BCEdAccess Society

Our mission is to ensure equitable access to education for students with disabilities and complex learners in British Columbia.

Tag: AdvoCon

  • #AdvoCon2020 Panel: Let’s Talk: A Conversation on How Race and Disability Intersect in Education

    #AdvoCon2020 Panel: Let’s Talk: A Conversation on How Race and Disability Intersect in Education

    We’re grateful to Moms Against Racism Canada for bringing this important panel discussion to our conference. We hope you will be able to come learn and participate at AdvoCon2020, our 6th education advocacy conference held September 17th to 23rd online, with recordings available after to ticket holders.

    Tickets available here:

    AdvoCon2020 Tickets

    We are Moms Against Racism, Canada. MAR is a member based international non-profit organization of moms who strive to unify our parenting skills teaching anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion by: Doing the work. Starting at home.

    Let’s Talk: A Conversation on How Race and Disability Intersect in Education

    “How do I support my child during these times? Join a varied group of parents who will share lived experiences of raising racialized children with disabilities. Panelists discuss what youth really need developmentally in education from various perspectives, caregiver strategies for dealing with teachers, staff, administrators, parents, and other students, open up conversations with you to help reimagine education that is best for each child’s needs.”

    You will learn:

    (1) increased knowledge of the intersections between race and disability;

    (2) caregiver strategies to enhance your child’s education;

    (3) at least one actionable step you can employ this fall to support your child

    The last 30-40 mins are dedicated to answering your questions.

    Learn more about Moms Against Racism at

    https://www.facebook.com/MAR1Canada

    Read all the details about our conference here:

    AdvoCon2020 Event Site

    Or…

    Get Your Tickets Now!

  • #AdvoCon2020 Workshop: The Communication in Behaviour, by Mandi Sharkey

    This is Mandi’s third time presenting at our conference, and she’s back by popular demand! We hope you will be able to make it to see her speak at AdvoCon2020, our 6th education advocacy conference held September 17th to 23rd online, with recordings available after to ticket holders.

    Tickets available here:

    AdvoCon2020 Tickets

    Mandi Sharkey, Neurodiversity Consultant at E.P.I.C. Consulting Collaborative, is an advocate, certified trainer and educator committed to helping care teams and families in the community access the tools for more success with less stress. Her presentations cover Inclusion, Natural Play Therapy, Low Arousal Approach and Collaborative-Proactive-style communication.

    Workshop: The Communication in Behaviour

    You will learn:

    -About the Low Arousal Approach

    -Collaborative and Proactive approaches to learning more about behaviours

    Understanding that behaviour is communication can be key to understanding difficulties or distressed behaviours that appear in your environment. Learning different things behaviour can communicate can be complicated, but learning to look for it, ask about it and collaborate proactively to solve it is key.

    Mandi is on Twitter @SharkeySupport

    Learn more about Mandi’s work at

    https://epiccollaborative.ca/

    Read all the details about our conference here:

    AdvoCon2020 Event Site

    Or…

    Get Your Tickets Now!

  • AdvoCon2020 Workshop: Reading Science and Exceptional Learners

    Dr. Kathryn Garforth

    We’re grateful to have Dr. Kathryn Garforth join us again this year! There are many ways to support reading development without opening a book, and she will take us through how to help exceptional learners to develop the skills needed.

    “Did you know that reading is not a natural process? The human brain has not evolved to have one reading center. Every brain has to rewire itself so it can learn to read. Reading Science bases instruction on the 5 Essential Skills that everyone needs to develop in order to become a confident reader. There are many ways we can support these skills at home and in the classroom to give individuals access to what the UN considers a basic human right, reading.”

    Dr. Kathryn Garforth

    This presentation is suitable for parents and professionals who would like to find out how they can support reading development for individuals with exceptionalities. There are 5 essential skills related to reading development that everyone needs to develop.

    Earlybird tickets on sale till September 1 – get them now!

    Eventbrite link

    Dr. Garforth has professional expertise in Educational Psychology and a personal understanding of the frustrations children and adults with learning difficulties experience at home, school, work, and in extracurricular activities.

    Reading Science and Exceptional Learners

    Tuesday September 22 10:30-11:45

    Learn about other presentations and the conference:

    https://sites.google.com/bcedaccess.com/advocon2020/home?authuser=0

    Learn more about Dr. Garforth and her work:

    http://www.garfortheducation.com

    Connect with her on social media:

    @garfortheducation

    @garfortheduc

  • AdvoCon2020 Workshop: Section 11 and the Appeals Process

    We’re grateful to have the British Columbia Confederation of Parent Advisory Council (BCCPAC)’s John Gaiptman join us this year for the 4th time! Participants will come away from his presentation understanding how to use their district’s appeal process, how to appeal to the Superintendent of Appeals and how to advocate effectively. 

    “Join me to learn how the School Act provides parents/guardians with the right to appeal any decision they feel significantly affects the education, health or safety of the student. Parents and guardians are their child’s natural advocate, making sure their child’s rights, needs and opinions are respected. Advocacy is about working to achieve a successful solution for the benefit of the child. This workshop will provide you with knowledge and tools to successfully handle situations that negatively impact your child’s education and to navigate the school district Appeals Process and submissions to the Superintendent of Appeals.”

    John Gaiptman, BCCPAC

    Earlybird tickets on sale till September 1 – get them now!

    Eventbrite link

    John has been involved with public education for over 35 years. He spent 14 years as a Superintendent of Schools; twelve of which were with the Greater Victoria School District and two with the New Westminster School District. John is married with two daughters and three grandchildren.  It is his hope, through his vast experience in public education, that he can continue to support and empower parents for the success of each learner.

