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Special Education and Student Services Department Professional Development Plan Overall Goal: The key areas of the Board Strategic Plan within the Ottawa Catholic School Board are: Success for Students, Success for Staff, and Stewardship of Resources. Aims: To ensure professional development of staff so that the special needs of exceptional students may be better understood and served. • To maintain professional development programs that will increase teacher awareness of, sensitivity toward, and acceptance of exceptional students and their educational needs • To provide specific professional development programs for staff to ensure the system’s capability of meeting program/service requirements for all exceptionalities • To maintain ongoing professional development for principals to ensure effective management of programs to meet the needs of exceptional students in light of the Education Act and Attendance Regulations. Annual: As a result of Ministry of Education initiatives, input from SEAC, Special Education Curriculum Advisory Committee, Special Education and Student Services Department Staff, Principals, Special Education/Resource Teachers, non-teaching support staff and parents/guardians, opportunities for staff development are identified on an ongoing basis and a plan is developed annually. Reports on achievement of goals and related activities are regularly provided to SEAC members at monthly meetings. SEAC members provide input and feedback to department administration. As well, a professional development component for SEAC members is included as part of the agenda for monthly SEAC meetings. Department staff, school staff and principals receive training with regard to legislation and Ministry policies and practices on an ongoing basis in a variety of ways. • Interdepartmental collaboration • CLL (Catholic Learning Leaders) • Families of Schools meetings • Large and small group Networking meetings • In-service at staff meetings • Attendance at conferences, workshops and courses • Board wide memos • Subscription to magazines, publications, articles for current research • Posting on-line information on department sites • Personal contact with teachers, school staff

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Mentorship within Special Education and Student Services Mentorship within school staff

All Professional Development opportunities are advertised electronically on various sites including the Administrators site and the Special Educators website. In addition, these inservice initiatives are posted on the Board calendar.

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