Enduring Sustainability

ENDURING sustainability

DEMONSTRATE THE VALUE OF SUPPORTING CATHOLIC EDUCATION

- Identify, Develop & Support Leaders -

Leadership plays a pivotal role in any organization.

• Implementation of a Board Leadership Development Strategy (BLDS) is extremely imperative in the roles of Principal and Vice Principal.

• Focusing on mentoring aspiring and experienced leaders is imperative in succession planning and performance appraisal. Unfortunately, the Ministry put a pause on funding this program for the 2021-22 school year.

• We are in the process of reviewing the Aspiring Leadership Program with the intention of finding innovative ways to support it through our own funds.

- Resource Support -

Board Resource staff follow a two-tiered system of support for students considered at risk academically.

• One level focuses on the teachers and the other on the students themselves. Support for staff includes capacity building in Literacy and Numeracy and Indigenous world views, to help increase performance at all levels for all students.

• Our Literacy, Numeracy and French Resource teachers co-plan, co-teach and co-debrief with classroom teachers to strengthen content area understanding and instructional strategies.

• An emphasis on improving teacher pedagogy, including the integration of Deep Learning, is a focus for this team.

• The Indigenous Student Support Teacher works directly with students to inquire and discover which learning strategies work best for which students.

• Our English Language Learner Teachers work to support student culture and to strengthen language development and learning skills.

• Our Indigenous Education Resource Teacher worked with teachers to infuse Indigenous worldviews into classroom work, bringing Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum. Part of the role includes highlighting resources that teachers can use to support the integration of the TRC Calls to Action within their practice.

• Our Resource SSPs, provide support to staff and students in the areas of ABA, technology support and communication support.

• Our Resource ECE provides support to ELKP educators in programming, self-regulation, and assessment.

• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the reallocation of resource staff, not all staff support was available consistently throughout the 2021-2022 school year.

- Special Education Teacher & Student Support -

In order to remain up to date on topics relating to Special Education, Board resource staff attend professional development conferences and participate regularly in RSEC (Regional Special Education Committee) meetings to share best practices and resources.

• Resource staff facilitated virtual sessions for all school special education teachers addressing: Ministry or Board initiatives, changes or additions to current regulations or processes, data sharing and reports on current trends as well as training in new special education software, assessments, and intervention programs.

• Supporting students with special education needs is a priority. We ensure fairness and inclusivity, creating a sense of belonging, where students are motivated to meet their greatest potential.

• Support for struggling learners follows a ‘Response to Intervention’ approach which applies the appropriate Tier level of 1, 2, or 3. This is accomplished by having a process in place for inschool 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.

• An area of great attention and focus this year has been on the OHRC Right to Read Inquiry and the benefit of a Structured Literacy approach to instruction. The hiring of an additional Early Intervention Teacher ensures that as many struggling Grade 1 and Grade 2 students as possible receive the Fundations program, a tier 2 intervention.

- Ensuring Continuous Renewal of Facilities -

TBCDSB Plant Department and Capital Project Planning Team planned for a busy 2021-2022 project season, as the previous two years were challenging due to supply chain issues and the COVID-19 Pandemic. The following list illustrate projects that were completed throughout the year:

• St. Patrick Science Rooms - State of the art science rooms with chemical storage and classroom space.

• New Boiler Plants at St. Martins, St. Ann and St.Jude Schools. Continuing to invest in our elite Automated HVAC System.

• New culture rooms at St. Jude and Bishop Gallagher were designed and constructed with great detail to respect and honour Indigenous culture.

• New roof replacement at Pope John Paul II School.

• Multiple playgrounds, outdoor classrooms, turf projects and asphalt projects were completed to promote outdoor learning and play for our students and staff.

• Secure Access has been completed in 80% of our sites through the creation of vestibules, locked doors and entry cameras/tablets.

- Ensuring Quality Technology -

Technology is a priority for Thunder Bay Catholic and our Information Technology Team is committed to providing support to staff and device rollout. The following are some of the initiatives, investments and projects that were prioritized in 2021-2022:

• Completed Elementary Teacher Chromebook Deployment

• Expedited Deployment of 1-1 Chromebooks for Senior Elementary and Grade 9 Students Board Wide a year early. This was a significant investment illustrating the Boards commitment to utilizing technology.

