Community Pathways Program

The Community Pathways Program is for students who are working on Alternative Curriculum due to an intellectual disability, a developmental disability, or a significant communication disorder. 

Students are offered placement in the Community Pathways Program after going through the Identification Placement Review Committee (IPRC) process where it is determined that the student meets the required criteria for entry into the program.  In some cases the placement outcome of the IPRC is Partially Integrated. This placement decision allows a student to take a mixture of credit bearing courses from the Ontario Curriculum and non-credit bearing courses, derived from Alternative Curriculum.

The Community Pathways Program has two phases; a four year phase where students build a strong foundation in functional academics and develop community readiness skills . The second phase prepares students for life after school through either the Community Skills Co-Op or the Employability Skills Certificate.

Years 1 Through 4

Students take a variety of non-credit bearing courses which serve to build a foundation in functional academics and skills for independent living. Curriculum expectations are individualized to meet the needs of each student. These expectations serve as a guide but can be altered and added to in order to meet individual student needs. Expectations being evaluated will appear on the student’s individual education plan (IEP). Achievement for each student will be reported on the individual education plan as well and follows the 2 semester reporting period timelines.

Individualized programs can include goals derived from:

• A Functional Assessment and Curriculum
• Carolina Curriculum
• Occupational Therapist recommendations
• Speech and Language Pathologist recommendations
• Physiotherapist recommendations
• Medical recommendations
• Assistive Technology goals

Years 5 Through 7

Programming in Years 5 through 7 is determined through the annual review process. Students that require highly structured programming or complete care oriented programming may remain in the CPP classroom to receive individualized programming in years 5 through 7.

Where appropriate for the individual, students will enter one of two programs intended to build workplace skills. 

These programs are described as follows:  

The Community Skills Co-Op is designed to teach a variety of general skills required to participate in a supported way in the community after graduation. The instruction and courses focus on workplace skills which will serve the student in volunteer placements, supported living, and supported employment settings. Students will participate in co-op opportunities in the school setting to ensure that workplace skills are explicitly taught and supported with the goal of a community based co-op placement to prepare for transition to adulthood.

The Employability Skills Certificate Program is designed to teach the skills required to work competitively in various work sectors. Students participate in courses which allow for the instruction of skills which may lead to employment in a particular sector. Both in school and community co-op placements are a key component of the ESC. 

Visible Values

In every Community Pathways Program we believe in the power of the collective effort to create communities that support student growth toward independence for life at 21. We achieve this through a growth mindset and a commitment to ongoing professional learning. This stance is visible in every community pathways program classroom through our relationships, integration, student skill development and experiential learning.