Why Bridgeway matters - Noah's story

We would love to live in a world where schools like Bridgeway aren't needed.  But after thirty years, the demand for our programs are going up instead of going away.  Here's another story on how Bridgeway is making a difference in the life of a child.  Thanks to Kelly and Noah for sharing their experience.

The Bridgeway team.

I am writing on behalf of my son Noah, he is a 12 year old grade 7 student at the Truro location of Bridgeway Academy. Noah is in his 3^rd year at Bridgeway, and has come so far with the support he receives on a continual basis. As a parent not only do I see the accomplishments he has made in the classroom, however the improved sense of self-worth and new found self-esteem.

Going from a school where he struggled on a daily basis with his academics, which in turn led to frustration and complete discouragement. Noah now  leaves his school day with a sense of pride and ease. He spent more time being frustrated than he did learning. He had wonderful teachers in the public system, however their resources were so terribly limited that no amount of time they spent with him could even touch the experience he has had thus far at Bridgeway.  

It is completely unjust for so many children to struggle with their education. How will they ever move on in life and become productive members of society if they can’t have the support they so deserve right now. Our children have the right to a proper education, whatever their needs may be. When the answer is so obviously sitting in front of them , how can the government blatantly ignore the answer to this growing problem? If it boils down to cost, would it not make sense to provide children with a learning disability the proper education now, opposed to paying for it later.  

Sincerely

Kelly

Why Bridgeway Matters - Supporting Mental Healt needs

Often, our students are dealing with more than learning disabilities.  Anxiety, depression and mental health concerns often come along with the struggle to learn.  It's amazing the difference a small but dedicated and trained staff can make!

The Bridgeway team

I would like to share with you the positive impact that Bridgeway Academy has had, and continues to have on the realization of an education for my oldest daughter , 19 years of age, diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and a Language Based Disorder of Written Expression. My daughter has spent her life healing from the trauma of her early repeated childhood abuse prior to adoption. Her education has been interrupted by intermittant, and longterm inpatient stays at the IWK Healthcare Psychiatric Unit. Homeschooling was the only option feasible for her during her most challenging years, until I moved my family closer to Bridgeway Academy. The tuition supports have allowed my daughter, and her younger sister with ADHD, and other learning issues to attend this wonderful school. My daughters both have a chance, because of Bridgeway to earn a high school education which will see them both ready to attend a post secondary education. It is my oldest daughters dream to attend university, and then continue to set up a theraputic ranch to help youth, much like herself to recover from childhood trauma.

I do not believe it is possible to mix children with these complex learning, and behavioural/mental health issues with students whom do not understand their personal struggles. The years of adolescence are challenging enough, without the added issues of the burden of misunderstood disabilites. These children, and all children in our province, deserve the special attention to their education and mental health needs in schools like Bridgeway. These children deserve a place to heal their devistated self-esteems and rise to the top with the helping hands of teachers and behavioural support instructors like Bridgeway offers. In my experience of raising children with special needs, forcing children to stay in the public school system married with the lack of youth mental health services, is the reason for teens in the age group of 14-19 years, to to have suicide the second highest reason for death in Nova Scotia, according to Statistics Canada . It is time the province assist with supporting the needs of this fragile age group children, and schools like Bridgeway are an important step to realizing a positive future for our troubled youth.

Sherry

Why Bridgeway matters - A Mom's perspective

Another Bridgeway parent shares her perspective on the need for schools like Bridgeway. 

My son, now in Grade 11 at Bridgeway Academy, has a physical disabiltiy as well as a learning disability,  which effects learning all skills related to organization, spacial perception, mathematics, and interpreting social skills. He is a gifted young man in terms of all areas related to language and reads, comprehends and expresses himself at a University level.

It became more and more apparent as the school years went on, that the great talents he does possess would be of little benefit to him, if he didn't develop the self awareness and tools to work around the deficits that were holding him back in terms of relationships and organization. Even if you have a lot of knowledge and alot to say,  it does you no good if you don't have the skills to have a reciprical conversation and make proper eye contact. 

While in grade 7, the result of his mounting frustration culminated in a severe anxiety disorder resulting in months of hospitalization. Then we discovered Bridgeway Academy.

Bridgeway has given us our son and family back. They take complete responsiblity for teaching your child. You no longer have to play teacher at home, for your child to pass.  For instance, the parents sign an agreement that they will not help their child with homework, and if the child can't do it independently, the teacher will go over it with them again. What a concept! ! Sooo different from the hours and hours per night we used to spend at home re-teaching him each evening, resulting in meltdowns for everyone.

