DIRECTOR’S ANNUAL REPORT
This is accomplished by having a process in place for in-school special education teams to monitor and assess student progress and make next step referrals to board level support and then to more focussed interventions provided by special Board programs, or agency partnerships. This past year, our Board moved to a new IEP software system that has increased our capacity to electronically document all student plans in one program. The program automatically allows for all staff members involved with the student to view their educational, medical, support and behaviour plans. Ensuring Continuous Renewal of Facilities Many construction projects planned for the 2020 summer were placed on hold due to the delays in engineering and tendering on account of the Covid19 pandemic. With a province wide closure many projects were not ready to tender thereby creating uncertainty of pricing and completion. A few projects that were able to proceed include upgrades to ELKP outdoor play areas at St. Margaret and Holy Family, St. Patricks auxiliary gym, boiler upgrades at St. Bernard and St. Pius, and a new sports gym floor at Pope John Paul II. Summer of 2021 is projected to be a busy year as those projects that were put on hold will proceed. This includes the St Ignatius front entrance and exterior upgrade as well as an accessibility upgrade, roofs at several schools and St. Patrick science wing renovation. Ensuring Quality Technology Our Board successfully completed our Secondary Technology refresh as part of our 5 Year Information Technology Plan. This included purchasing 120 iMacs deployed into 4 labs in the high schools and 150 Chromebooks for student use. There were also 85 Chrombases ordered for each senior elementary school classroom. Remote learning and the virtual school has put an increased demand for student devices. As a result the technology plan had to change to include purchasing additional student devices. An additional 720 Chromebooks have been ordered with expected delivery in the next coming months. The Board also purchased 70 LTE iPads to support students with internet access issues. Some of these devices are funded with additional provincial Covid19 grants. Year 4 of the Information Technology Plan is to be completed in 2020-21, which includes a refresh of devices for our Secondary Schools Teachers. Health and Safety Performance Improvement Our Board values the health and safety of our students, staff, and guests. In order to remain safe, and prevent injuries, Board strategies continue to be monitored such as: non-traditional classroom audits, student injury safety prevention, e-blast safety communiques, on-line incident reporting and new legislation updates.
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