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SEAC

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BY: KATHY MCDONALD 

It came as no surprise that numerous parents, when asked about SEAC, were unable to correctly say the acronym and most never heard of the committee. Most got the education part right but it all fell apart after that. SEAC stands for Special Education Advisory Committee. As the name suggest this committee provides advice to their respective school boards on matters pertaining to special education. This committee also advocates for the needs of students that have specialized educational requirements in order for them to be successful.

In Ontario, our publically funded educational institutions are overseen by school boards. School boards are independent entities governed by trustees. The trustees are guided by the regulatory and policy framework established by the Ministry of Education. The duties of the board are set out in the Education Act. Under the Education Act, part of the duty of a trustee is to establish policies and committees. The board has legal obligations and responsibilities for establishing special educational services and programs in an attempt to make education accessible to all students regardless of abilities. School boards in Ontario are required to establish statutory committees. These statutory committees are mandated by the province. SEAC is a mandated committee. Other mandated committees include the Audit Committee, the PIC (Parent Involvement Committee) and the SAL Committee (Supervised Alternative Learning). At the Peel District School Board (PDSB) we have established the PP&B (Physical Planning and Building Committee) and IPC (Instructional Programs/Curriculum) committees to serve as our committees that tackle the building and maintenance as well as the instruction and programming that our students receive. The names of some of the committees across the boards may be different but their mandates are the same and all have student success at their center.

The SEAC committee consists of trustees, board staff and volunteers representing various parent associations and advocacy groups. The PDSB has twelve representatives from parents advocate groups. They are: Association of Bright Children, Peel Chapter; Autism Ontario, Peel Chapter; Brampton Caledon Community Living; Canadian Mental Health Association, Peel Branch; Easter Seals Ontario; FAS World Canada, Peel Chapter; Fragile X Research Foundation of Canada; Learning Disabilities Association of Peel Region; Down Syndrome Association of Peel; VOICE for Hearing Impaired Children; Tourette Syndrome Association of Ontario and VIEWS for Blind and Visually Impaired Children. The board benefits from the expertise and experience of these dedicated volunteers. They represent a wide range of special educational interest and often provide insight to many of the special requirements and challenges that children with exceptionalities face.

The SEAC committee often provides recommendations to the board that the trustees will consider when establishing policies and procedures. These recommendations range from matters affecting the delivery of special educational programs, for example, the gifted program to unique accommodations and requirements a student may require to be successful. Such accommodations may include providing students with assistive technology or special devices to help a student focus on a task. The SEAC committee will often provide input into procedures, for example how some special needs students transition from one program to the next or how medically fragile students have their needs met.

SEAC also provides cherished input into the board’s annual budget process. In matters concerning the board’s special education plan, SEAC’s advice and input is crucial as trustees decipher copious amounts of business proposals and priorities for a finite amount of dollars. The SEAC committee also reviews the financial statements of the board’s special education budget as a committee as well as the committee participates in the board’s annual review of its educational plan.

The various requirements for the SEAC committee established by the Ministry of Education are set out in Regulation 464/97. As such school boards across Ontario have a duty to abide by these guidelines. If you are the parent of a child with special educational needs, whether or not the child has been identified by a professional as a parent you have the right to access programs and supports that will enable your child to be the best that they can be. I have personally seen benefits of children that are provided the necessary supports.

The PDSB produces a brochure that describes the role and responsibilities of SEAC and prevalent in the brochure is the fact that parents are valuable partners. These are not just words at the PDSB we truly value the relationship with parents, caregivers and the community. SEAC plays a vital role in how information is disseminated to the parent community. SEAC also acts as an invaluable source of information for parents. They can be contacted at SEAC@peelsb.com. All the SEAC meetings are open to the public and a list of the committee’s meeting schedule can be found on the PDSB website. I think this information would be readily accessible on most school board’s websites if not contact your local trustee.

An exceptionality is not an excuse or a reason for a child’s full potential not to be attained. As an educational system, we have a duty and responsibility to ensure that all learners reach their full potential. We all benefit as a society both financially and socially. So. journey with me as together we strive to make each student be the best that they can be and realize their full potential. Walk Good. Belle Marché.

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Youth Development

Understanding the multiple layers involved in navigating education spaces Parents of Black Children launch Navigating the Education System

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The work of the advocacy group Parents of Black Children (PoBC) has made a significant and revolutionary difference by bringing issues to the forefront that help Black families at all levels.

For over two years now, it has organized events, workshops and initiatives that have provided important information to the Black community to bring empowerment, knowledge and deep understanding of the multiple layers of the complex dynamics involved in navigating education spaces.

There are five core principles that underlie PoBC understanding of racism:

  1. Racialization
  2. Racism is about power
  3. Critical racial theory
  4. Our stories matter
  5. Racism is founded on White supremacy

On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, they launched the document Navigating the Education System,” which was a very empowering, enriching and inspiring tool for diverse Black families. Kearie Daniels, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author of the document, moderated the launch. Furthermore, Claudette Rutherford, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author gave an extensive presentation of the details of the document, sharing useful insights, practical knowledge and interesting information.

