A webinar held in November highlighted the work of the MHPSD's Alternative Learning Team. Four members were present for the webinar including Cody Edwards, Carla Carrier, Rachel Lesko and Jennifer Hay. Pictured here are team members, from left, Hay, Lesko, Terri Tabor, Carle Czember and Tara Krasko.--SCREENSHOT
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Members of the Medicine Hat Public School Division’s Alternative Learning Team recently provided a presentation to the College of Alberta School Superintendents on strategies for de-escalation and intervention.
The ALT started during the 2017-18 school year, and its members provide targeted and responsive support for students with complex behavioural, emotional and communication needs.
The team began its work focusing on a need for more support at the elementary school level, and has since expanded to offer students division-wide a space for reflection, cognition and a trusting support system that will continue to work with them throughout their educational journey.
The presentation was provided to CASS last November during an online webinar focused on evidence-based strategies for de-escalation and intervention, and was the second in a three-part series called “Proactive Strategies for Managing Aggressive Student Behaviour: Supporting Alberta System Education Leaders in Building Safe, Caring and Inclusive Environments.”
On Thursday the school division shared the hour-long webinar that demonstrates the team’s impact thus far, highlighting its increasing referrals, school involvement and evidence-informed practices that strengthen individualized programming for students.
The three-part workshop is designed for education leaders and shared evidence-based strategies to support safe, dignified responses to aggressive behaviour from students.
Carla Carrier, director of learning and partnerships with MHPSD, says its team is refining how support systems collaborate to address specific students’ needs.
Carrier says when the team receives a referral for a student they hold a meeting to identify individual goals.
“We need to make sure that through that whole time there’s an established pathway to reflecting, debriefing, in order to make sure we continue to provide programming and support along the continued supports. And the collaborative response model has definitely been a powerful framework in order to help us accomplish that work.”
Carrier says collaboration also displays how multidisciplinary expertise can help build staff capacity across schools.
She says the team has increased communication and planning between instructional coaches and teachers of students.
“That’s been an important realization, that integration of thinking about the whole program for a student, not just what social emotional needs need to be addressed when the alternative team is there,” said Carrier. “But what instructional programming supports; differentiated instruction can also be part of the whole plan.
Division data reports the team handles 33 referrals a year and includes a total of 90 staff members working across 14 different schools.
A link to the webinar has been shared on the school division’s website.
