Torch - Fall 2012

FEATURE STORY

By Student Success By Young Um

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.”

FALL 2012 THE TORCH 17