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Request for Offsite Alternate Education Classes
Submitted by: Montague High Parent Council
Resolution Content
WHEREAS this resolution addresses an important issue as it pertains to education, safety and health to many students in the education system, and
WHEREAS the current education system is considering relocating all Alternate Education programs from off-school sites to standard school sites, and
WHEREAS the physical layout of most school facilities is not conducive to an Alternative Education site with a separate entrance, kitchen facility and office/meeting space, and
WHEREAS we need to address and support the students requiring Alternate Education and understand that the need for alternative education program is largely as a result of not being able to attend classes in the current physically structured system for various reasons, and
WHEREAS PEI’s education system expects Island schools to provide education for all students, including those requiring learning environment adjustments and who are unable to attend regular school, i.e. Alternate Education;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the PEI Home and School Federation requests the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development and English Language School Board designate and allocate all Alternate Education be provided with off-school site facilities to more realistically reflect the needs of those requiring an adjusted learning environment, thereby promoting the total well-being of ALL of our children/youth; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the PEIHSF requests the English Language School Board release an immediate communication plan for the Alternate Education policy to key stakeholders.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
| Destination: | Department of Education and Early Childhood Development English Language School Board |
Responses Received
English Language School Board: The school board continually evaluates the optimal placement for students in order to ensure they access appropriate academic programming that will support maximizing their success. The multi-year plan to transition alternate programming to Montague Regional High School was completed in September 2015 and the current monitoring of the program indicates that it has been a very successful move, not only for the students who were being taught in the basement of a local church but also for other students currently attending the school. The school is now able to share the resources previously made available to only a limited number of students with other students who also benefit from them, both in way of learning materials as well as professional support from the resource teachers and youth worker. Students who have alternate programming included in their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) now have immediate access to all the school’s resources and specialized learning areas, which they could not access previously because of their off-site location.
The ELSB is not provided with additional funding for new building construction or the renting of additional off-site learning facilities, and current high school designs now consider the need for alternate programming to be located within in a school where appropriate. Having alternate programming available within a school building enables a school to offer a greater variety of services to more students and, most importantly, increases the chances of success for students to transition, over time, from the alternate site within the school to the regular classroom – which is the goal of providing educational programming to students who need to be in a temporary learning environment other than the regular classroom. The delivery of alternate programming in this manner also ensures that opportunities provided to students in urban areas are also available in more rural parts of the province, where warranted. (October 15, 2015)
Education, Early Learning and Culture: As this resolution relates to the oeprations of the school board, I will defer this to the English Language School Board for their response. (October 20, 2015)