Avon Maitland District School Board

Equity & Inclusivity

Inclusive Education is based on the principles of acceptance and inclusion of all students. Students see themselves reflected in their curriculum, their physical surroundings, and the broader environment, in which diversity is honoured and all individuals are respected (Ministry of Education, Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy, p. 34, 2009).

Strategies

• Each school will develop a student voice team that will promote awareness and acceptance of social and academic inclusion of peers who represent the diversity among the student body, with support from staff.
• Through a model of inquiry, a group of 14 resource teachers will develop an improved understanding of a collaborative, in-class model of support that aligns with inclusionary practices.
• Learning For All Coaches will use the method of collaborative inquiry with classroom teachers K-12 who have students with exceptional learning needs as the focus of their learning inquiry.
• Practices related to voluntary, self-identification of Indigenous students will be reviewed.

Indicators

• 1. Student voice teams at elementary and secondary schools will develop a social equity plan. This plan will include regular opportunities to demonstrate student priorities related to social and academic inclusion of peers.
• 2. Resource teacher inquiry: Data from resource teacher surveys and the work samples in the group portfolio will track changes in thinking and practice.
  • Resource teachers are supporting in classrooms frequently and are engaged in higher levels of collaborative interaction
  • Resource teachers and their collaborative partners can identify positive benefits resulting from their partnerships
  • Resource teachers will identify partnership principles that contribute to positive/productive coaching relationships
• 3. Partnerships will identify a goal based on the student learning need and will realize steps towards the goal through the process of reflection and documentation.
• 4. There will be an increase in the number of students who self identify as a member of an Indigenous Nation.

Safe & Welcoming Learning Environment

Avon Maitland DSB schools should be places where everyone - children, students, staff, parents and community - feels welcome, safe and respected.

Strategies

• Safe School Teams in all schools will examine results from the 2016 Safe Schools Climate Survey and implement a plan to respond, with particular attention paid to targeting bullying based on the responses received.
• Safety Culture:Move to a learning framework, where continuous learning from experiences is shared and strategies enhanced and communicated to achieve a sustained downward trend in accidents and incidents, and create and sustain a culture of safety-mindedness.
  • Move to an enterprise risk management approach to create and sustain a culture of safety-mindedness.
  • Establish a scorecard of leading and lagging key performance indicators to monitor and support our Safety Culture focus.
  • Employ ongoing monitoring and analysis of incident trends for implementing strategies to prevent and minimize loss (human and property).
  • Expand peer engagement model to include designate programs and services, moving from Tech to Science and Phys Ed, the Arts and EA supports. Expand this engagement model to student injury prevention in these areas, as a beginning point.
  • Use existing and emerging technologies to leverage our prevention strategies.

Indicators

• Schools will be given an opportunity to request resources/support as required, specifically to target bullying.
• Schools will see improved results on their Safe Schools Climate Surveys, particularly with the data pertaining to students' perceptions of bullying in the school.

Long Term:

• Safety Culture:
  • Downward trend in accidents and incidents in various areas are sustained over time.
  • Subsequent Safety Culture survey results improved from 2 years' baseline data and reflect heightened awareness of Safety Culture in AMDSB.

Short Term:

• Safety Culture: Risk assessments completed for all employee groups.

Progression of Skills

Collaboration - Sharing responsibility in pursuit of a common objective
Critical Thinking - Using purposeful, analytical, reflective processes in various contexts
Creativity - Developing a product, process or idea by integrating original thinking with existing knowledge
Communication - Expressing and interpreting meaning through a variety of forms
Problem Solving - Exploring a challenge for which a resolution is not obvious

The transformation of teaching and learning in AMDSB, through consolidation of effective pedagogy, leverages the opportunities that are derived from maximizing the 4Cs and P (Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Problem Solving).

Strategies

• Two elementary (K-6) and five secondary (7-12) schools will engage in New Pedagogies for Deep Learning collaborative inquiries focused on transforming teaching and learning through the progression of AMDSB’s skills of creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and problem solving. By expanding learning partnerships and learning environments within and outside of the classroom, reflecting on and implementing effective pedagogical practices and the use of technology, school teams will develop, implement, monitor and reflect on strategies that lead to more successful outcomes for students.
• Students in grades 7 to 10, and grade 11 students at 2 secondary schools, will be provided with a portable tool to support their learning.
• Teachers in the elementary and secondary panels will be supported by technology coaches, through professional learning opportunities and the use of a coaching model, to use innovative strategies to improve communication with students, to create learning spaces, and to continue to increase the engagement and use of rich tasks for students.

Indicators

• Technology coaches will follow the coaching model in all of their partnerships, and model the use of effective pedagogy while using technology.
• External researchers will monitor the implementation of a portable tools for students in senior grades to determine which technology tool best supports their learning.
• External researchers will continue to monitor the impact of changes in assessment and pedagogy for teachers of students from grades 7 through 11.
• Student voice will provide additional evidence as to how students are using technological tools at school and how they feel their learning could be improved through the use of a tool.

Accelerated Growth in Literacy and Numeracy

K-6 and K-8 school goals will focus on identifying and supporting student learning needs in numeracy and 7-12 and 9-12 school goals will focus on identifying and supporting student learning needs in literacy.

School staff will identify group(s) of students who represent the targeted area of need, will implement evidence-based responsive practices and then reflect on the impact of the practice on those targeted group(s) of students.

Strategies

Numeracy:

• Each School Improvement team will develop, implement and monitor a responsive school learning plan that is derived from the identified urgent student learning need.
• Elementary administrators and Math Lead teachers will engage in professional learning facilitated by Dr. Marian Small with foci on leading learning and numeracy content.
• Teachers of Junior and Intermediate mathematics will be given the opportunity to deepen their understanding of effective math instruction through subsidized Additional Qualification courses, Summer Institutes and other professional learning sessions.
• Teachers of grade 9 Applied mathematics in five secondary schools will participate in networked learning opportunities connected to enhanced understanding of responsive practices in the teaching and learning of mathematics.
• Teachers of grade 8 and grade 9 and 10 Applied mathematics and administrators in four secondary schools will participate in cross-panel networked learning hubs which will focus on identifying targeted student learning needs, applying evidence based practice and reflecting on the impact of the practice for the target students.

Literacy:

• Each School Improvement team will develop, implement and monitor a responsive school learning plan that is derived from the identified urgent student learning need.
• Every secondary school will administer an OSSLT practice test to all grade 9 students in the fall and spring and cross-panel, cross-discipline teams of teachers will moderate the completed tests. School teams will use this formative data to inform their school literacy goal.
• Secondary administrators and Literacy Lead teachers will engage in professional learning regarding leading learning in developing literacy skills across the curriculum.
• In three secondary schools, cross panel school teams will utilize the Collaborative inquiry cycle to identify, implement and monitor gap closing strategies for target student groups.

Indicators

Numeracy:

• We will see a 5% increase in the percentages of students rising to standard between administrations of EQAO. Therefore, 19% of students who were unsuccessful on 2014 Primary EQAO math assessment will rise to standard on the 2017 Junior EQAO math assessment. And 47% of students who were unsuccessful on 2014 Junior EQAO math assessment will rise to standard on the 2017 Grade 9 EQAO math assessment.

Literacy:

• We will see a 5% increase in the percentages of students rising to standard between administrations of EQAO. Therefore, 65% of the students who were unsuccessful on the 2013 Junior EQAO Reading and/or Writing assessment will rise to standard on the 2017 OSSLT.