Our son is now a very happy, well adjusted young man, who no longer meets the criteria of an anxiety disorder, his confidence is soaring, he has perfected so many social skills that needed to be taught, just like a math problem, step by step.

Schools like Bridgeway are essential to many students, who fall through the wide cracks in our public system. These kids need teachers who are highly trained and an environment that is tailored for them. Society will benefit from the productive competant citizens that are a product of Bridgeway. It should not only be for the priveledged few who live in HRM. Integration is a noble concept, but at what cost?

Tamara

Why Bridgeway matters - Tim's story

While the recent report from AIMS on the expansion of tuition support and Designated Special Education Private Schools like Bridgeway has received much media attention, the human stories about the impact Bridgeway has hasn't.  Bridgeway isn't here to destroy the public education system, we're here to partner with it.  We believe that inclusion means being surrounded by your true peers, which in our case are students with LDs.  We don't want to keep students forever - we want to remediate their skills and send them back to the public school system.

We're going to give our parents and students a voice on our blog, and hope you'll share them with others.  Here is one parent's letter to the media about his son, Tim.

I am writing in response to your interview with Paul Bennett of AIMS about his report recommending expansion of the Tuition Support Program.

First in the interest of transparency, I will tell you that I am the Vice Chair of the Equal Education Association Of Nova Scotia. Our group has long advocated the kind of changes that Mr. Bennett recommends in his report.

My letter is however, as a parent of a Learning Disabled Child, whose life was dramatically changed by the Tuition Support program. Our son Timothy has a severe Learning Disability. Learning disabilities are called the invisible disability because they are not readily apparent in the same way as someone in a wheelchair, and so often get overlooked. They also do not mean that the child is stupid, they affect individuals of average to above average intelligence, who just learn in a different way, and as such are able to be productive members of society if their disability is addressed in a proper way.

Our son’s learning disability was apparent before he started school. He received a tremendous level of support throughout elementary school. By the time he was in grade 5, he was in the SLD (Severe Learning Disability) program, receiving one on one instruction from a SLD teacher 3 times a week. He was also pulled out of class twice a day for learning centre, one on one in the morning and group in the afternoon. He was also assigned an EPA in the classroom for 4 hours per week. His principle at the time told us his extra supports were costing the school in the range of $25,000-30,000 per year over and above what it cost for basic classroom instruction.

 The supports that Timothy received were not very successful, and not very inclusive. He was spending more than half his school day outside the classroom and was seen as different or “special” by his peers. He once told me between tears, “ Dad, I don’t want to be special, I just want to be the same as everyone else.” At the end of grade 7 he was still only reading and writing at an early grade 1 level, fully 7 years behind. The school having exhausted its resources, pulled SLD support. He was to go into grade 8 with only limited resource support.

As parents we didn’t know what to do. If we kept Timothy in the public system, this extremely bright boy would probably drop out of school, and have little in his future other than a minimum wage job or social assistance. On the advice of his SLD teacher we applied for the TSP (Tuition Support Program).  Our application for the TSP was returned because we missed the February 15^th deadline by one week. We were determined that our son would have a future, so we bit the bullet remortgaged our home and enrolled Timothy in Bridgeway Academy.

This was a life changing decision. Timothy flourished at Bridgeway. It was an extremely inclusive environment, teaching Timothy in ways that he learned and being surrounded by others who learned the same way. He no longer felt different, he was recognized for the bright individual he was.

After his first year we applied again to the TSP program and received the transfer of the basic funding unit. This enabled Timothy to continue at Bridgeway until High School graduation. In June 2010, we saw a day that a few years before we thought was impossible, our son Timothy Graduated with honours in a regular academic program. Bridgeway made the impossible, possible.

Timothy is currently enrolled in the Pipe Trades program at NSCC and will be graduating in May as a Plumber/Pipefitter.  This extremely bright boy, who was abandoned by the public school system, was a Bronze Medalist in the 2011 Nova Scotia Skills Competition for skilled trades. Because of the Tuition Support Program and Bridgeway Academy, Timothy will be a successful contributing member of society. He will be working hard and paying taxes, instead of being supported by the public welfare system. This low cost program clearly pays off in big ways.

It is unfortunate that the Tuition Support Program is not available to everyone who needs it, in all areas of the province. Another concern is that the present government has capped it at a maximum of 4 years, rather than looking at how long the student really needs it. Learning Disabilities are lifelong, and many students enter the program more than 4 years behind.

