Vulnerable students who may be struggling with home learning are being given a chance to return to school – at least part of the time.
The New Westminster school district is continuing its work to support its vulnerable students, both remotely and in classrooms.
Bruce Cunnings, the district’s director of instruction for learning services, offered an update to trustees at the school board’s May 12 operations committee meeting.
Cunnings said each school-based team has had “meaningful conversations” about their vulnerable students, looking at where families are struggling and where students are unable to meet their IEP (individual education plan) goals with home learning. School administration teams are working with families and staff to set up times for those students to attend school in person, working with learning support teachers and education assistants.
“All the schools, K through 12, are in that process, all at different stages,” Cunnings said.
He said the district has been mindful of taking a “thoughtful” approach to having students return to school.
“There’s been some great success. Kids are very excited in many cases to be back at school, to see their teachers, to see their EAs,” he said. “As you could appreciate, for some of our learners, it’s been a challenge because they get into the school and they’re excited to be back at school, but of course the rest of the students aren’t there, not all the teachers are there, and it just looks and feels very different.”
Cunnings said staff have been doing some creative work to help kids with coming back to school. Some education assistants have been meeting with students in the park to do yoga; other students have been creating fairy gardens, taking visual arts lessons, walking outside and gardening.
A report presented to trustees outlines a host of ways that students are being helped by a variety of staff, including EAs, teachers and counsellors.
At elementary schools, students have access to one-on-one calls to support their particular learning needs, as well as small group calls for connection time and whole-family calls to support families with online learning. Counsellors are doing regular check-ins with families both in person and online.
Packages have been sent home to support students who can benefit from materials from the school – such as play money, levelled readers, library books, therapeutic putty and more.
Middle schools have offered face-to-face remote learning with EAs and resource teachers, and parents have been given face-to-face remote sessions as well. In-person classes are also being offered for targeted students, with one-hour classes to start (those are now increasing to two hours).
At New Westminster Secondary School, virtual hubs have been set up to help struggling students, and EAs and counsellors have made home calls to help support parents and students with issues such as setting up technology and dropping off lunches and food cards. The school has also loaned out technology (such as Chromebooks, iPads and Osmos) and adapted bicycles.
Cunnings said “fantastic work” is being done across the district to help vulnerable children through this period.
“It’s great to know that we have students returning to school and supporting our families and our vulnerable learners with in-person instruction,” he said.
The district is also offering support for the staff involved in the in-person instruction, including weekly meetings with the health and safety advisor.
Trustee Anita Ansari said she’s glad to see the district is offering that support for staff.
“Providing support is so necessary for some of our frontline staff,” she said, adding they’ve all been forced to adapt quickly to a new reality. “This has been a journey with the accelerator pressed down really hard.”
