Diverse Learning Needs

Diverse Learning Needs Behaviour Mental Health and Wellness

Behaviour Mental Health and Wellness

The Calgary Board of Education provides a continuum of supports and services for students with diverse learning needs. The student receives individualized support to address these needs. Some, but not all, of these learner needs may be addressed in the student’s Individual Program Plan (IPP). In keeping with the individual abilities and unique learning needs, a specialized team supports students and assist with program planning.

If a student requires support and services beyond the community school, a referral for consideration of placement begins with the principal of the community school and the school learning team. Consideration for placement is a collaborative process among parents, teachers, strategists, specialists, and others. For students who require more comprehensive support short-term and long-term classes as well as intensive treatment-based classes and schools are accessed.

Program Descriptions

​Bridges

The Bridges class supports students in grades 1-12 who present with complex and severe mental health challenges and overt, dysregulated behaviours significantly impacting their academic engagement and well-being in traditional educational settings. Externalizing behaviour rarely exists in isolation but often reflects underdeveloped regulation skills due to various mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, or diagnoses like autism spectrum disorder. Foundationally specialized instruction in Bridges emphasizes establish safety and building positive relationships.

Programming focuses on building academic, social, and emotional competencies for individual students. Programming also provides students with a continuum of supports and services to help them achieve learning and well-being goals. Specialized instruction emphasizes establishing safety, building relationships, problem-solving strategies, regulation skills and mental health literacy through personalized curriculum design. Instructional accommodations and modifications are implemented based on the individual strengths and needs of each student.

The Class​

The Class supports students in grades 4-12 who present with complex and severe mental health challenges and internalized, dysregulated behaviours significantly impacting their academic engagement and well-being in traditional educational settings. Foundationally specialized instruction in The Class emphasizes establish self-awareness, management and regulation, peer, and social relationship skills, as well as making responsible decisions.

Programming focus on building both social-emotional and academic competencies through the utilization of a continuum of support and services. Social-Emotional Learning instruction is aligned with CASEL’s competencies as identified within the CBE’s Well-Being Framework. Instructional accommodations and modifications in core content areas are data driven and implemented based on individual learner strengths and needs.

Reaching Independence through Support and Education

Reaching Independence through Support and Education (RISE) supports students in grades 6-12 who have significant complex internalizing mental health disorders which severely impair functioning. RISE students need significant support to achieve in a school setting. The goal of the program is to build on strengths as well as identify and address barriers to mental wellness, school engagement and academic success. Academic programming is personalized based on individual student needs and readiness.

Unique Settings

Children’s Village School

Children’s Village School (CVS) supports students from grades 1-6. CVS uses a strength-based and trauma-informed framework to help create long-term positive change for students. Within a smaller class size, the focus of programming is to build academic, social, and emotional competencies by providing a continuum of supports and services. Specialized instruction emphasizes establishing emotional safety, developing healthy social and interpersonal relationships, self-regulation, problem-solving strategies, and mental health literacy through a personalized curriculum design. Modifications and instructional accommodations are personalized and implemented based on the individual strengths and needs of each student.

William Taylor Learning Centre (Wood’s Homes)

William Taylor Learning Centre (WTLC) supports students in grades 7 - 10, with offsite satellite classes for junior and senior high school students. WTLC provides a supportive, strength-based, trauma-sensitive, therapeutic environment to help students achieve optimal success through establishing safety, building healthy relationships, teaching self-regulation strategies, problem solving strategies, social skills development and fostering the conditions for academic engagement and success. Curriculum and instructional accommodations are personalized based on the individual strengths and needs of each student. The CBE provides instructional programming to support the learning needs of students while Wood’s Homes provides clinical and behavioural supports.

William Roper Hull School

William Roper Hull School (WRHS) supports students in Grades 1 – 12, with three offsite satellite classes for elementary, junior high, and high school students who have shown successful engagement in WRHS programming. WRHS is a trauma-sensitive environment that offers intense supports and services for students who are exhibiting complex and severe mental health challenges and lack of self-regulation skills at school, in the community, and at home. The difficulties create significant barriers to learning beyond those which can be supported through less intense behavioural programming. 

The goal at WRHS is to teach strategies that lead to readiness for learning. The program uses a strength-based, trauma-informed framework to promote the development of new strengths and skills to create long-term positive changes. Curriculum modifications and instructional accommodations are personalized based on the individual needs of each student. WRHS also provides support for students transitioning back to community schools and/or other specialized classes.​

 
Last modified: 3/9/2024 11:46 AM
Website feedback: Webmaster
^