This truly is a life-changing program. In a time of fiscal restraint the government should look hard at expanding this program that both delivers results and saves the taxpayers money.

Kevin Burrell

Bridgeway success story - Equilibrium Youth

We love it when former students drop in and update us on what they have been up to.  Last week, Peter Vaughn dropped by.  He's currently a student at NSCC, but he's also involved in a wonderful organization he started called Equilibrium Youth.  We asked him to share the story of his organization for our blog, and we're delighted he was able to provide us with it so quickly!

The Bridgeway team

By Peter Vaughn

Equilibrium Youth is a non-profit organization that fights against various sorts of stereotypes against teenagers and young adults. Equilibrium, by definition, is the state of equality of weights or forces. Through interpretation, this is what we plan to bring forth. Our mission is dedicated to raise public awareness on various sorts of stereotypes against teenagers and young adults, to stop youth classification through mutual understanding of each other and to explore the numerous ways of helping youth overcome obstacles. Two concepts that we work with is youth classification and mutual understanding.

Youth classification: This is a term used to describe the manner in which youth are judged; that being any form of categorization based on image, interest, upbringing, peers, age, gender, character, or personality. This usually takes place as negative stereotyping manner; however we are trying to change this way of thinking into positive thinking.

Mutual understanding: This is the ability to relate to others, by knowing who people are and how they got there. To achieve this, one must be willing to meaningfully expose themselves to things that are sometimes painful to see or hear. In doing so, individuals will start to realize who they truly are, understand their full potential and embrace a more humble life. Since many prejudice accusations towards youth are formed due to misunderstanding, making the transition from misunderstanding to exposure becomes of the utter most importance.

The message Equilibrium Youth, injunction with our two concepts is sharing with people is that judging youth needs to stop and to start helping these individuals. We have three messages for the public: The Comfort of Self, The Development of Others and The Balance of Society.

The Comfort of Self: We want youth to feel comfortable with their own personal circumstances that they can’t change. These may include living environments, physical and mental limitations, lack of resources, etc.

The Development of Others: We want youth to learn not to judge others without taking into account how that person came to be the way they are. This could refer to someone’s attitude, performance, decisions, etc.

The Balance of Society: We want youth to realize the importance of everyone around them and how their roles are so valuable to society. This pertains especially to those who have made wrong choices, do not participate in ideal conduct, etc.

Peter Vaughan is a student with a learning difference who attended Bridgeway during his Jr. High years then graduated high school from the Halifax West High School alongside Isaac Adams in June 2010. Isaac Adams is the founder of Equilibrium Youth. Currently, Peter is enrolled at NSCC as an Electronic Engineering Technician and Isaac Adams is majoring in Music at Mount Allison University.

In September 2009, Peter joined Isaac with his campaign for equality among youth. Peter goes behind the scene with his computer-based skills. He designs most of the group’s videos and is currently designing a website for the non-profit organization, which he expects to be up this spring. However Peter is not always behind the scenes, one of his ongoing projects is to teaching youth how to ballroom dance. He believes it helps to create strong communication skills between two people and the whole class and to promote other important socials skills.

Why the Bridgeway model works for students with LDs

A new report endorsing the extention of the tuition support program and specialized schools for students with learning disabilities, modeled after Bridgeway.  It's a great endorsement of what we do, but we're not sure that everyone really understands why it's so important. 

Our Executive Director has written the following editorial to share with the newspapers in the province.  We thought we'd share it here as well.

The Bridgeway team

Why the Bridgeway model works for students with LDs

By Lucinda Low

Founder and Executive Director, Bridgeway Academy

I would like to applaud the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies for its endorsement of Nova Scotia’s Tuition Support program in its new report, “A Provincial Lifeline: Expanding the Nova Scotia Tuition Support Program” (www.aims.ca).  For the last eight years, TSP funding has indeed supported hundreds of students with learning disabilities access the specialized education they need at designated special education schools, including Bridgeway, Churchill Academy and Landmark East.

I wanted to share some information about why a school focused on the needs of students with learning disabilities is different than what is offered in the public school system, and why we should be a partner in the continuum of services offered to students in our province.

First, let me tell you a little bit about learning disabilities.  A child with a learning disability has average to above average intelligence.  That’s important to remember, because although they struggle with a specific skill or skills relating to listening, speaking, reading, writing or math, they are very aware that they are having more difficulty than those around them.  This can lead to poor self-esteem, anxiety and depression.

