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FALL 2012
THE TORCH
17
A
s articulated in the school’s current strategic plan,
“A Culture of Capability,” teaching and learning
efforts at Havergal College have, over the past
four years, focused on the Whole Girl to ensure that each
student reaches her individual learning potential. Faculty
and staff have worked collectively to develop programs
and opportunities to enrich learning for all students and
to ensure that each girl is known and supported for who
she is.
Five school-wide committees were established to support
a culture of capability that mentors, monitors and
honours students. One of these committees developed the
document
Learning at Havergal College
, which outlines
how to support all learners. As part of the strategic
direction, Carrie Steele was hired as the school’s Learning
Support Specialist in September 2011. Ms. Steele has a
Master of Education in Adaptive Instruction and Special
Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education (OISE) and received a Bachelor of Arts and
a Bachelor of Education from York University. She is
known in independent school circles for her leadership
in working with faculty to develop and implement
individualized learning plans and instructional strategies
to help all students learn more effectively.
“Every student has a distinct learning profile. It is our
responsibility as educators to understand the learning
needs of our students,” Ms. Steele says. “We work as a
team to develop and implement strategies to support
student learning and to help all of our students achieve
success.”
For students who have been identified as having a
learning disability through a psychological-educational
assessment (a formal assessment by a psychologist of a
student’s learning needs), the school provides additional
support.
“Through an assessment, the school has a better
understanding of the learning profile of an individual
student. Then, by providing the recommended
accommodation, a student is supported in her learning.
She is given a way around or over the barriers that impact
her ability to demonstrate what she has learned,” says
Lois Rowe, Vice Principal. “We need to demystify the idea
of a learning disability. Being identified with a learning
disability does not mean that a student is not capable; it
means that there is a barrier or bottleneck to her being
able to demonstrate that she is capable.”
Ms. Steele reviews psychological-educational assessments
and works closely with Guidance Counsellors, teachers,
students and parents to develop individual student
learning plans and to support the teachers, as they
support the students in the classroom. She determines
the strengths and needs of individual students and
provides them with specific skills instruction, strategies
and accommodations, which they may need in the form
of additional time, space or access to assistive technology.
She monitors and assists students, supports teachers
and communicates with parents about their daughter’s
progress.
“Carrie Steele is an expert on what it looks like when a
child hits a speed bump and how learning challenges
become apparent in a classroom setting,” says Ms. Rowe,
noting that every one of us has speed bumps. “Once
a student’s speed bump is identified, we can focus on
identifying her strengths, providing the right supports
and developing strategies—the scaffolding—so she can
get around her own speed bumps.”
By
Student Success
By Young Um
FEATURE STORY