Equity and Specialized Support

Human Rights and Equity

The OCDSB is committed to providing learning environments, services and workplaces that are welcoming, respectful, safe, inclusive, equitable, accessible and free from discrimination and harassment. Therefore planning and decision-making for re-opening our schools and workplaces includes:

Prioritizing, promoting and supporting human rights, equity and inclusion in all aspects of the Return to School plan;
Considering diverse student, employee and community voices and perspectives to inform planning, decision making and implementation;
Using flexible approaches and providing supports and resources that are responsive to and respectful of individual and community identities, needs and circumstances;
Accommodating new, existing or changing human rights-related needs short of undue hardship;
Identifying and addressing human rights-related barriers;
Taking appropriate action to address discriminatory behaviour; and
Supporting inclusive, equitable and culturally relevant and responsive learning.
Addressing the Needs of All Students

The OCDSB will demonstrate its commitment to equity principles and will differentiate the delivery model to address the needs of our most vulnerable students.

Staff in every school will spend time preparing for differentiated supports for vulnerable students. A school-wide approach will be taken to identifying, understanding and addressing the disproportionate impact of distance learning on underserved and/or vulnerable students. These students will be prioritized for higher access to daily schooling and interventions etc.

When differentiating support, staff will consider:
Individual Education Plans (IEP)
Students in specialised program classes
Mental health and well-being
Physical health
Impact of poverty (Considering the RAISE Index data)
English as a Second Language (ESL) (lowest STEP)/English Literacy Development (ELD)
Indigenous, Black, minoritized students
Achievement data
Transition/credit accumulation data (students starting grade 10 without 8 credits, students starting grade 11 without 16 credits, etc.)
Students in grade 12 that have not successfully completed Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

Serving Vulnerable Students

The table below outlines supports that will be provided for special education, English language learning, mental health, technology, and more.

Topic

Protocol

Students with Special Education Needs in Regular Classroom

Elementary

Elementary students will attend In Person or by Remote Learning. Elementary students attending In Person will attend school five days per week, with enhanced health and safety protocols in place.
Special education support will be provided as per their IEP.
Support can be provided for specific transition needs where necessary.
Larger spaces (e.g. library, conference rooms) will be preserved to allow for space to maintain distancing during periods of withdrawal (e.g. Empower).
Resource or body break rooms could be available with individual equipment and proper cleaning between students scheduled to use the room.

Secondary

Secondary students will attend In Person or by Remote Learning. Secondary students attending In Person will attend school in a hybrid model, attending school 5 days out of 10.
Special education support will be provided as per their IEP.
Support can be provided for specific transition needs where necessary.
Alternative arrangements will be developed to support students who have difficulty accessing the remote learning part of the day

Students with Special Education Needs in a Specialized Program Class	Elementary Elementary students will attend In Person or by Remote Learning. Elementary students attending In Person will attend school five days per week, with enhanced health and safety protocols in place. Special education support will be provided as per their IEP. Support can be provided for specific transition needs where necessary. Integration opportunities are provided per individual student program (e.g. Learning Disabilities Specialized Intervention Program [LD SIP], integration for specific subjects). During integration periods, specific seating (e.g. grouping students from LD SIP together during the integration portion of the day) will be provided to enable contact tracing.
	Secondary Students who are not on a credit pathway (e.g., Semi-Integrated Developmental Disabilities Program, Autism Spectrum Disorder Program) will attend 5 days per week, with enhanced health and safety protocols in place. Students who are on credit pathways (e.g., Learning Disabilities Program, Autism Spectrum Disorder Secondary Credit Support Program) in a specialized program class may attend five days per week while some may attend with their cohort, with enhanced health and safety protocols in place. Special education support will be provided as per their IEP. Support can be provided to support specific transition needs where necessary. Integration opportunities are provided per individual student program (e.g. students in Behaviour Intervention Program [BIP] integrating for specific subjects). During integration periods, specific seating (e.g. group students from BIP class sit together during the integration portion of the day) will be provided to enable contact tracing.
Crystal Bay,	Students will attend In Person or by Remote Learning. Students attending In Person will attend school five days per week, with enhanced health and safety protocols in place. Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) will be required when physical distancing cannot be maintained (e.g., due to student needs, hand-over-hand instruction, toileting).
Clifford Bowey
(CB) Sites
(Some elements
may apply to
Physical

Support Program,

Semi-Integrated Developmental Disabilities Program and Autism Spectrum Disorder Programs

No field trips.
No kitchen work experience.
No use of the Snoezelen room (exploring the possibility of additional individual sensory resources).
No swim program.

