Bullying – Advice for parents

This week, we're focusing on bullying, inspired by the release of The Bully Movie.  On Wednesday, we looked at bullying and learning disabilities, and why kids with LD's are more susceptible.

Today, another article from the National Center on Learning Disabilities offering advice for parents of children who are bullied.  You can also go back to September on our blog, when we shared some great advice for parents on dealing with bullying from our own Angela Rudderham. 

Share your stories on bullying and your advice on how to cope with us through your comments. 

The Bridgeway team

Bullying – What’s a Parent to Do?

By Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. Published: February 17 2012

How familiar are these phrases? Kids will be kids and teasing is normal; they really don’t mean any harm. Just ignore it and it will go away. All you have to do is stand up for yourself. Is this the kind of advice that you would give to your child if they reported being picked on at school? Sure, maybe the first time they were called a name, or the second time they were intentionally pushed to the back of the line in the cafeteria. But is this the approach you would take if your child was singled out in a mean and hurtful way day after day? Of course not! And what about these phrases: You need to remember to use your words instead of your hands. Detention again? Why can’t you stay out of the principal’s office? Did you know the boy who tried to hurt himself because he was picked on? I wonder why she is missing so many days of school… she seems like such a sweet girl. The thoughts and feelings underlying these comments and questions could be unrecognized signs that bullying is taking place. Bullying involves not only the victim, but also the one doing the bullying, and those who stand by and don’t take action. Even when it is not possible to protect the victim from a particular incident, there is no excuse for not taking a stand and taking action that will discourage or prevent bullying behavior from happening again. What should parents do? Stop bullying before it starts. Let everyone know (your child and his friends, school personnel, the bus driver, sports coach… everyone!) that you are on the prowl for signs of bullying and that you expect everyone else to do the same. Preventing and stopping bullying is a shared responsibility, and one that is not voluntary. Ask to see the school-wide no-bullying policy (if they don’t have one, insist that they create one!) and ask that the details regarding recognizing and reporting, consequences, and prevention activities be shared frequently with parents and faculty. Use the word “bullying” with your child; make sure they know what it means. They may not know that the hurtful behavior they are being forced to endure is wrong, mistaking it for “attention” or “acceptance” from peers. If your child is the one doing the bullying, help them to understand the negative impact it has on their status (which is often why they engage in bullying behavior in the first place). And if they are bystanders when bullying is taking place, help them to know what options they have -- doing nothing not being one of them -- without fear of being targeted themselves. Help your child know what to do, and assure them that they will not get in trouble. The perceived consequences of “tattling” could be keeping your child from sharing their bullying experiences. Help your child know the difference between “tattling” and “reporting an incident of bullying.” This is equally important for children who are being victimized, who are themselves the aggressor, or who are bystanders and not speaking up on behalf of those directly involved. Know your rights and don’t be afraid to exercise them. The U.S. government, under both education and civil rights law, recognizes that bullying and harassment are forms of discrimination. Include a goal about bullying in your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP); ask about bullying at every parent teacher conference; and if bullying issues are not properly addressed, be prepared to file a formal complaint with the Office of Civil Rights. None of these actions are excessive or inappropriate to ensure the safety and well-being of your child. There are lots of topics about which children, parents, and school personnel might disagree, but there should be no question that every individual deserves respect and that it is everyone’s responsibility to protect the physical and emotional wellbeing of every child, treating them as valued and respected members of the community

The Truth about Bullying and LD

The issue of bullying is getting a lot of attention this month, thanks to the release of the report by the cyberbullying task force in Nova Scotia, Respectful and Responsible Relationships: There's No App For That, and the premiere of The Bully Movie.

Kids with learning disabilities and other special needs are especially vulnerable to bullying.  That's usually because their differences - academic struggles, social skills deficits, etc. - make them different, and being different makes them a target.  Is it any wonder that kids with LDs are also more susceptible to anxiety and depression?

The National Center for Learning Disabilities is currently focusing on bullying and its impact on kids with LDs.  Here's a great article they recently published looking at bullying and LD.

