Supporting the Needs of all Students

Province of Alberta: Action on Inclusion

Rocky View Schools is committed to Alberta Education's call for "one inclusive education system where each student is successful." This means students are not physically or socially isolated because of special learning needs caused by such things as giftedness, disability or delay, learning English as an additional language, cultural or social-economic differences. Please feel free to read more on the Action on Inclusion at the link below:

https://www.rockyview.ab.ca/schools/learning

What are Universal Learning Environments?

• A Universal Learning Environment brings the world of knowledge into the classroom, but it removes barriers in other important ways.
• Each learning experience is designed to be accessible to all learners and therefore teachers design learning experiences for students of all abilities and at all stages on their learning journey.
• A student who currently has weak reading skills, for example, may use simple technology to speak questions to the computer and have the results of web searches read aloud. A student with a hearing deficit may be working on the same project with the support of a sign language interpreter, while a third student still mastering the English language may be using a blend of approaches: reading herself, getting support from the teacher, and using technologies to support her learning while she practices her new language skills.
• The final barrier removed in a Universal Learning Environment is the barrier between the school and the community. The school serves as a hub to coordinate wrap-around services for students with complex health and learning needs, ensuring there is a coordinated plan and information flow between home, health professionals, social supports, and the school.
• Finally, the community itself serves as a part of the Universal Learning Environment. Hands-on experiential learning for students may involve learning about the sophisticated computerized motor mechanics at a local shop through an educational partnership. These types of partnerships could as easily involve an artist’s studio, a farming operation, or a local manufacturing plant.

What do Universal Learning Environments look like at Mitford School?

1. Each students, parents and staff create a Learning Profile. It serves to inform the planning of teachers to meet learning needs of each student.
2. Each student at Mitford School will have a Fontas & Pinnell Diagnostic Reading Assessment. This assessment tool empowers teachers with the information and plan to support areas of growth for each student.
3. Teachers work collaborative with learning support strategists (teachers) and assistants in a Response to Intervention (RTI) Program. This program provides targeted and specialized instruction in small group settings to meet the literacy and numeracy needs of each child. Students in these sessions are supported with strategies to overcome challenges or difficulties identified in their assessments.
4. Student needs are addressed in a planning process called instructional design were teachers plan their inquiry and/or project based learning experiences with a student-centric focus to ensure each child’s needs are met in an inclusive classroom.
5. Each students needs are considered and programed to enable multiple access points for learners as well as students can utilize multiple forms of representation to illustrate their learning.
6. Learning support specialists and learning support assistants’ work with teachers ensuring differentiation, accommodations and modifications are afforded when necessary for each student.
7. Assistive Technology enables students to have support mechanism. For example student have access to Word Q, Speech to text, etc.