Mental Health Supports

Through additional Ministry of Education funding, additional staffing will be provided to support student mental health and wellbeing as it relates to returning to school.
Through additional Ministry of Education funding, a summer

2-week transition program will be provided for students with ‘high special education and/or high mental health needs’.
All mental health staff will be working in a flexible and responsive way into the new school year to ensure that appropriate interventions are provided when needed.
Where appropriate, mental health services and/or supports may be provided in a virtual environment.
Physical spaces will be assessed according to the nature of the activity to be performed. For example, when doing an assessment, it may be necessary for the student and assessor to be separated by a portable plexiglass screen.
Attempts will be made to minimize professional staff travel between multiple sites on a single day.
Resources (School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) and board developed) will be shared with schools to promote mentally healthy school environments/classrooms.
Resources are being developed for students and families to support the return to school.
Collaboration with community partners will take place to ensure a continuum of culturally responsive mental health supports.

Multi- Disciplinary Team Meetings

Multi-D meetings are a key strategy in supporting student achievement and well-being.
Multi-D meetings will continue to occur in a virtual environment, where necessary.

English Literacy Development Classes (ELD)

(ELD class cap is 12 students)

Elementary in junior, grade 4-6, ELD classes at Carleton Heights (2) and Manordale (1):

Attend every day with their classmates
Students remain half day with the ELD teacher for literacy and mathematics and half day integrated with same grade peers for learning in the remaining curricular areas

Elementary in Intermediate, grades 6-8

13 classes in 7 sites - Fielding (2), Featherston (1), Henry Munro (2),

Hawthorne (2), Pinecrest (2), D. Roy Kennedy (2), Sawmill Creek (2)

Students remain half day with the ELD teacher for literacy and mathematics and half day integrated with same grade peers for learning in the remaining curricular areas
Focus on gap closing, building literacy and building numeracy skills

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Elementary

ESL STEP 1 and 2

Students will attend every day (focus on literacy and numeracy - may require ESL teachers to support a group if numbers are high).
Central ELL educators and ESL leads where numbers allow to support Step 3 and 4.
Focus on gap closing, guided reading and guided math groups.
Classroom teachers support all other ELLs in a ‘regular’ classroom environment with support of lead / itinerant for strategies and collaborative planning.

Secondary ELD/ESL AO/BO
Maintain class sizes of 15.
Students will attend school every day with language teacher.
Online, synchronous learning for all other credits with collaboration between ELD lead and classroom teacher to differentiate the programming as needed

Access to Technology and Wifi	11,000 Chromebooks were distributed to students between March and the end of June. 5,000 more Chromebooks have been ordered for student use in September. With the addition of these devices and 4,500 SEA Chromebooks, there will be 28,000 chromebooks available for student use. 1,200 Hotspots have been established to support internet access (hotspots remained active in July to support summer learning). Distribution of Chromebooks in the first ten schools on the RAISE index will be prioritized - 2:1 (or could be 1:1).
Staff and Community support	A school wide approach will be taken to identifying, understanding and addressing the disproportionate impact of distance learning on underserved and/or vulnerable students. Collaboration will take place among specialised school professionals and community partners to support students Access support for vulnerable students through ONFE. Provision of food - ONFE packages.Through existing student nutrition programming run out of the school, secondary students will receive food packages for the days that they are accessing remote learning (hybrid model) Provision of school supplies with some support from Education Foundation.
Student Support Networks	Indigenous Youth Council (Original Voices) Rainbow Networks Trans Youth Network Black Student Leadership Network Gay Straight Alliances Muslim Student Networks Student Senate Student Trustees

Ottawa Carleton District School Board