Lack of special needs education resources means 'serious stress,' says panel's report

A status report on the state of public education in Newfoundland and Labrador says there is a serious strain, on both families and the education system.

The panel that conducted a study into the education system released its findings at 10:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John's.

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Supports for children with challenging needs, autism and learning disabilities, as well as issues with early learning, multi-grading, wellness and physical health were all topics for the recommendations.

The report had a total of 32 recommendations and can be read in full online.

Special needs

"It was evident the education system is under serious stress due to a lack of personnel needed to deal with the special needs of students," the report stated in its summary.

The report added in many cases, the solution seems to be "a matter of better applying or modifying existing formulas for allocations, while in some cases there is a shortage of programming availability."

"For every family and school affected, the need is immediate; for the education system it is urgent, and we may be at a tipping point should these needs not be addressed," it stated.

Autism

The report said feedback during consultations suggest a "dire need" to have resources available for students with autism.

"Some schools are ready while others are not; some teachers are ready but others are not," the report said.

Recommendations include a need for training resources for parents of children with autism, province-wide professional development and co-operation with social workers.

It suggests looking to other provinces to include occupational therapists as employees in schools.

Contentious 'no zero' policy

One topic in particular — the "no zero" policy — seemed to be a popular point of contention, the report suggests.

"One parent complained, 'The evaluation policy is not helping my children prepare for the real world! Our children do not know how to accept failure because they do not experience failure in the school system.'"

The report recommends the Department of Education clarify this policy and, if necessary, revise the overall assessment policy.

Math programs

In addition, the report states the subject of math seemed to be "problematic" for a lot of people who took part in the feedback process.

The report said other parents seemed pleased with the changed program, but said there was a lack of support for parents and teachers to make the transition with the children.

The panel recommends coming up with a strategy for parents so they can help their children with math homework, as well as research the performance of high school graduates once they enter post-secondary.

'Educational deficit' to not implementing recommendations

The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association (NLTA), Memorial University's Faculty of Education and the Federation of School Councils were involved in the process.

The panel is made up of NLTA President James Dinn, MUN's Dean of Education Kirk Anderson, and Denise Pike, the former head of the Federation of School Councils.

Over a six-week period from October to November, the panel visited 12 communities and held sessions with around 300 people to come up with its findings. More than 400 submissions we also put forward online, around 80% of them came from teachers.

Analysis of the report was also done by Bruce Sheppard, a professor of education at MUN.

Dinn said the costs of implementing the recommendations were not calculated, but all panel members agreed the education system needs more resources.

The report comes at a time that government is looking to cut money as it reigns in large deficits.

"You're talking about a fiscal reality," said Dinn. 

"Well, there's an educational reality, an educational deficit that's costing students right now, that will have an implication for the future, whether it's in the relationships we have, whether it's in the ability for students to success in life and their relationships to earn a living," he said.