QiLu Sino-Canadian International School
ALBERTA ACCREDITED SCHOOL (QINGDAO)
齐鲁中加国际学校 阿尔伯塔省海外认证学校(青岛)
QiLu Sino-Canadian International School
ALBERTA ACCREDITED SCHOOL (QINGDAO)
齐鲁中加国际学校 阿尔伯塔省海外认证学校(青岛)
1. Introduction
Inclusive education is a commitment to ensuring a high-quality, culturally and linguistically responsive and equitable education to support the well-being and achievement of every student. All students should feel that they belong in an inclusive school so they can best learn and succeed.
Successful inclusive education requires
• safe, caring schools that welcome parents/guardians, families, and include the broader community as key partners in education. Parents/guardians are particularly important in identifying the strengths, interests, and challenges of their children and in working with teachers and others in the school to determine the best way to support all students.
• teaching and supports, based on evidence, that promote students’ physical, social-emotional, and behavioural well-being and achievement.
• promoting the independence of every student and developing their resilience as they progress through school.
• a focus on equity by supporting success for students who are marginalized and racialized or who come from other groups that have been traditionally under-represented and under-served.
• stimulating and accessible learning opportunities to keep every student engaged, challenged, and inspired.
• ensuring that every student sees themselves reflected throughout their school, learning resources, and within their learning experiences.
• everyone working together to support students’ strengths and help address their challenges in a culturally and linguistically responsive, accepting, respectful, and supportive manner that honours all students’ cultural identities and values their experiences and world views.
2. Policy Objective
The Inclusive Education Policy objective is to ensure every student has access to an equitable and high-quality education that is culturally and linguistically responsive, accepting, and respectful in supporting and valuing their learning and diverse abilities. To meet this objective, the policy provides clear, consistent direction with respect to inclusive education and equitable practices. This policy will be supported by policies, guidelines, and procedures to assist in its implementation. The Inclusive Education Policy provides a framework which will apply to all other policies, procedures, strategies, and initiatives.
3. Guiding Principles
The guiding principles provide an overview of what education will look like when inclusive education practices are working well in classrooms. They describe what all partners in education will achieve.
3.1 Every student can learn with enough time, practice and equitable and responsive teaching.
3.2 Inclusive education values, draws upon, and includes student voices and choices to assist students in achieving their goals.
3.3 Every student deserves to belong (affirmed, validated, and nurtured), be safe, and feel welcomed in all aspects of their daily experience.
3.4 Inclusive education is a commitment to honour and respect each student’s cultural and linguistic identities and knowledge systems.
3.5 Inclusive education practices use evidence of students’ strengths and challenges to determine a system of supports and monitor the effectiveness of those supports.
3.6 All partners are committed and empowered to work collectively to identify and eliminate barriers that interfere with students’ well-being and achievement.
4. Directives
4.1 Classroom teachers are responsible for teaching all students. Teaching and interventions are expected to happen most often in a common learning environment, such as the classroom. Classroom teachers cannot do this alone.
4.2 Teaching assistants are experienced and skilled teachers who provide direct, collaborative support to classroom teachers and students. Teaching assistantes support classroom teachers by developing and implementing strategies to promote students’ well-being and achievement. They may also work directly with individual or small groups of students.
4.3 Support plans are flexible in terms of how and where programing and supports are delivered to best support well-being and achievement.
4.4 Teaching practices, including culturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices, are foundational and necessary to support students, and therefore, will be implemented in every classroom.
4.5 Every employee will be accountable for adherence to the principles of inclusive education.
5. Roles and Responsibilities
The following roles and responsibilities provide specific direction to stakeholders.
Students:
• attend school and actively engage in their learning.
• actively participate by communicating their preferred ways of learning, strengths, challenges, and interests.
• actively work with teachers and other staff to communicate when they need help or support(s), or if there are barriers to their learning.
• promote student voice and choice by actively taking part in decisions with respect to their own learning and act as leaders within the school community.
• take part in planning, when appropriate.
Parents/Guardians and Families
• engage in and support their child’s learning.
• support their child in attending school.
