Blog
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Exciting Speakers at April 2 Advocacy Conference
“We have an exciting lineup of speakers for our April 2nd Advocacy Conference! Tickets below: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advocating-for-special-needs-in-bc-schools-conference-tickets-20582695396 Birgitta von Kosigk worked on many special needs files, including Auton, Anderson, and Hewko. She also represented clients before human rights tribunals and in school board hearings. Currently, Birgitta works with individuals, families, and businesses to create better solutions in areas such as career development and talent management, succession planning, and work/life balance (particularly work/caring balance). Lindsay Waddell practiced as a human rights lawyer where she represented complainants in proceedings before the BC Human Rights Tribunal and in judicial reviews and appeals of Tribunal decisions. She…
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Advocacy Conference April 2 – Poster for Sharing
*****GET TICKETS AT THE LINK BELOW****** https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advocating-for-special-needs-in-bc-schools-conference-tickets-20582695396 Please share this poster widely with your networks – just right click to download the image and share on Twitter, Facebook, etc!
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April 2 Advocacy Conference – Keynote Speaker Birgitta von Krosigk
We’re very excited to announce our keynote speaker, Birgitta von Krosigk! About the presentation – Advocating for the Advocate Register here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advocating-for-special-needs-in-bc-schools-conference-tickets-20582695396 Being a parent or primary caregiver of a child with special needs brings with it many tasks and roles over and above the traditional parental/caregiver ones. This is on top of whatever role brings in the financial means of sustenance and survival. In addition, parents and primary caregivers also often find themselves “on stage” in the role of School System Advocate. So let’s advocate for the Advocate and recognize the hard work that goes into taking on this…
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Advocating for Special Needs in BC Schools – a Conference for Parents/Guardians
Buy tickets on Eventbrite now! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advocating-for-special-needs-in-bc-schools-conference-tickets-20582695396 APRIL 2, 2016 – 930 AM TO 430 PM, Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver, BC Contact us at equitableaccesstoeducation@gmail.com with any questions. Do you have a child who needs extra support at school? Wondering how to get your child what they need to survive and thrive in the system? Exhausted and unsure where to go for help? Tired of waiting for the school system to finally get that assessment or write that IEP? Join us for a special one-day conference on these topics! Whether you’ve got a confirmed diagnosis or you have a child who…
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Open Letter to Kootenay-Columbia Board of School Trustees
Dear Kootenay-Columbia Board of School Trustees, We, the members of Parents of Special Needs Children –Equitable Access to Education, wish to acknowledge and thank the Kootenay-Columbia School District’s laudable decision not to remove students from their special education programs. We whole-heartedly support the Board Chair, Mr. Ganzert’s, opinion that, “The entire funding issue in the public education system is disgraceful.” We agree that not only are the eligibility rules inflexible, leaving many needy children without support services, but it is our collective experience that even those of our children who do qualify, all too often receive an inadequate level of…
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Open Letter to Abbotsford School District
A group of parents from the community of Abbotsford have come together to create a local extension of our Provincial action group with the intent on raising awareness and advocating for students who have extra learning support needs. They have written an open letter to the Abbotsford Board of Education and Abbotsford School District, and we are pleased to post it here. If you are interested in connecting with this group of parents, please email abbyparentaction@gmail.com. If you are not from Abbotsford, but would like to connect with our larger provincial parent action group, please email equitableaccesstoeducation@gmail.com. Open Letter to…
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Open letter to Minister Fassbender re: recent announcement to make $150,000.00 available to 120 international students for scholarships.
An Open Letter to the Honorable Peter Fassbender, BC Minister of Education, Dear Sir, We, the members of BC Parents of Special Needs Children: Action for Equitable Access, were greatly disappointed to learn of your recent announcement to make $150,000.00 available to 120 international students for scholarships. Our members are personally aware of the growing unmet needs of students with special needs currently attending BC public schools. We are passing along 120 suggestions, including a few from us, our children’s aunts, uncles, grandparents, and siblings about how those precious BC education dollars would be better spent. One suggestion for every…
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Who Are We Advocating For?
It has been less than one week since we launched the BC Parents of Special Needs Children – Action for Equitable Access to Education website. We are incredibly grateful for the support and interest our advocacy group has received from parents, educators and the media. A common question that has been raised is “who are you advocating for? kids with autism? kids with developmental disabilities? Who?” This is a fair question,. We have not been able to address this in the media interviews we have given over the past week, hence this blog post. The British Columbia Ministry of Education defines special…
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Our Community
The number of parents and guardians joining our private Facebook page has grown exponentially over the years. We decided to create this website for a few different reasons. We wanted a central, public site where we could report out on the action we are taking to advocate for parents and guardians who have children or youth with disabilities or are complex learners, and to share the supports and services we provide. Parents and Educators in British Columbia now have access to Resources that will assist them in learning about the policies, procedures and guidelines of the education system, as well…
