New mobile unit set to help refugees in Winnipeg School Division
3 staff members in unit will travel to different schools to help
Winnipeg's largest school division says it is ready for an influx of more Syrian refugee children.
So far, the division has 80 new students and is expecting that volume to increase in the coming weeks. Just how many are coming will depend on where the families find housing.
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"Welcome Place and N.E.E.D.S ( Newcomers Employment and Education Development Services) are at full capacity plus and looking for housing. We believe a high percentage of these children will be coming to WSD. When they do, we are ready to go," said Rob Riel, the director of Aboriginal education and newcomer services for WSD.
New mobile unit to help
Riel said more students means hiring more staff. A new mobile unit made up of three teachers and clinical support staff such as a psychologist, social worker, reading specialist and speech pathologist will be on hand to help. The unit will go to a school where there is an influx of several students.
"Let's say two families come in to the same school with 10 children. If we have 10 coming in one one day spread out among the grades, the mobile unit will come in and start planning with some of the teachers," said Riel, adding "members of the mobile team would go to the school and support one teacher and stay for a little bit and the team would then move on to another location."
In addition to hiring more staff once the funding comes through, Riel said WSD is also prepared to open up more classrooms. He said the biggest challenge is finding a good space for students to learn and having them seamlessly integrated into the classroom. He's pleased with how the refugee children have transitioned into the school system.
"We are excited and ready for a whole bunch of new students we can learn from and they can learn from us. It will be very exciting. It's gone very well so far. We are looking forward to meeting new people and having them be part of our community," he said.