The Bridgeway team


The Truth about Bullying and LD

By Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. Published: February 17 2012

It’s hard to assign a number to describe the incidence of bullying — data from different sources report different findings — but one thing is certain; the deeper you dig, the clearer it becomes that the prevalence of bullying is staggering. * Statistics 10% of children report having been the victims of severe bullying at least once during the school year 75% report being bullied at least once during the past 10 months 25-50% report being bullied at some point during their school years Every day, more than 160,000 students skip school because they are fearful of being bullied 40-75% of bullying incidents in school take place during class breaks, in the lunchroom, bathroom, or hallways And how about these findings? 30% of children who suffer from food allergies report being bullied at school (sometimes by verbal taunting but more often, by having the allergen thrown or waved at them!) 30% of children who report having been bullied said they sometimes brought weapons to school 60% of boys who engaged in bullying behavior during grades 1-9 were convicted of at least one crime by age 24 The average bullying episode lasts only 37 seconds, and school personnel are reported to notice or intervene in only one in 25 incidents (in contrast to another report where teachers said they intervened 71% of the time and students reported teachers taking action only 25% of the time) Whether the number is 10% or 75%, the message is clear: bullying is widespread, often goes unnoticed, and can have immediate and long-lasting consequences. And what about students with learning disabilities? Are children with LD at special risk for being harassed, bullied, or intimidated? Consider the following: A second grader with dyslexia whose difficulties with decoding unfamiliar words results in giggling and name calling whenever he is called upon to read aloud or write on the board in class (with this taunting more often than not carrying over into other setting, such as the cafeteria and school yard, and leaving an indelible impression about this child that will mark him as different for years to come) A fifth grader with LD and AD/HD who, despite her enthusiasm, creativity, and deep knowledge of the subject matter, is always the last to be chosen by peers for group projects because of her disorganized approach to work and her need for initial modeling and structure when working on assignments A ninth grader with LD and AD/HD who is told not to climb on the new gym equipment but is egged on by his peers until he succumbs and breaks the rules, resulting in punishment and further victimization by his peers An eleventh grader with LD who struggles with rapid reading and short-term memory and comprehension deficits whose guidance counselor is discouraging him from setting his sights on enrollment in a competitive college physics and robotics program (when math and science are areas in which he excels academically) Some might agree that these are examples of bullying behavior, and others might say that they describe how individuals with LD often suffer from the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” The reality is that all students are vulnerable to the negative impact of bullying, and students with dyslexia and specific learning disabilities, AD/HD and other disorders that impact learning and behavior are indeed at special risk. They are often vulnerable by virtue of their having low self-esteem triggered by low achievement. They might see themselves as outsiders in their peer groups and often have trouble making and keeping friends because their need for special types of intervention, accommodations and support are misunderstood. What can parents and other concerned adults do to diffuse the powerful negative impact of bullying? Don’t wait for bullying to present as a problem. Assume it is happening, assume that students are at risk, that teachers and other school personnel are either unaware or incapable of dealing with this problem alone, and that it’s just a matter of time before someone close to you is effected by bullying. Parents need to know that their comments and complaints about bullying (to children, other parents, and school personnel) are taken seriously and they should not hold back sharing information in fear of retribution or ostracism. Punishing the bully is not the answer. Pointing a finger at the perpetrator doing the bullying may seem like a feel-good answer to the problem, but it is only the tip of the iceberg and will likely not change the person’s behavior. The underlying problem has much more to do with how each person, in school, at home, and in the community appreciates diversity. Whether a person has big ears or long legs, whether they have light skin or dark features, whether they are athletic of klutzy, outgoing or reserved, or whether they are accelerated learners or have special learning needs, the ways that we talk about these differences and the underlying value we place upon these individuals needs to be clear: everyone is deserving of respect. Period. No exceptions. Provide support for everyone involved. No single approach to preventing or stopping bullying is recommended for all situations, but a number of options have been found to be effective. They include: Implementing school-wide anti-bullying awareness programs that include all members of the school community, setting clear expectations and acknowledging and rewarding positive behaviors and acceptance of diversity in ways that are visible and recognized Offering social skills training and other such interventions for students who are likely to be perpetrators or victims of bullying Creating safe and confidential ways for students to report bullying Conducting parent awareness and training programs that link to school policies and practices regarding reporting bullying and resolving conflicts in ways that minimize stigma to the children involved Improving vigilance by school faculty and student leaders (especially in often unsupervised areas) so that bullying behavior is recognized and stopped What can parents do? The best advice is to follow your heart…. and stop bullying from claiming your child as its next victim. *The statistics cited come from a variety of sources: 55 Facts about Bullying; References and Resources from StopBullying.gov; Walk a Mile in their Shoes: Bullying and the Child with Special Needs; and Bullying Statistics.

