9. PROVINCIAL AND DEMONSTRATION SCHOOLS IN ONTARIO |
Provincial Schools and Provincial Demonstration Schools:
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are operated by the Ministry of Education |
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provide education for students who are deaf or blind, or who have severe learning disabilities |
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provide an alternative education option |
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serve as regional resource centres for students who are deaf, blind, or deaf-blind |
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provide preschool home visiting services for students who are deaf or deaf-blind |
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develop and provide learning materials and media for students who are deaf, blind, or deaf-blind |
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provide school board teachers with resource services |
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play a valuable role in teacher training |
W. Ross Macdonald School: School for the Blind and Deaf-Blind
W. Ross Macdonald School is located in Brantford and provides education for students
who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.
The school provides:
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a provincial resource centre for the visually impaired and deaf-blind |
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support to local school boards through consultation and the provision of special learning materials, such as Braille materials, audio tapes and large-print text-books |
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professional services and guidance to ministries of education on an interprovincial, cooperative basis |
Programs are tailored to the needs of the individual student and:
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are designed to help these students learn to live independently in a non-sheltered environment |
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are delivered by specially trained teachers |
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follow the Ontario curriculum developed for all students in the province |
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offer a full range of courses at the secondary level |
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offer courses in special subject areas such as music, broad-based technology, family studies, physical education and mobility training |
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are individualized, to offer a comprehensive “life skills” program |
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provide through home visiting for parents and families of preschool deaf-blind children to assist in preparing these children for future education |
Provincial Schools for the Deaf
The following Provincial Schools offer services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students:
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Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville (serving eastern Ontario) |
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Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf in Milton (serving central and northern Ontario) |
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Robarts School for the Deaf in London (serving western Ontario) |
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Centre Jules-Léger in Ottawa (serving francophone students and families throughout Ontario) |
Admittance to a Provincial School is determined by the Provincial Schools Admission Committee in accordance with the requirements set out in Regulation 296.
These schools provide elementary and secondary school programs for deaf students
from preschool level to high school graduation. The curriculum follows the Ontario curriculum and parallels courses and programs provided in school boards. Each student has his or her special needs met as set out in his or her Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Schools for the Deaf
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provide rich and supportive bilingual/bicultural educational environments which facilitate students’ language acquisition, learning and social development through American Sign Language (ASL) and English |
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operate primarily as day schools |
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provide residential facilities five days per week for those students who do not live within reasonable commuting distance from the school |
Transportation to Provincial Schools for students is provided by Ottawa-Carleton District School Board as per Memorandum 2006:SB 8 dated May 29, 2006 – Review of Provincial Schools Transportation. Each school has a Resource Services Department which provides:
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consultation and educational advice to parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and school board personnel |
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information brochures |
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a wide variety of workshops for parents, school boards and other agencies |
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an extensive home-visiting program delivered to parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing preschool children by teachers trained in preschool and deaf education |
Placement Application Procedure
The opportunity to be admitted to Provincial and Demonstration schools is limited to those students who meet the eligibility criteria defined by each of the schools.
Applications for admission to a Provincial School are made in accordance with the following Ministry of Education and Training documents:
- Regional Office Memorandum 1990/91 – R.O.#28, “Application Procedures for Admission to Demonstration School”-- Ministry of Education and Training Policy/Program Memorandum No.89
- Demonstration School Program Application Checklist
- MOE Memorandum 2006:SB 8
The authority to collect this information is under Section 266(7) of the Education Act, “Pupil Records – Information for Minister of Board”.
Applications are compiled using the above documents and are forwarded twice annually to the Resource Services Consultant, Amethyst School. Applications are forwarded by November 1st and by February 1st of the same year for September 1st admissions.
The Area Resource Teacher, in consultation with school personnel, gathers documentation and the submission is compiled by Student Services staff.
Provincial School Contacts
Teachers may obtain additional information from the Resource Services departments of the Provincial Schools and the groups listed below.