• maintain ongoing, regular contact with teachers about their child’s well-being, including their strengths, challenges, and interests.
• will let the school staff know how they would like to be included in the discussion around their child’s well-being and achievement.
• work with the teacher and the principal to seek clarification and collaborate on solutions when questions arise with respect to their child’s education and to identify and eliminate barriers to their child’s learning.
• promote and value student voice and choice and providing opportunities for them to speak to their strengths and challenges.
• act as active members of their child’s planning team.
Non-teaching Staff
• build meaningful relationships with students, parents/guardians, families, and other members of the school community to collectively support students’ well-being and achievement.
• support the well-being and achievement of every student.
• act collectively to name, eliminate, and prevent systemic inequities and barriers within the classroom, schools, region, and system.
• create and support positive, accessible, and equitable learning environments where students feel welcome, safe, and can access and reach their academic potential.
• use evidence-informed strategies, resources, and/or collaborative practices that provide culturally and linguistically responsive and engaging instruction and support for students.
• recognize the variability of learning needs, social-emotional needs, and cultural backgrounds of the entire student population and the school community.
• recognize the strengths that greater diversity brings to every aspect of education.
• work to understand and support the individual abilities, identities, and unique strengths and challenges of every student.
• monitor student progress frequently and provide timely interventions as required.
• ensure decisions are made and resources are allocated, aligned with this policy.
Teachers:
• value student voice and choice and provide opportunities for them to speak to their strengths, challenges, and preferred ways of learning.
• work with parents/guardians to help them feel welcome in the school community and to empower them as essential decision-makers regarding programming and/or supports for their child.
• work with parents/guardians to understand their preferred ways of working with teachers, principals, and other staff, and make efforts to accommodate it.
• promote students’ well-being and achievement in collaboration with other staff.
• work collectively with school-based staff to deliver instruction and interventions to their students.
• are accountable for adherence to the principles of inclusive education.
• adhere to the principles of the teaching standards.
• communicate regularly with students, parents/guardians, and other teachers and school staff with respect to student progress.
• assess and evaluate the effectiveness of their instructional strategies.
Teaching Assistants
• value student voice and choice and provide opportunities for them to speak to their strengths, challenges, and preferred ways of learning.
• work with parents/guardians to help them feel welcome in the school community and to empower them as essential decisionmakers regarding programming and/or supports for their child.
• work with parents/guardians to understand their preferred ways of working with teachers, principals, and other staff, and to accommodate it, as much as possible.
• provide direct support to classroom teachers to meet the identified needs of their students.
• promote students’ well-being and achievement by developing and implementing strategies with teachers and other staff.
• provide specific interventions and support(s), primarily in classrooms or common learning environments, to individual students or small groups of students who may require additional supplemental and intensive interventions.
• work collectively with school-based staff, as appropriate, to support teachers in the delivery of instruction, assessment, and interventions to students.
• maintain regular communication with students, parents/guardians, and other teachers and school staff with respect to students’ progress.
• are accountable for adherence to the principles of inclusive education.
• assess and evaluate the effectiveness of their practices.
School Administrators
• value student voice, choice and provide opportunities for them to speak to their strengths, challenges, and preferred ways of learning.
• work with parents/guardians to help them feel welcome in the school community and to empower them as essential decision-makers regarding programming and/or supports for their child.
• work with parents/guardians to understand their preferred ways of working with teachers, principals, and other staff, and to accommodate it, as much as possible.
• work with teachers to support effective instructional strategies as evidenced by student growth socially, emotionally, and academically.
• ensure that teachers are following appropriate processes, as described in this policy.
• ensure teachers and school staff have access to information and opportunities for professional learning that aligns with teachers’ assessments of students’ learning strengths and challenges.
• lead the student success planning process to gather data and set goals to improve student well-being and achievement.
• establish and lead teaching support.
• are accountable for adherence to the principles of inclusive education.
• communicate this policy to students, staff, parents/guardians, and families.
• monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy in their school.
Updated 2020 (Adapted from the 2020 Nova Scotia Inclusive Education Policy)