.
Coolmath focuses on math-centred games. (As its name implies.) Students can learn that education doesn't have to be something to scoff at — it can be fun as well.
Brain Pop
Brain Pop is also a fun source for mathematic learning. However, Brain Pop focuses on informative videos rather than games. While these lack the hands-on quality of games, they go into very satisfying levels of depth.
Brain Pop doesn't just limit itself to mathematic concepts. It also helps students understand the figures associated with mathematics. This helps put names to faces and teaches them why they should learn.
Mathies
Mathies is an even more detailed site, that provides students with external links, options for tutors, and much much more. Mathies is a bit hard to explain, so it's best if you check it out itself.
Religion Websites and Resources
Unfortunately, religious education is dying in many parts of the world. Religion is not just important for understanding faith. Religious systems are complex, dense, and provide vast levels of information for anyone who is open to them.
The history of humanity is largely a history of its religions. Just as important to believing is understanding why you believe. Articulating this will help develop your religious understanding.
While the PDF doesn't provide any specific sources of online religion for children's learning, there are many options out there. You can check out the DPCDSB and see what they have to offer. You can also check out these awesome Christian websites for kids.
It's important for your child to have faith in a faithless world. However, it's also important to not make your child into a blind believer.
Daily Living Websites and Resources
There's no reason why special needs students shouldn't also have the opportunity to live a productive life. Daily Living helps students develop the skills that they'll be using outside of school, and outside of their intellectual minds.
Practical Money Skills Canada
Practical Money Skills Canada helps foster financial literacy in children. In order to build children into financially independent adults, financial literacy is extremely important.
If you're looking for other resources to learn about financial literacy, check out what we have to offer at Insurdinary.
Fine Motor Activities
If your child struggles with certain fine motor skills, this is the perfect site for you. Fine motor activities help walk your child through the skills they need to conduct themselves in physical situations. The exercises provided here will surely build up your child's abilities.
Education isn't just about scoring good grades, it's a human need.
At Insurdinary, We Have Kids Too!
Since 2020, we've been living through unprecedented times. Crisis breeds change. It's no wonder that the concept of "modernity" was largely begun after WWI.
The COVID-19 pandemic signals the rise of online education. Talk to your children about COVID and the effects it might have. It's important that they understand this as not just a setback, but a turning point for humanity.
The DPCDSB special education program has kids covered no matter what they're currently going through. At Insurdinary, we hope to act like this too. You can always rely on us for any insurance needs.
For more information, get a quote with us today.
