Mental Health in Schools
As with previous school years, the Mentally Healthy Return to School Action Plan was developed and utilized for the 2021–2022 school year. The action plan focused on four key priorities supporting student mental health and well-being. Those priorities included the following:
- Create a mentally healthy return to school for all students, including their re-engagement in the classroom, by continuing to create safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environments. Create a sense of belonging and a mentally healthy return to school following remote learning. Mobilize focused support for those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
- Identify and address emerging and escalating student mental health problems. Use tiers to support student mental health, ensuring students are connected to additional mental health services when required.
- Ensure elementary and secondary educators, school support staff, and mental health champions feel equipped to intentionally and explicitly support student mental health in the classroom by implementing School Mental Health Ontario resources.
- Give students and parents/caregivers access to resources that support student mental health throughout the school year and the global pandemic.
The wellness of our students is a priority. Educators continue to be encouraged and supported to use proactive, evidence-based mental health strategies from School Mental Health Ontario, as well as restorative practices. In addition, various mental health promotion initiatives occurred throughout the school year, such as activities run by our Jack Chapters, the Be Kind Challenge, Chatterhigh Modules, and the Be Well Passport, done in partnership with Evolution Mine, Kenora Catholic, Northwest Catholic, and Rainy River District School Boards.
The KPDSB mental health team expanded during the 2022–2023 school year, increasing from five student counsellors to seven. Two additional student counsellor positions were allocated to the Kenora and Dryden areas. In addition, the board continues to partner with FIREFLY for access to in-school FIREFLY counsellors for Sioux North High School, Dryden High School, and Ignace School. Partnerships with multiple community partners continue to ensure additional mental health services are available in schools. Implementing the Protocol for External Community Partners providing mental health services within our schools, face-to-face and virtually, continues as a priority.
Summer mental health services for students were provided during the summer of 2022. Services included direct service to students, wellness check-ins, development of help-seeking presentations and poster series, attendance policy review, and the development of a memorandum of understanding between KPDSB and Choose Life for mental health services for Pickle Lake students for the 2022–2023 school year.
The board has continued to use the tiered system for supporting student mental health and well-being. The multi-tiered system helps to ensure universal support: “good for all” services are provided in tier 1 as prevention, “necessary for some” in tier 2 as early intervention, and “essential for a few” in tier 3 as clinical intervention.
Special Education
One of the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board’s goals regarding special education support services is to provide appropriate resources and program support to all teachers so that as many students with special education needs as possible remain in regular classes for program delivery. As part of this support and resources for teachers, professional development opportunities were provided to special education resource teachers and classroom teachers in the junior grades that taught and promoted inclusion practices.
Over 100 education assistants participated in professional development through the Ontario Disability Employment Network to learn how to develop skills in students with special education needs for successful employment early and throughout their education. Also, the author of Can’t Read, Can’t Write, and Here’s My Book, Michael Jacques, a compassionate adult with autism and an intellectual disability, spoke to education assistants and students at an elementary school on ways to promote inclusion, independence, and to build a sense of belonging in the classroom and on the playground.
Two high schools had staff trained in the JobPath program through the Ontario Disability Employment Network to incorporate the program into their high schools. JobPath is an employment discovery program that helps students learn about themselves, and to build the skills for employment through field trips and working with community partners.
KPDSB partnered with George Jeffries Children’s Centre again this year to offer social skills programming for students with autism-spectrum disorders. Thirty-seven students participated in these programs, focusing on school readiness skills and social skills development. Support staff also participated in these programs to help support the transfering of skills throughout the school day in different environments. Workshops for parents and caregivers were also offered.
KPDSB Applied Behaviour Analysis Leads participated in weekly non-identifying consultations and monthly professional development with a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst in partnership with four other school boards throughout the school year. These consultations provided additional support in programming to staff and students. Non-identifying consultations were also provided to school teams, enhancing programming skills for students with autism spectrum disorders.
Central special education staff, as well as central curriculum staff, visited the Trillium Provincial Demonstration school in London to learn about specific programs to support students with learning disabilities. In September, six reading intervention teachers and thirteen special education resource teachers were trained in the Empower program. The Empower program is a reading intervention program that teaches students skills in decoding and spelling in a sequential way.
Over the past year, we have carefully looked at our special education procedures to ensure that they support the inclusion and accessibility of pathways. Training opportunities have helped staff understand inclusion practices and how to embed them in the classroom, and staff have been trained in intervention programs to help students build the skills for independence.
KPDSB Wellness Committee
We were pleased to launch the KPDSB Wellness Committee in the 2021–2022 school year.
The committee is “by employees, for employees” with support from Human Resources and Senior Administration. The committee’s goal is to promote the overall wellness of employees by encouraging healthy personal lifestyle choices, safe practices, and healthy and fun activities both while at work and during leisure time.
In honour of Pink Shirt Day 2022, the KPDSB Wellness Committee issued a Random Acts of Kindness Challenge to our schools and communities. The challenge was the first initiative of the KPDSB Wellness Committee. The kindness challenge encouraged students, staff, families, and community members to participate by doing something nice for someone and sharing their random act of kindness or thanking someone for their act on social media using the hashtag #KindnessatKP. Staff could also purchase KPDSB Be Kind shirts.
The committee also organized the first KPDSB Spring Trek, encouraging staff to “Be Active.” Staff entered their names into a Google form once they completed their 5K walk/run/bike for a chance to win a prize.
Keewatin Public School Capital Renovation
The HVAC and accessibility renovations at Keewatin PS continued to progress in 2022, and we look forward to substantial project completion by the end of the 2022–2023 school year.
The following are the completed interior renovations throughout the school:
- All classrooms are fully operational and substantially completed.
- The library was relocated from the stage area of the gymnasium and is operational.
- The gymnasium is now fully usable.
- Student and staff washrooms are fully operational.
Completed exterior work:
- All portables have been removed from the site.
- Landscaping in front of the school is complete.
HVAC Renovations:
- The new rooftop HVAC unit has been installed, but the final connection/operation will not occur until the heating plant is fully operational in the basement.
- The old rooftop unit will continue to provide ventilation and heating to the building until the new HVAC systems are fully operational.
Accessibility Upgrades:
- Construction on the new three-stop elevator addition has been advancing nicely. Masonry for the elevator shaft has progressed up to the top of the first floor.
- Upgraded building ramps and stairs have been completed on the north end of the school.
- Washrooms are now barrier-free throughout the school.
Safe School Device Upgrades:
Device and infrastructure upgrades are installed but not yet operational, including:
- CCTV cameras
- Fire alarm
- Intrusion alarm
