Special Education

Welcome to the GWW Student Services Department

Who do we support?

Students identified as exceptional through formal IPRC (Identification, Placement & Review Committee) i.e. students with existing IEPs (all students identified through the IPRC process are automatically assigned a SERT)
Students in the process of being formally identified (e.g., through psychoeducational assessment/testing)
Students placed in one of our four (4) Partially Integrated Community Classes
Students who are not formally identified but require individualized support and/or intervention to meet their social, emotional and/or academic goals (support for non-identified students is coordinated by the Student Success branch of our Student Services team)

What kind of support do we provide?

Formally identified students are automatically assigned a Special Education Resource Teacher (SERT) responsible for updating and coordinating their Individual Education Plan (IEP). Our team of SERTs work collaboratively with other educators to provide individualized services that may include:

Resource monitoring & support
Consultation to subject teachers about implementation of accommodations
Direct instruction (e.g., for students taking a GLE Learning Strategies course)
Access to the Resource Centre in Rm. 246: an inclusive, student-centered space supported by Special Education Resource Teachers (SERTs), Child & Youth Workers (CYWs), and other educators in collaboration with the Student Success team

Other supports available through the Student Success branch of the GWW Student Services Department include:

Peer Tutoring
After-school study hall
Academic intervention supports for struggling and/or at-risk students who are not formally identified
Social-emotional and mental health support

Levels of Support and Placement Options

Regular Classroom with:

Indirect Service:

SERT consults with regular classroom teacher and monitors student progress, offering support and resources as needed.

Resource Assistance:

SERT monitors student progress and provides in-class resourcing and / or support in the Resource Centre as needed and / or on a weekly basis.

Withdrawal Assistance:

Students receive daily withdrawal support in a credit-bearing GLE Learning Strategies class taught by a SERT, and receive Resource Assistance monitoring during the non-GLE semester.

Community Class:

Partially Integrated:

Students receive more than 50% of their program in a non-credit bearing Community Class placement.

1.0 Credit GLE Learning Strategies Course

Open level course taught by a Special Education Resource Teacher (SERT)
Available as an elective for students with an IPRC placement of Withdrawal Assistance (or by special request)
Maximum 16 students per class
Available for Grades 9-12 (maximum of 4 credits, 1 per grade)

Goals of the course:

students will learn techniques and strategies for achieving success in all of their courses by understanding their strengths and needs, as well as what accommodations they need to be successful
strong focus on the development of executive functioning skills, organizational abilities, self-advocacy and other essential learning skills

Partially Integrated Community Classes at GWW

Students may be referred to one of our four Community Class programs through a centralized IPRC process. These specialized classes offer highly individualized programming to meet a range of social, emotional, academic and personal development goals.

Intensive Program - Foundational & Transitional

Previously referred to as "Jr." and "Sr.", the names of the two branches of the Intensive program have been updated to better reflect the programming focus and goals of each level.

The Foundational Intensive class focuses on building core learning, organizational and executive functioning skills as well as student self-awareness, self-regulation and social-emotional coping skills. Students may work toward building the skills and independence necessary to transition into credit-bearing classes either full or part-time, and will often continue working on their personal development goals in the Transitional program.
The Transitional Intensive class focuses on building independence as well as functional academic and life skills in order to help students work toward a successful postsecondary transition. Students in this class participate in authentic experiential learning opportunities such as community Work Experience placements and may work toward their OSSC by taking elective credit-bearing courses.

Developmental Disability (DD) Program

This non-credit program emphasizes the development of functional literacy, numeracy and personal life skills such as money management, transit training, community exploration, social skills and work experience. Students work toward individualized alternative curriculum expectations in a balanced program that focuses on building independence and working toward personalized, meaningful goals.

Autism Program

This non-credit program offers highly individualized programming and intensive support for students with a primary diagnosis of autism. Students work toward alternative curriculum expectations that focus on the development of communication and life skills, functional numeracy and literacy as well as daily living and self-regulation skills.

Resources and Helpful Links