March 3, 2011: Halton District School Board will allocate an additional $340,000 to reduce the number of students waiting for pychoeducational assessments. This financial boost will mean an additional 260 students currently on the waiting list will have their assessments completed during this school year.
Currently, there are more than 700 students waiting for psychoeducational assessments, and while this is not unusual from previous years, the Board recognizes the importance in completing the student assessments as soon as possible.
With the Board’s existing staff and resources, approximately 50 assessments can be completed per month. This rate may not substantially reduce the number of students waiting for assessments because it depends on the number of new referrals or additions to the list.
Last year, the Board approved the hiring of two additional psychoeducational consultants to address this issue. One of these new positions could not be filled due to lack of suitable applicants. Until permanent staff can be hired to reduce the number of students on the wait list, the Board will implement a two-pronged approach to completing the additional psychoeducational assessments.
The Board’s psychoeducational consultants will be offered additional assessment work during the March Break and summer months. Secondly, the Board will contract work to a local organization to conduct assessments on its behalf. The combination of these options starting immediately and continuing throughout the spring and summer will result in an additional 260 students being removed from the psychoeducational assessment waitlist.
Psychoeducational assessments inform staff about particular areas where struggling students are experiencing challenges and require support. Classroom teachers, other school staff and the Board’s Program and Student Services staff use this information to plan and implement appropriate instructional strategies such as communication programs, early language development and primary language classes, and assistive technology.
“These additional resources will have a significant impact on the number of students we’re able to assess,” says David Boag, Superintendent of Education responsible for Special Education. “It does mean additional work for our staff, but these short-term measures will have a long-term impact and potentially reduce the amount of time students have to wait, as well as the number of students who are waiting for assessments.”
“We are pleased to be able to immediately put into place a process to expedite the assessment process for an additional 260 students,” says David Euale, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board. “Our next step is to look at a longer-term plan to sustain this pace.”
For additional information, contact:
David Boag, Superintendent of Education (Student Services)
David Euale, Director of Education
Halton District School Board
(905) 335-3663, Toll free: 1 877 618-3456