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Accessibility Plan
The St. James-Assiniboia School Division affirms its commitment to provide all staff, students, and visitors to its facilities an inclusive environment. To that end the division strives to eliminate or reduce barriers that inhibit the participation of people who may be affected by a disability, aging, an injury or other life event resulting in compromised:

  • Mobility
  • Dexterity (use of hands)
  • Vision
  • Communication
  • Understanding
  • Mental health

School division priorities are in agreement with the Accessibility for Manitobans Act

An important priority of the school division is to ensure each learner actively demonstrates academic, emotional and social growth resulting from:

  • Responsive, meaningful and engaging instruction
  • Appropriate, current and relevant programming
  • Strong focus on numeracy and literacy
  • Student self-assessment
  • Celebrations of learning

Other priorities include ensuring each learner benefits from strong learning partnerships resulting from:

  • Community involvement in school-based activities
  • The promotion of active and healthy lifestyles
  • Nurturing positive relationships with families and the local and global community
  • The division strives to ensure each learner is an active local and global citizen:
  • Who understands and respects diverse values and world views
  • Whose learning is connected to real world applications and actions
  • Inclusion of student voice

The school division believes each learner benefits from exceptional staff, a balanced financial position and appropriate physical infrastructure and therefore strives to:
  • Provide safe and inclusive physical learning environments
  • Recruit and train exceptional and effective teaching and support staff
  • Grow, protect and utilize revenues to achieve positive student outcomes

Mobility

Mobility barriers affect people with amputations, paralysis, cerebral palsy, stroke, multiplesclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, and spinal cord injury, and other disabilities or health conditions. The school division continues to identify and remove barriers to mobility by installing and maintaining wheelchair ramps, stair-lifts, and elevators.

Dexterity

People with dexterity disabilities may have decreased range of motion in their arms, fingers, wrists, back or neck, and decreased muscle control, spasms, paralysis, tingling or numbness. A simple door knob could be a barrier. Dexterity disabilities may result from Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendonitis, arthritis, sciatica, amputations or degenerative disc disease.

The school division continues to replace doorknobs with levers, installs automatic door openers and provides ergonomic work stations for staff and students. The division provides support persons such as scribes and note takers and invests in assistive technology to reduce or remove barriers faced by people with compromised dexterity.

Vision

Communication barriers affecting persons who are blind or have a visual impairment result when customers are expected to read signs, forms, and general information, understand physical gestures, locate landmarks or see hazards. The use of service animals is permitted by policy. Accommodations are provided by the division once identified by staff or students. This could include documents with increased font, iPad etc.

See website for more information http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/blind/index.html

Communication

Communication barriers affecting people who are hard of hearing, deafened or Deaf result when there are no alternatives to spoken communication. Hard of hearing or deafened people may have difficulty in hearing, but can still talk. Deaf people communicate through (ASL) American Sign

Language

A person who is deaf and blind may have some degree of both hearing and vision. Others do not. Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing may receive the support of a variety of professionals including, but not limited to: Consultants for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Interpreters, Speech and Language Pathologists, Auditory/Verbal Therapists, and Audiologists. Computerized note takers or educational assistants
may also be provided to assist in meeting a student’s academic and programming goals

See website for more information: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/dhh/index.html

Understanding

Barriers to understanding may result when a person is affected by intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities, including
autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, Down syndrome and ADHD. Knowing about the disability is not necessary in order to offer respectful service and clear
communication. Appropriate Educational Programming provides the regulation to guide policy and programming
for all students, particularly those with special learning needs, in receiving the appropriate educational programming they require. The regulations confirm in legislation that all students in Manitoba are entitled to receive appropriate educational programming that fosters student participation in both the academic and social life of the school. The legislation supportsManitoba’s philosophy of inclusion.

See website for more information: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/aep/index.html

Mental Health

Barriers created by mental health issues include a lack of patience and stereotyping. Mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, can affect a person’s ability to think clearly, concentrate or remember things. People with brain injuries may face similar barriers. Mental Health Promotion is about creating environments that promote and sustain positive mental health for everyone. Activities and interventions are designed to enhance protective factors and minimize
risk factors (individual, family related, environmental and economic in nature).

See website for more information http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/smh/