Bully - The Movie

We have only seen the previews, but we can already tell that Bully is going to be an important movie.  A few of our staff have been invited to a preview of the movie in Halifax tomorrow night, and we hope to share some of their thoughts here after they have had a chance to see it.

In the meantime, you can watch the preview below and visit the Bully movie website for more information.  This movie is only scheduled to go into full release in a few Canadian cities, so be sure to demand it in your community by clicking here.

The Bridgeway team

The rights of students with LD to education - The Supreme Court decides

Later today, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear a case that is important to every student with learning disabilities in our country.  The decision will be watched closely by departments of education, school boards and families everywhere.  We'll report on the outcome as soon as we get more information.

In the meantime, here's a recent press release from the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, one of the interveners in the case.

The Bridgeway Team

LDAC one of 17 Interveners in Moore case at Canada’s Highest Court

March 8, 2012 (Ottawa) The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC) along with 16 other groups have been granted intervener standing in the appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada of Moore v BC (Ministry of Education) and School District 44 North Vancouver. The Appeal which is to be heard on March 22, 2012, at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Ottawa, concerns whether the School District of North Vancouver and the Ministry of Education of BC discriminated against Jeff Moore, a severely dyslexic student by failing to provide him with meaningful access to an appropriate education.

Jeff Moore suffers from dyslexia and when he was in elementary public school, between 1992 and 1995, his family believed that because of funding cuts for special needs education, Jeff was not receiving sufficient early intervention and a range of services which would have allowed him to become functionally literate. At the beginning of grade 4, Jeff was placed by his parents at their expense in an independent school specializing in teaching students with learning disabilities (LD). In 1997, the Moores filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal, claiming that Jeff and other students like him had been discriminated against for the foregoing reason, seeking reimbursement for their education expenses as well as other remedies. Hearings between 2001 and 2005 resulted in a decision in 2005 by the BC Human Rights Tribunal that the Ministry of Education and the School District had discriminated against students with LD including Jeff, by cutting funding and services and by not providing meaningful access to public education services.

The BC government and the School District appealed the Tribunal decision to the BC Supreme Court and the BC Supreme Court overturned the Tribunal decision, finding that no discrimination occurred. The Moore Family appealed this decision to the BC Court of Appeal and the appeal was heard by a panel of 3 judges. Two judges, forming a majority, dismissed the appeal but the third judge gave a written dissent in favour of the Moores. The Moores were granted leave to appeal the BC Court of Appeal decision from the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in December 2011.

LDAC has appeared at every level of the Moore claim as an intervener, represented at each hearing by our volunteer lead lawyer, Yude Henteleff, C.M., Q.C., a prominent and nationally respected human rights expert and advocate. Mr. Henteleff has advocated at each hearing for the right of children with LD to services which provide LD students with those resources that enables meaningful access to the education services provided to all other children.

The SCC hearing provides a unique opportunity to advance the rights of LD students across Canada and it is fundamental to the work of LDAC to participate. If successful, this appeal will hopefully assure meaningful access to educational services by such students across Canada. In any event, LDAC’s position will come to the attention of governments and school divisions across the country who hopefully will initiate needed changes.



Click below to link to the Supreme Court of Canada documents of Frederick Moore on behalf of Jeffrey P. Moore v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia as represented by the Ministry of Education, et al.
http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/case-dossier/cms-sgd/dock-regi-eng.aspx?cas=34041
Click below for a link to the decision of the Court of Appeal of BC (October 29, 2010)
British Columbia (Ministry of Education) v. Moore
, 2010 BCCA 478

Angela's advice - Should my child have a tutor?

With a myriad of options out there when it comes to tutoring services, we're delighted to offer some advice from our own Angela Rudderham on deciding when your child might need the support of a tutor - and what you should be looking for.