• Principals and Vice Principals PC Launch

• IT is continuing the improvement of Technology in the classroom by installing new 75” Televisions and supporting technology to improve the student experience in our classrooms.

• Cybersecurity and Technology is at the forefront for IT as our team continues to improve protection for staff, students and systems.

• Investment in Wifi and connectivity has been a priority through purchase and installation of new access points in all of our sites.

• VOIP Phone Rollout remains a priority as more sites are being activated.

• NTIP, (New Teacher Induction Program) facilitated leveraging digital sessions for new teachers on the use of new and current approved software focussing on the role this can have to enhance the learning environment.

- Increasing Environmental Friendliness -

Schools continued to develop their gardens and water bottle filling stations were added to reduce waste and highlight how an individual’s actions can make an impact on the environment.

- 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.

• The Board continued to respond to the pandemic by working closely with the Ministry of Education, Public Health Ontario and Thunder Bay District Health Unit. Staff and students continued to receive masks and rapid antigen tests throughout the school year.

• Thunder Bay Catholic continued to invest in top quality disinfectant, hand sanitizer and cleaning products. Our custodial group continued to go above and beyond ensuring spaces were safe and clean. Additional portable HEPA filtration units were deployed throughout our Board.

- Pandemic Committee -

The Pandemic Committee was called into effect in March, 2020. The objective of the Pandemic Committee was to ensure clear communication, preparedness, effective problem-solving and to support learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Committee continued to meet on a monthly basis throughout the school year in order to ensure all pandemic response measures were in place.

- Ensuring Board Governance and a Balanced Budget -

We continually implement and verify that we are in compliance with new Ministry directives and legislation.

• Together, our Board supports the work of our Trustees in the development and review of policies and procedural by-laws and through professional development sessions.

• Together, with Senior Team, we implement the recommendations of the Operational Review, the internal and external audit committees, and Risk Management feedback in a timely manner.

- Special Education -

An area of great attention and focus this year has been on the OHRC Right to Read Inquiry and its recommendations.

• As we follow it closely we have begun the process of developing a 3-year early identification and intervention plan that was initiated in the 2021-22 school year.

• The Special Education 3 yr Plan includes the following priorities: Tiered Early Intervention including Structured Literacy and Math Interventions, Consistency in the monitoring and accountability of IEP development and implementation and the IPRC process and, implementation of Essential Skills programming at senior elementary and second-level within special education programs.

The following actions were also initiated in the 2021-2022 school year:

• The Primary Heggerty Phonological Awareness Program was introduced and all grade 1 teachers were trained in the program. The program was also purchased and distributed to the Grade 2 teachers for those who wanted a head start on the training planned for this school year.

• Special Education Teachers were provided with the Bridge the Gap Program, a reading intervention program for students grade 3 to 12.

• We began the implementation of the Developmental Disabilities Pilot, Project Search, by securing our host business, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and community partner, Community Living Thunder Bay. The first cohort of students were identified, staffing complement established and program specific staff training was started. This program will be delivered on site in a classroom at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. It will offer a fully immersive learning and work opportunity for students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Wrap around supports will be in place to support the transition into the world of work upon program completion.

- Intake and Assessment, Early Years -

Several methods of assessment are used in the early years, identifying next steps, further assessment, specialized intervention or ongoing monitoring.

• Ages and Stages Screening Tool, Sounds Skills Screener, Brigance screens and the updated, revised Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT- III), are some of the tools used to help identify academic strengths and weaknesses of a student. These screening tools help to make decisions regarding eligibility for educational services.

• A practice started during school closures, and carried over into this year, our Special Education teachers contacted each newly registered family and completed a condensed version of the ASQ to ensure that we were prepared to meet the needs of our incoming students.

- Students with Autism -

Due to the transition of the Ontario Autism Program to new programs that had not yet been implemented, specifically the Early Entry Program and Core Services, we had a select number of students whose high needs were met by the Board contracting ABA services from several local agencies. Qualified ABA therapists developed plans and provided direct services within our school settings.

This year our Board was funded by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Children and Youth Services, to support the Ontario Autism Program. Much of the funding was used to support the training and professional development of staff, as well as the transitions of students from school to school. The funds also supported a Board Autism Consultant position and a School Based Behaviour Lead whom we contracted from a partner agency. This Lead was able to work with students with challenging behaviours, mentor Board staff, and work directly with families to support in the home.