Provincial Schools Branch, Ministry of Education
Provincial Schools Branch
255 Ontario Street South
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2M5
Tel.: (905) 878-2851
Fax: (905) 878-5405
Schools for the Deaf
The Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf 255 Ontario Street South Milton, Ontario L9T 2M5 Tel.: (905) 878-2851 Fax: (905) 878-1354 |
The Robarts School for the Deaf 1090 Highbury Avenue London, Ontario N5Y 4V9 Tel.: (519) 453-4400 Fax: (519) 453-7943 |
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The Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf 350 Dundas Street West Belleville, Ontario K8P lB2 Tel.: (613) 967-2823 Fax: (613)
967-2857 |
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School for the Blind and Deaf-Blind W. Ross Macdonald School 350 Brant Avenue Brantford, Ontario N3T 3J9 Tel.: (519) 759-0730 Fax: (519) 759-4741 |
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School for the Deaf, Blind and Deaf-Blind Centre Jules-Léger 281 rue Lanark Ottawa, Ontario Tel.: (613) 761-9300 Fax: (613) 761-9301 |
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Provincial Demonstration Schools
The Ministry of Education provides the services of four provincial Demonstration Schools for Ontario children with severe learning disabilities.
These schools are the following:
Amethyst School 1090 Highbury Avenue London, Ontario N5Y 4V9 Tel.: (519) 453-4408 Fax: (519)
453-2160 |
Centre Jules-Léger 281 rue Lanark Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 6R8 Tel.: (613) 761-9300 Fax: (613) 761-9301 TTY: (613) 761-9302 and 761-9304 |
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Sagonaska School 350 Dundas Street West Belleville, Ontario K8P 1B2 Tel.: (613) 967-2830 Fax:
(613) 967-2482 |
Trillium School 347 Ontario Street South Milton, Ontario L9T 3X9 Tel.: (905) 878-8428 Fax: (905) 878-7540 |
Each provincial Demonstration School has an enrolment of forty students. The language of instruction at the Amethyst, Sagonaska and Trillium schools is English; at Centre Jules-Léger instruction is in French.
Application for admission to a provincial Demonstration School is made on behalf of students by the school board, with parental consent. The Provincial Committee on Learning Disabilities (PCLD) determines whether a student is eligible for admission. Although the primary responsibility to provide appropriate educational programs for students with learning disabilities remains with school boards, the Ministry recognizes that some students require a residential school setting for a period of time.
The Demonstration Schools were established to:
• provide special residential education programs for students between the ages of 5 and 21 years• enhance the development of each student’s academic and social skills• develop the abilities of the students enrolled to a level that will enable them to return to programs operated by a local school board within two years
In addition to providing residential schooling for students with severe learning disabilities, the provincial Demonstration Schools have special programs for students with severe learning disabilities in association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD). These are highly intensive, one-year programs.
The Trillium School also operates Learning for Emotional and Academic Development (LEAD), a special program for students with severe learning disabilities who require an additional level of social/emotional support.
Further information about the academic, residential, LEAD, and LD/ADHD, programs is available from the Demonstration Schools through the Special Needs Opportunity Window (SNOW) website at http://snow.utoronto.ca. An inservice teacher education program is provided at each Demonstration School. This program is designed to share methodologies and materials with teachers of Ontario school boards. Information about the programs offered should be obtained from the schools themselves.
Bluewater District School Board
Placement Statistics 2010-2011
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SCHOOL |
# OF PLACEMENTS
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DEMONSTRATION SCHOOLS FOR STUDENTS WITH SEVERE LEARNING DISABILITIES |
Amethyst School, London |
3 |
Sagonaska School, Belleville |
0 |
Trillium School, Milton |
0 |
SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF |
Ernest C. Drury School, Milton |
3 |
Robarts School, London |
1 |
Sir James Whitney School, Belleville |
0 |
SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND DEAF-BLIND |
W. Ross Macdonald School, Brantford |
8 |
TOTAL |
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15 |
CHILDREN’S TREATMENT CENTRES
The Bluewater District School Board also accesses the services of the following Children’s Treatment Centres:
Bloorview MacMillan Children’s Centre (416) 425-6220
Bloorview Site: 25 Buchan Court Toronto, ON M2J 4S9 |
MacMillan Site: 150 Kilgour Road Toronto, ON M4G 1R8 |
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Thames Valley Children’s Centre 729 Baseline Road East London, ON N6C 5Y6 (519) 685-8680 |
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Child and Parent Research Institute (CPRI) 600 Sanatorium Road London, ON N6H 3W7 (519) 858-2774 |
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Special Education