Special Education

At Beaver Brae Intermediate, our focus is on fostering independence through a strength-based approach, shifting the narrative from what students can’t do to what they can. We strategically mobilized our dedicated adults within the school, teachers, SERTs, educational assistants and support staff to deliver highly personalized support. These adults work with students in small groups or through one-on-one mentorship to identify and cultivate their existing talent, skills, and interests. For example, a student who struggles with being in class and engaging with peers, instead of solely focusing on their struggle, we model and coach our students on how to be successful in those specific situations. Sometimes this learning happens in a more authentic learning environment, like the kitchen, the outdoors or the weight room, and then we transfer that back into the classroom. This strength-based lens allows us to improve student engagement across the board. Whether it’s in academics, self regulation, social or emotional supports, we connect challenging material to students’ passion area, and make learning relevant and achievable. We help students recognize when and where they perform their best and then building personalized coping strategies around those conditions. We highlight their strong empathy or leadership skills, then give them structured opportunities to use those strengths to build positive peer relationships. The goal is not to fix deficits, but to build competence, confidence and internal motivation. By focusing on strengths, our students are gaining the essential skills of self-awareness to become independent, successful, and engaged learners prepared not just for high school but for life. This is the power of the strength-based approach that we use here at Beaver Brae.