In a public school classroom, these students are being supported by teachers who are trying their best, but may lack the training or be overextended trying to meet the needs of several other students.  Although resource support is often made available, it’s often not enough, which means the student with learning disabilities fall further and further behind their peers.

At Bridgeway, we have teachers trained to help students with specific skills, and we keep our classes to no larger than 8:1.  Students are placed in classes by skill level, not by age or grade.  Being surrounded by students who are at the same level is important to an individual’s confidence and skill development. 

We also pay attention to social skills development, offering classes that help students communicate more effectively, develop and maintain friendships, and problem solve. 

In our school, our students feel more included and more comfortable than they have ever felt in any other classroom.  They also learn.  We are accredited and monitored by the NS Department of Education, and our students are meeting the curriculum outcomes that the Department prescribes.

And we’re not a forever school.  We bring students in, help them with intense support over a few years, then assist them with the transition back to the public school or post-secondary school system.  Many of our students have gone on to complete their high school education, college or university and are now working in careers and raising families.

Although we must charge tuition, we work very hard to keep our costs at a minimum.  We are a registered charity, and fundraise year-round to keep our costs down and build our bursary and endowment funds.  We are extremely thankful that most of our families are receiving tuition support funding from the province of Nova Scotia, but we are doing everything we can to make sure no child who needs our help is turned away.

We are also looking to expand our program to communities in other areas of Nova Scotia, starting with Sydney this September.  But to help as many students as possible, we need to find a way to get students timely access to psycho-educational assessments.  There are students across our province waiting several months to years for psychological testing to identify their learning disabilities.

 We also need a common understanding around Individualized Program Plans (IPPs) in Nova Scotia.  To qualify for tuition support funding, a student requires an IPP from a public school.  However, interpretations of what an IPP is and how it should be used varies widely from school to school and district to district.  A better understanding, or better yet, a change in the criteria for tuition support funding, is needed.

We want to help eliminate those barriers, and we would be more than happy to work with parents, school board officials and the Department of Education to place a school in every district of our province.

We know that we cannot help every child with a special need, including children with autism or intellectual disabilities.  That’s why we have extended our services into the communities through our Turning Tides Community Outreach division, offering programs for those students and others who need support with social skills development and tutoring. 

While we are doing everything we can to help students with learning disabilities, we know there is more than can be done.  Extending the tuition support program and specialized schools for students with learning disabilities is a good first step, and we look forward to working with our partners in education to come up with more solutions that work for all students.

A Provincial Lifeline - Expanding the Tuition Support Program

An important conversation has started today on education and the place of schools like Bridgeway in the continuum of services to students.  The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies has released a report called A Provincial Lifeline - Expanding the Tuition Support Program, which calls for the expansion of schools that provide services to students with learning disabilities to all regions of Nova Scotia, along with the Department of Education tuition support funding that helps so many students get access to this education.


We are ready to work with our partners to bring individualized education for students with learning disabilities to all areas of Nova Scotia.  Let's talk, and then let's get started.


The Bridgeway team

A Provincial Lifeline

Expanding the Nova Scotia Tuition Support Program

Dated: 23 Feb 2012

Paul W. Bennett

One in ten Canadians reportedly suffers from some kind of learning disability, and between 2% and 4% of Nova Scotia’s public school students – numbering 2,500 to 5,000 – are struggling at school with serious learning challenges. In this paper, Paul W. Bennett of Schoolhouse Consulting writes that rescuing and properly educating learning disabled kids has proven a challenge in the province’s regular Primary to Grade 12 schools. Demand for such schooling grew to the point where the Nova Scotia Department of Education looked at implementing a provincial tuition support program serving students with more acute learning difficulties.

The Tuition Support Program (TSP), initiated in September 2004, provides an option for students with special needs who cannot be served at their local public school. It was intended to be short-term and assumes students can eventually be transitioned back into the regular system. The TSP provides funding to cover most of the tuition costs to attend designated special education private schools and any public alternative education centres.

This AIMS research report explores the origins of Nova Scotia’s TSP, assesses its current status, and examines the potential for expanding in Nova Scotia outside the Greater Halifax-Truro region. It reviews the successes and challenges facing the TSP and discusses the increasing demand for such services throughout the province.

In A Provincial Lifeline, Bennett recommends a robust provincial policy initiative to close the service gap by expanding the program and extending an educational lifeline to hundreds of students currently marginalized in the public school system.

Click here to read the full paper.