The Bridgeway Team

By Angela E. Rudderham
Director, Turning Tides Community Outreach

Every parent wants their child to succeed in school and have a future full of opportunities and possibilities.  We send them to school each day with all their supplies and a balanced lunch and trust our educators will work to develop our child’s true potential and foster in them a desire to learn. 

Unfortunately, the reality is that not every child’s true potential is unlocked from simply attending school.  In fact, 15-year-olds in Nova Scotia scored statistically lower in academics than the Canadian average, according to Statistics Canada.   Math and literacy scores in Nova Scotia are among the lowest in the country, and the Nova Scotia dropout rate in 2010 was 8.6%.  Only 28% of students from Nova Scotia will go on to university and 8% will go on to a college or trade education. Our children need other supports to ensure their success.  The question is, when are additional supports necessary, and what form should they take?

Tutoring is an excellent way to build academic confidence, improve grades and learn new skills.

You may want your child tutored if:

Your child still needs help mastering basic skills.  Teachers will move forward whether your child has mastered the skill or not. If basic skills are not mastered, then the student will struggle when relying on them to solve more complex problems. These skills need to be re- taught until mastered.

Your child struggles with organization, working independently, or lacks study skills. Often the brightest students who learn quickly may lack organizational skills or become overwhelmed when faced with a testing situation. Anyone can benefit from learning how to organize notes, break down large assignments, meet due dates or discover how they best take in information.

Your child has a learning disability.  This will interfere with the learning process in areas such as the intake, storage, processing, retrieval and/or output of information. A tutoring service that has extensive experience and training in helping students with learning disabilities should be able to show the student how they learn best and provide strategies for independent success.

Your child is struggling with big life changes.  A move, divorce, new school, family issues can all contribute to your child being distracted from their school work. Working closely with a tutor will ensure a smoother transition.

Your child struggles with behavioral, social or emotional needs.  Often these needs can contribute to missed instruction time. A tutor with experience working with students who have had similar needs will often have a large tool box of strategies to draw from to keep your child engaged and on track.

Your child has missed a lot of school due to medical or other reasons. A tutor can go back and teach what was missed and help the student gain back the confidence that they may have lost. They can also work around the student’s schedule.

You want to give your child the competitive edge to get ahead.  There is always room for improvement. Striving to do our personal best is an excellent habit to develop at any age.

Your child needs homework support.  Parents, homework and the student can sometimes be an unpleasant combination to say the least. In most homes, both parents are working or have other major responsibilities and there just isn’t time to give your child the homework support they need without it taking on a rushed or negative tone. Let someone else be the “bad “guy and save your parent/ child time for the important stuff like hugs and kisses.

The right tutoring service will be able to match your child’s needs with the right service. They should understand the importance of rapport building between the student and the tutor. The tutor should be willing to work with your child’s teacher, provide regular updates and reports, and improvements should be noticed after a few months. Be wary of services that will not let you observe or listen in on sessions at least once or have no way to measure the acquisition of new skills. There is little doubt that anyone can benefit from tutoring.  Do your homework and shop around.  Ask questions and compare services and prices until you find the right fit.

Angela Rudderham is the Director of Turning Tides Community Outreach, a community-based organization providing social, behavioural and organizational support to individuals across Nova Scotia.  For more information on tutoring, social skills, parenting and professional development programs offered by Turning Tides, please visit www.turningtides.ca or call 902-404-TIDE (8433).

It takes a village...

We have been extraordinarily lucky to receive the support of some wonderful organizations and individuals in our community, many of whom introduce unique learning opportunities to our students.  These individuals donate their time and expertise on a regular basis, and we wanted to take an opportunity to thank them publically.  We'll highlight a few more of our community partners on our blog pages in the coming months.  If you have the opportunity to visit these organizations, please take a moment to say Thank You on behalf of our school.

The Bridgeway Team

Henry's Photo.Video.Digital
Dartmouth Crossing

The team at Henry's has been supporting us in a variety of ways over the last two years.  From taking donations at major sporting events to helping us document some of our most memorable moments, the Henry's team has been there every time we ask.  Recently, they donated a new digital SLR camera to our Dartmouth school, which is being used by our yearbook committee.  Staff are also be donating their time to teach our students in Truro and Dartmouth the basics of photography.