PoBC shared a pdf document subsequent to the launch, which provided additional details in a fifty-three-page package. It contained relevant, contextual and vital resources. PoBC’s Advocacy Team supported the document, which includes Charline Grant and Xavier McLaughin.

In the introduction to the document the mission of PoBC is to “Provide support to parents of Black children across Canada and the United States. We advocate and work towards change and concrete action in our education system and adjacent systems such child welfare and the justice system.”

The launch of this vital document is a culmination of all the advocacy and activist work that PoBC has been extensively involved in. It serves to remind members of the Black community that there are resources, tools and supports available to ensure that Black children are able to thrive academically, excel mentally and flourish intellectually in spaces that may not be welcoming to their presence.

The document states that the navigate guide is “Geared towards families in Ontario, but the information can be applied to any jurisdiction where there are Black children and families.”

The document “Table of Contents” is useful and helpful. There is vital information on:

  • School board terms you need to know
  • Education organization you need to know in Ontario
  • Black families and the Child Welfare System
  • Black families and the education system
  • Black students and Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
  • Black students in High School.
  • Developmental delays in learning exceptionalities
  • Supporting students with learning exceptionalities
  • Selecting a school system
  • System abuse

PoBC presented a webinar on “System Abuse”. The document states,

“The system is not neutral. These systems were designed as part of a colonial framework that must be dismantled.” Furthermore, the document “Serves as a means to demystify the pitfalls within the education system and light a path towards a decolonized education system.”

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Youth Development

Toronto prepares families for COVID-19 vaccination of children

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Photo by Charles Deluvio Library on Unsplash

BY PAUL JUNOR

There have been concerns, fears and anxieties as parents, caregivers and guardians anticipate the possibility of having their children under twelve vaccinated.

The Boston Globe reported on Friday, October 29th, 2021, that the FDA approved the administration of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of five to eleven. These children will receive one-third of the dose administered to teens and adults.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention met on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, in order to finalize details with respect to which children should be vaccinated first. In anticipation of these developments, Team Toronto has initiated a series of outreach and education sessions, as well as town halls in order to inform the Toronto community.

Parents of children between the ages of five to eleven who attend public schools will be receiving an email and an invitation to respond to a survey to “Support vaccine planning.”  This invitation will also be extended to parents whose children attend private independent schools as well. The survey will be administered by Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the City of Toronto VaxTO in order to “Better understand parents’ intent to vaccinate their children, how they would prefer to have their children receive their COVID-19 vaccine, and to obtain critical information on socio-demographic factors such as race and income.”

John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, is optimistic and positive about this development. He states in the press release, “While our work to get 90% of eligible residents vaccinated is continuing, we are also readying for when the vaccine will be available to protect kids five to eleven. We want to hear from parents, so we made sure we designed a vaccination program that works for kids and their families. This is just one more example of the outreach we are doing to prepare for this effort. This work is so important and will help us get kids vaccinated so they have the best protection against COVID-19 and so our schools can be as safe and as open as possible.”

Councillor Joe Cressy, Chair of Toronto’s Board of Health who has been at the forefront of advocating for the vaccination of margnizalied and at-risk communities is supportive of this campaign. He states, “At every stage of our immunization campaign, connecting with people on the ground has been critical to our success. Now, as we prepare for the rollout of vaccines to children aged five to eleven, we’re committed to engaging directly with parents, families, and community leaders to have active conversations about vaccinations for kids.”

In addition, Dr Eileen De Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health is a strong proponent of this campaign. She states,” When vaccines are approved for use and when we have supply we will ensure that we bring every resource to bear on this critical component of the vaccination campaign.”

The survey will be available as of Sunday, November 7th, 2021. It consists of fifteen questions that will be available online at s.tphsurvey.chkmkt.com in multiple languages. Parents and guardians will receive them from their children’s public school boards. In addition, there will be town halls for specified multilingual communities as well as neighbourhood-based telephone halls to ensure that the public has access to timely, necessary and relevant information for informed decision-making.

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Youth Development

Act as if what you do makes a difference. IT DOES

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BY SABRINA S. – 12 YEARS OLD

The school year is coming to an end, I’m sure that this year was hectic for everyone. Last year, we had a pandemic strike in the middle of the year and the world was sent into lockdown.

We didn’t get to go to school for the rest of the year.

Many students got to choose if they wanted to do school in-person or online, I chose online since I didn’t feel safe.

First day of school was very weird, most people don’t turn their cameras on, don’t even get me started on the wifi issues. I would lag out of the google meet many times and miss most of the instructions on the assignment. That is when friends come in handy, though I don’t get to see my friends that often, we still connect with some online games and phone calls through snap chat.

I don’t know where the time went, it just flew by. Last month was September and suddenly, I feel like we skipped eight months. I only have a week of school left! Because it is the last week of school, I have a lot of homework and final assignments to do but I know I’ll get through them and finish the school year.

I haven’t had time to go outside as well, I’ve been too busy with my assignments.

If my school year was this hectic, imagine the teacher’s year. I’m very grateful for everything my teachers have done for me and my classmates this year, they definitely deserve the three-month summer break. I’m sure my teachers doubted teaching online, but everything went okay and I learned lots.

“No matter how hard it is, or how hard it gets. I’m going to make it!”

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