Community
Living-NF:
dedicated to service
By Julie Druker
Janet Barr and employee Bart Menard present Ann Howes of the Rising
Bun Bakery in Sharbot Lake with the Employer Recognition Award.
Community
Living North Frontenac, a service whose mandate is “to serve
individuals with intellectual disabilities…one person at a time”,
held their annual general meeting on September 10 in Sharbot Lake.
Mayor Janet Gutowski, and newly elected member of the North Frontenac
Council Elaine Gunsinger (whose portfolio includes community
services), along with the CLNF board members, staff and individuals
they serve from the community, filled the United Church hall.
Scott
Gillam, Principal of Educational Services was guest speaker. He
addressed the importance and availability of the “School to
Community Services’, a program offered by the Limestone District
School Board and available to “a diverse group of learners with
developmental disabilities who may require support in the areas of
communication, socialization, daily living skills, motor skills and
behavior.”
Gillam
said that the service is gaining in importance as the enrollment of
special needs students is on the rise, although overall enrollment is
on the decline.
The
School to Community Services has both elementary and high school
models in place, which allows for the inclusion of students with
special needs into their local school programs. The service strives
to develop for each student an “individual education plan” or IEP
to support their individual needs.
As
Gillam stated, “We aim to provide programming that is specifically
designed for the individual student. School to community teachers,
classroom teachers, parents and of course the child are all
considered when deciding what the best program would be for a
specific child.”
He
stressed that “teachers are the most important educators in your
child’s life…We are committed to training our teachers,
specifically our School to Community teachers, to provide the best
programming for the students in that classroom and that’s where the
support begins.”
Gillam
also stressed the importance of the approach being a “team effort”.
Other important support staff in educational services that benefit
various IEPs include speech and language pathologists, educational
assistants, behavioral counsellors, an autism team, attendance
counsellors and other specialized consultants.
He
described current efforts being made to address the current lack of
EAs available in the schools and how that issue is being addressed.
Currently
there are 13 on-site schools that include School to Community
teachers and 33 itinerant schools that School to Community teachers
visit regularly.
Gillam
also stressed the important input that parents, as well as teachers,
have in each child’s individual program needs.
Following
Gillam’s address was a report on recent changes to the CLNF board
mandate, which included the extension of elected members to two-year
instead of one-year terms, the inclusion of email as a necessary tool
for communication, and the change in the wording of “developmentally
challenged” to “intellectually disabled”.
Board
member Patti Hallgren nominated Bob Miller to this year’s board, a
motion that was accompanied by thunderous applause from the audience.
He was voted in unanimously and was” happy to serve again”.
Miller has 10+ years experience as a board member and past president.
Joe
Clayton was voted in for a second term as Representative for the
People Served and spoke of his appreciation of and dedication to the
role.
The
rest of the evening after a break for refreshments was taken up with
awards.
Melissa
Marshall was awarded for her outstanding contribution to CLNF.
Dean
Walsh, Patti Nedow, Barb Matson and Faye Putnam received awards in
recognition of their many years of service. Volunteer Appreciation
awards were given to Tom Ham, Judy Raymo and Gail Gillett. Anne
Howes, owner and operator of the Rising Bun Bakery in Sharbot Lake,
was presented with the Employer Recognition Award.
What
an exciting start to a new year for CLNF!