Props Floral Design and Larex Properties Inc.
Halifax

We have sung the praises of Susan MacIntosh before for the wonderful work she's doing with our students.  Every month, Susan volunteers her time to come to Bridgeway's Dartmouth location to teach a new floral arrangement to students who have joined our floral club.  She brings hundreds of flowers, interesting containers and other props the students use to create their floral masterpieces, all of which are paid for through the sponsorship of Larex Properties. 

Emergent Learning - Reforming Education and the Edmonton Public School experience

Nova Scotia’s education system needs to change.  Declining enrollment, budget cuts and increases in the number of students with special needs means we don’t have a choice but to examine the way we deliver education in our province.

A decade ago, then Superintendant Angus McBeath led Edmonton Public Schools through a series of major changes.  Today, students and parents have the power to choose the school that meets their needs.  There is also more emphasis on supporting teachers and principals with research-based best practices and more involvement by stakeholders in supporting the crucial work of teaching and learning.

Angus McBeath will be a keynote speaker at Emergent Learning: Turning Tides in 21st Century Education this April 23-24, 2012.  He'll be sharing the lessons learned in Edmonton, with advice for Atlantic Canadians.  We hope you'll join us for what promises to be an interesting conversation on the future of education in our region.  In the  meantime, we thought we would share a bit of a preview.

By Rhonda Brown

Bridgeway Academy

I had a really interesting conversation not too long ago with Angus McBeath, a consultant, Senior Fellow in Education for the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies, and former Superintendant of the Edmonton Public Schools.  He’s a veteran of the education system, having started his career as a teacher in PEI in the early 1970’s before moving to Alberta a few years later.  He worked as both a teacher and administrator in his 30 year career.

I called Mr. McBeath after hearing an extended interview with him on Maritime Magazine on CBC Radio.  (You can hear that interview here.)  He was talking about the Edmonton approach to schooling, where parents have the choice of which schools to send their kids to – public or private.  This has led to a system where schools are more competitive, specialized programs have been developed, and students can attend schools that speak to their interests and abilities.  

So how is it working?  McBeath believes it’s working quite well.  He says parents in Edmonton have been remarkably adept in making choices for their kids.  After all, who knows a child better than the parent?  They can match the school to the needs, aspirations and hopes of their children. 

The process is also easy.  Each student receives a one-page passport with their name and ID number on it.  All parents need to do is visit the school they’re interested in and pass in their passport.  Students are accepted as long as the school isn’t full and any members of the local community who want access are accepted.

About 57% of students in Edmonton choose to go to a school outside of their own neighbourhood.  The local transit system provides subsidized bus passes for students, helping them access schools around the city.   It also helps the transit system by guaranteeing a critical mass of passengers.  Traditional bus service is arranged for schools where Edmonton Transit isn’t appropriate or available.

Parents can choose to move their child if the school isn’t meeting their needs.  McBeath told me about a battle to close a school in a suburban area.  Enrollment at the school had dropped from 1300 to just 350.  A group of parents rallied to save the school, but as McBeath points out, it was the parents who chose to leave the school who decided the fate of the school.

This sounds like a good solution for Edmonton, but would it work in Nova Scotia?  Join the conversation at Emergent Learning: Turning Tides in 21st Century Education to be a part of the conversation.

Why Bridgeway Matters - Eleven years later

The recent conversations on education, tuition support and extending the Bridgeway model across Nova Scotia has brought us back in touch with students and families we haven't heard from in quite a while. 

Here's a note one former parent sent to offer an update on her son and why she believes Bridgeway still matters.

The Bridgeway team

Speaking from our experiences, our son, now 28 years old, spent 8 years at Bridgeway Academy, graduating in 2001.  Without this school's constant support, our son would have been a drop-out with limited education, with minimal job skills or have some kind of criminal record.  He would not be where he is today, as a successful individual, employee and fellow taxpayer of this province.  We are very fortunate to receive two years of funding under the former APSEA (Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority).  The remaining six years we paid ourselves.

