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Provincial and Demonstration Schools in Ontario

 

Purpose of the Standard

To provide the public with information about the Provincial and Demonstration Schools that are operated for students who are deaf, blind and deaf-blind, or who have severe learning disabilities, which may include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Requirement of the Standard

The school board's special education plan must include the following:

  • Information on programs and services offered by Provincial and Demonstration Schools that is provided by the ministry in Appendix E to this document
  • Current statistics, by program, on the number of students who are qualified to be resident students in the board who are currently attending Provincial and Demonstration Schools
  • Information about how transportation is provided for students to and from Provincial and Demonstration Schools, including transportation of an assistant, if necessary.

 

PROVINCIAL AND DEMONSTRATION SCHOOLS

Provincial Schools and provincial Demonstration Schools:

  • Are operated by the Ministry of Education;
  • Provide education for students who are deaf or blind, deaf-blind or who have severe learning disabilities;
  • Provide an alternative education option;
  • Serve as regional resource centres for students who are deaf, blind, or deaf-blind;
  • Provide preschool visiting services for students who are deaf or deaf-blind;
  • Develop and provide learning materials and media for students who are deaf, blind, or deaf-blind;
  • Play a valuable role in teacher training

A. W. Ross Macdonald School: School for the Blind and Deaf-Blind

W. Ross Macdonald School is located in Brantford and provides education for students who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind. The school provides:

  • A provincial resource centre for the visually impaired and deaf-blind
  • Support to local school boards through consultation and the provision of special learning materials, such as Braille materials, audiotapes, and large-print textbooks
  • Professional services and guidance to ministries of education on an interprovincial, cooperative basis

Programs are tailored to the needs of the individual student and:

  • Are designed to help these students learn to live independently in a non-sheltered environment
  • Are delivered by specially trained teachers
  • Follow the Ontario curriculum developed for all students in the province
  • Offer a full range of courses at the secondary level
  • Offer courses in special subject areas such as music, broad-based technology, family studies, physical education and mobility training
  • Are individualized, to offer a comprehensive "life skills" program
  • Provide through home visiting for parents and families of preschool deaf-blind children to assist in preparing these children for future education

B. Programs for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

The following Provincial Schools offer services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students:

  • Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville (serving eastern Ontario)
  • Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf in Milton (serving central and northern Ontario
  • Robarts School for the Deaf in London (serving western Ontario)
  • Centre Jules-Léger in Ottawa (serving francophone students and families throughout Ontario)

Admittance to a Provincial School is determined by the Provincial Schools Admission Committee in accordance with the requirements set out in Regulation 296.

These schools provide elementary and secondary school programs for deaf students from preschool level to high school graduation. The curriculum follows the Ontario Curriculum and parallels courses and programs provided in school boards. Each student has his or her special needs met as set out in his or her Individual Education Plan (IEP). Schools for the deaf:

  • Provide rich and supportive bilingual/bicultural educational environments which facilitate students' language acquisition, learning, and social development through American Sign Language (ASL) and English
  • Operate primarily as day schools
  • Provide residential facilities five days per week for those students who do not live within reasonable commuting distance from the school

Transportation to Provincial Schools for students is provided by school boards.

Each school has a Resource Services Department which provides:

  • Consultation and educational advice to parents of deaf and hard-of hearing children and school board personnel
  • Information brochures
  • A wide variety of workshops for parents, school boards and other agencies
  • An extensive home-visiting program delivered to parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing preschool children by teachers trained in preschool and deaf education

C. Provincial Demonstration Schools for Students with Learning Disabilities

Each provincial Demonstration School has an enrolment of forty students. The language of instruction at the Amethest, Saganaska, and Trillium School is English, at Centre Jules-Leger, instruction is in French.

Application for the admission to the provincial Demonstration School is made on behalf of students by the school board, with parental consent. The Provincial Committee on Learning Disabilities (PCLD) determines whether student is eligible for admission.

Although the primary responsible to provide appropriate educational programs for students with learning disabilities remains with school boards, the ministry recognizes that some students require a residential school setting for a period of time.

The Demonstration Schools were established to:

  • Provide special residential education programs for students between the ages of 5 and 21 years.
  • Enhance the development of each student's academic and social skills
  • Develop the abilities of the students enrolled to a level that will enable them to return to programs operated by a local school board within two years.

In addition to providing residential schooling for students with severe learning disabilities, the provincial Demonstration Schools have special programs for students with severe learning disabilities in association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD). These are highly intensive, one –year programs.

The Trillium School also operates Learning for Emotional and Academic Development (LEAD), a special program for students with severe learning disabilities who require an additional level of social/emotional support.

Further information about the academic, residential, LEAD and LD/ADHD programs is available from the Demonstration Schools through the Special Needs Opportunity Window (SNOW) website at http://snow.utoronto.ca

An in-service teacher education program is provided at each Demonstration School. This program is designed to share methodologies and materials with teachers of Ontario school boards. Information about the programs should be obtained from the schools themselves.

Provincial Schools Contacts
Teachers may obtain additional information from the Resource Services department of the Provincial Schools and groups listed below:

Provincial Schools Branch.
Ministry of Education 
Provincial Schools Branch
255 Ontario Street South,
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2M5
Tel: (905) 878-2851
Fax: (905) 878-5405
 
Schools for the Deaf 
The Ernest C. Drury School
for the Deaf
255 Ontario Street South,
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2M5
Tel:  (905) 878-2851
Fax:  (905) 878-1354
         
         
The Robarts School for the Deaf
1090 Highbury Avenue,
London, Ontario
N5Y 4B9
Tel:  (519) 453-4400
Fax: (519) 453-7943
         
         
The Sir James Whitney School 
for the Deaf,
350 Dundas Street West,
Belleville, Ontario
K8P 1B2
Tel:  (613) 967-2823
Fax: (613) 967-2857
School for the Blind and Deaf-Blind 
W. Ross Macdonald School
350 Brant Avenue,
Brantford, Ontario
N3T 3J9
Tel:  (519) 759-0730
Fax:  (519) 759-4741
School for the Deaf, Blind and Deaf-Blind 
Centre Jules Léger
281 rue Lanark
Ottawa, Ontario
Tel:  (613) 761-9300
Fax: (613) 761-9301
Provincial Demonstration Schools 
The Ministry of Education provides the 
services of four provincial 
Demonstration Schools for Ontario 
children with severe learning disabilities.
         
These schools are the following:
         
Amethyst School
1090 Highbury Avenue,
London, Ontario
N5Y 4V9
Tel:  (519) 453-4408
Fax:  (519) 453-2160
         
         
Centre Jules-Léger,
281 rue Lanark
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Z 6R8
Tel:  (613) 761-9300
Fax: (613) 761-9302 and 761-9304
         
         
Sagonaska School
350 Dundas Street West,
Belleville, Ontario
K8P 1B2
Tel:  (613) 967-2830
Fax:  (613) 967-2482
         
         
Trillium School
347 Ontario Street South
Milton, Ontario
L9T 3X9
Tel:  (905) 878-8428
Fax: (905) 878-7540

 


D. Current Statistics of Enrollment and Transportation to the Provincial Schools and Demonstration Schools.

For the 2004-2005 year the following students are enrolled and transported to the Provincial Schools and Demonstration Schools:

School
Number of Students
Mode and Frequency of Transportation
Robarts
5

4 daily by bus
1 weekly by bus
W. Ross Macdonald
1
Weekly by bus
Ameythest
3

Weekly by bus
E. C. Drury
2
Weekly by bus