We cannot tell you enough how important schools like Bridgeway Academy are to helping those individuals with their education.  The public school system cannot do what this school has done.  Being an EPA (Educational Program Assistant) with the Halifax Regional School Board for 12 years, I saw for myself the day-to-day operations of a classroom.  Much of what I saw did not impress me with regards to the average child.  Those with an LD are even more disadvantaged in today's classroom.

Any classroom teacher having a wide variety of 25 plus needy students in her class does not have the ability to help one student with a learning disability.  Bridgeway can with its dedicated knowledgeable teachers and very small class sizes.

We agree with Mrs. Lucinda Low (founder of Bridgeway Academy) - "We would be happy to work with parents, school board officials and the Department of Education to place a school in every district of our province."

We need to do whatever it takes to help those very intelligent individuals with this invisible disability, whom just happen to learn things in a different way.  Our son is just one of these people whose life was changed because of Bridgeway Academy.

Keep and extend the Tuition Support to Bridgeway Academy, Churchill Academy and Landmark East.

Ivan & Linda Lockyer

Why Bridgeway Matters - A Teacher's Perspective

Our teachers are amazing.  They believe passionately in the potential of each student they work with, and celebrate each success.  Many have worked in both the public school system and at Bridgeway, and feel the doors that open for students at our school may not be found anywhere else.  Here is one teacher's perspective on why Bridgeway matters.

The Bridgeway team

By Drew Hayman

As a teacher, I fully believe that our future lies with our students and that as time continues to progress, I see a problem growing between our students and the education system.  We are not allowing our students to realize their full potentials and because of this we are creating, for many, gaps between the levels of education and their true potential.  When I began at Bridgeway Academy, I saw a lot of students who were being given a second chance at a life that they would be in control of.  I left the public school sector after being given the opportunity to teach at Bridgeway and at that time I felt, and still do, that I was leaving a broken system for one that was fixing much of what ails the public sector.

 Throughout time, students have had learning differences, difficulties, or disabilities, and they have always been given labels to allow them to fall through the cracks.  Today, we are finally realizing that these students should not be falling through the cracks but instead should be allowed to realize their full potential.

The students that utilize the Bridgeway and other DSEP schools are able to succeed when given the chance to do so.  But if the Tuition Support Program was to be removed the students that currently experience such great success would not be able to feel like they should.  It can be a large financial burden to take a student from a public school system and place them into the private sector.  However, I put this question to you.  If your child was experiencing problems in school and you knew that if they could get the attention they needed in a setting that was not the mainstream public system, wouldn’t you try and take that chance?  I am in no way saying that the TSP is perfect; in fact, I do believe that it has a fatal flaw in that it is limited to 4 years and the funding runs out.  If a student’s gap in their learning is at 6 grades behind, it puts an awful lot of pressure onto the student to close that gap in 4 years.  The reality of the situation is that the TSP needs to be available for as many years as the student needs it, so that the gap that was created in a setting in which they are not suited to learn in can gain the skills and abilities to learn in any setting.

Bridgeway opens its doors to many different students with many learning differences. This setting that allows the students to leave classrooms of 30 or more, to classrooms of eight, so that they can regain not only missing skills but confidence in their abilities and in themselves.   Staff looks at every student as an individual case, and while working with the student, they discover what delivery methods and testing strategies work best.  We teach the students in the way they learn best.  Not the way everyone else does, because when it comes down to it, wouldn’t you rather show everyone what you can do not what you can’t? 

Emergent Learning presenter series - Maximizing Ability through Cognitive Neuropsychology

Here's another one of the amazing presenters at the upcoming Emergent Learning: Turning Tides in 21st Century Education conference.  Be sure to register now for to be a part of this presentation and many others we'll be offering!

The Bridgeway team

Maximizing Ability - A Cognitive Neuropsychology Approach

By Dr. Erica Baker

Erica Baker & Associates

Don't be frightened by the title! In fact if you've never heard of neuropsychology or neuroplasticity (another scary sounding term you’ll hear me use), you are the perfect audience for this presentation. This is a talk for parents, teachers, and anyone who needs a reminder about the possibility for positive change and growth in our children...our students...ourselves.

Basically, neuropsychology is the study of the brain and how it relates to our daily functioning (e.g., thinking and problem solving, memory, mental speed, attention, academic learning, etc.).  Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change with experience and activities.

Whether learning to crawl, talk, dance, read, play piano, write, drive a car, solve algebra problems... our experiences create brain pathways (circuits) that make us who we are and what we know.

Essentially, the brain gets better the more we use it and it changes in structure and function throughout our lives.

In this presentation, I'll attempt to review some of the research to support neuroplasticity, explain how the brain’s ability to change in structure and function is relevant to all of us, and hopefully motivate and encourage you to take the opportunity to help and encourage others to discover their abilities, talents and passions.

Why Bridgeway Matters - A Concerned Parent

Why does Bridgeway matter?  Because it makes a difference in the lives of children.  Here is another story from a part of our school family.

Enjoy,

The Bridgeway Team

This is our story.....

When our son first started public school we knew there was an underlying condition. Eventually he was diagnosed with an SLD (Severe Learning Disability) and we were able to identify the areas of opportunity that would be essential to his overall learning ability.

We worked with the public schools and the LINKS program to help our son develop to the best of his ability. He attended the after school programs with LINKS, received resource support on a regular basis, received home help and followed IPP plans.  Even with all this help it was just not enough to bring him up to speed and to reach his maximum potential.  He is a hands-on learner who needs constant supervision, guidance and reminders for his everyday work. Our son also suffered from anxiety issues and showed physical symptoms of stress related problems which ultimately caused him to miss quite a bit of public school. At this point, to say we were desperate and frustrated beyond belief would be an understatement we did not know who to turn to or what to do next. Then we heard about Bridgeway Academy and everything they had to offer; ultimately Bridgeway Academy became our family’s salvation and a pivotal turning point in our lives. 

In September of 2010 our son started at Bridgeway Academy and the changes that we have seen have been simply remarkable. Not only is he actively engaged and participating in his classes, but he is gaining and developing the confidence he needs as well as much needed social and life skills. His anxiety issues are gone now and he is happy to go to school every day.....you cannot imagine what a relief it was for us all to have him happy once again and enjoying getting up and going to school every day.

With the results we have seen to date we are very confident that our son will continue to grow and develop at Bridgeway and they will help him gain the confidence and the strength that he will need to help him through his studies. There is no question that Bridgeway is the best choice for him as they will be able to provide him with the individualized attention that will cater to his needs and future development. It gives us great peace of mind to know that Bridgeway shares our views and concerns and will be our son's best advocate when it comes to helping children with learning disabilities. 

We would like nothing better than to integrate our son back into the public system, and we have asked ourselves this question over and over again and each time the answer is still no..... we will not jeopardize our child's future and everything he has learned at any cost, we simply cannot take that risk.  

The public school system just does not offer the support for our son that he requires, they simply are not equipped to handle children with special needs, we know we have done the research. He will not get the individualized attention that he needs and as a result he will be lost in the system as he once was before. We will not go back to how it was .....the tears, the frustration and lack of motivation we experienced on our son’s behalf as well as our own. At Bridgeway our children learn to deal with their disabilities, adapt and integrate their challenges into their everyday learning’s and the much needed life skills.

It is our hope that the TSP funding continues and does not stop short at the 3+1 year commitment. As for us and many other parents in the same situation, when the support funds run out we will do whatever it takes to keep our son at Bridgeway; unlike the TSP funding, SLD'S do not go away,

I share our story with you today in hopes that we can make a difference in the lives of these children, our story is only one of many and I appeal to you today to learn from our experience and help change the current support program and extend indefinitely to those in need. We desperately need more schools like Bridgeway in Atlantic Canada to give other children a fighting chance at life. Our children are our future and as a parent it is my responsibility to ensure my child, as well as others, get a fighting chance and every equal opportunity in life.  It's just the right thing to do.

Sincerely,  

A concerned and devoted parent. 

Emergent Learning presenter series - Ari Najarian

Here's another one of our featured presenters at our upcoming conference, Emergent Learning: Turning Tides in 21st Century Education. 

Ari Najarian is a former high school IT and Social Studies teacher, who now runs an IT consulting company called Torusoft.  He develops software, plans and develop programs, and helps clients figure out what role tablets and smart phones should play in their organization.  His presentation is called, Hands on in the BYOD Classroom.

Registration is still available at www.teachingthewaychildrenlearn.com.

The Bridgeway team