    Section 11 and the Appeals Process

    Monday September 21 10:30-11:45

    Learn more about John and the work of BCCPAC:

    https://bccpac.bc.ca/

  • AdvoCon2020 Workshop: Rachel Lovick, Food For Everyone

    We are excited to have Rachel Lovick bring a unique workshop experience for the first time this year at AdvoCon2020! This event runs from Sep 17th to 23rd, online.

    Rachel will be talking about:

    1. Why food education is important

    2. Inclusion in the kitchen 

    3. Food for mental health

    Earlybird tickets on sale till September 1 – get them now!

    Eventbrite link

    Rachel is a Vancouver-based chef and culinary educator. She has spent the last 5 years working at Brainboost Education with children and youth. She is passionate about sustainability, food justice and connecting with people with food.

    Food For Everyone

    Sunday September 22 1-2:15

    Learn more about Rachel:

    www.foodphilosophykitchen.com

    Follow her on social media:

    @foodphilosophykitchen

  • #AdvoCon2020 Feature Presenter – El Jones

    We are so excited to have El Jones join us as our feature presenter for AdvoCon2020 this year! This event runs from Sep 17th to 23rd, online. A colleague said of her “If I had to name one thing that best describes Jones’ writing, it’s how she captures the human core of the issues and people she writes about and channels that humanity to her readers.” (The Halifax Examiner 2018). El Jones explores issues of racism, social justice and in particular prison rights issues.

    Earlybird tickets to AdvoCon2020 on sale till August 31 – get them now!

    Eventbrite link

    El Jones is a poet, educator, journalist, and advocate. An Atlantic Journalism Award winner and national champion spoken word artist, she was the fifth Poet Laureate of Halifax, and the 15th Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. El is a 2016 recipient of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission Burnley “Rocky” Jones award. El is a co-founder of the Black Power Hour, a radio show developed collectively with prisoners. Her advocacy and work fights anti-Black racism in Canada, walking in the path of our great-grandmothers who resisted relentlessly. 

    Her book of poetry and essays on state violence, Canada is So Polite will be released in the winter from Gaspereau Press.

    Feature Presentation

    Sunday September 20th 10:30am to 12:30pm 

  • IEPs – What You Need To Know – #AdvoCon2020

    IEPs – What You Need To Know – #AdvoCon2020

    Suzanne Perreault has delivered this popular presentation at every one of our conferences so far. Her IEP presentation is a can’t-miss opportunity whethe with much needed information! We hope you will be able to make it to see her speak at AdvoCon2020, our 6th education advocacy conference held virtually this year, September 17th to 23rd online!

    Tickets on sale August 1 – follow us on Facebook for more!

    BCEdAccess on Facebook

    Suzanne is a mother of 3 and a Langley School District Trustee.  She is also the former Administrator of a Private Vocational School, and has worked as an SEA and a TEDx Talk speaker. She currently works as a Youth & Woman’s Counsellor in Langley, British Columbia, is a public speaker and the recent President of the Langley DPAC for 3 consecutive years. She has been attending to various committee’s such as SD35’s Inclusive Education working committee, Emergency Preparedness and has been nominated for both the Fraser Valley Diversity Award & BC  Excellence in Autism Awards. She has successfully worked alongside educators & parents creating positive changes in school climate as well as parent engagement based on focusing on the communication process as it interfaces with the journey having a child with needs. She has advised and worked on committees with the BCCPAC, the BCEdAcess Task Force and other agencies to help promote educational change in areas of Inclusion, wellness, leadership, motivation and parent engagement. Her primary focus is the success of the student by virtue of bridging educators and parents.

    Workshop: IEPS – What You Need To Know

    You will learn:

    -The IEP Planning Cycle

    -The importance of language

    -Advocacy and IEPs

    Suzanne is on Twitter @DecisionTree007

    Read all the details about our conference here, more information is being added every day!

    AdvoCon2020 Site

  • #AdvoCon2020 Sponsorship Opportunities

    Our annual conference is going virtual!

    AdvoCon is a gathering of families of children and youth with disabilities and complex learners, and professionals who work with them.

    September 17th to 23rd, 2020, over 150 attendees from around BC will gather virtually for the: 

    BCEdAccess Society’s Annual Conference

    AdvoCon2020: Foundations of Education Advocacy

    BCEdAccess’ Annual Advocacy Conference is always well-attended by parents and guardians, self-advocates, teachers, school trustees, educational assistants, psychologists, principals, inclusion agency representatives, and other professionals. Why? Attendees learn practical information, earn professional development credits, and interact and network with peers, mentors, and sponsors. 

    Our 2020 event will have a broader attendee reach, as a virtual event is accessible to more individuals. While we are still in the process of confirming topics and speakers, we have confirmed the following topics: Human Rights, IEPs, the appeals process, mental health, disability and sexuality, standards of practice, and more.

    “Every student deserves equitable access to high quality education. The BCEdAccess Society are inspirational advocates who do a great service for children in B.C.” Hon. Rob Fleming, BC Minister of Education

    As a non-profit organization led by volunteers, we look to our community to support this annual event. This is a great opportunity to reach our audience and let them know that you share their values. We welcome financial and in-kind contributions from like-minded and supportive organizations. 

    For these and additional sponsorship opportunities, please inquire at conference@bcedaccess.com

    Sponsorship opportunities:

    Friend – $500

    • Logo placement on marketing materials and event platform landing page/waiting room
    • Promotion on social media
    • Promotion to our email list
    • Opportunity to include a small item in delegate bag 
    • Opportunity to provide an item for prize draws/raffles

    Supporter – $1500

    • Logo placement on marketing materials and event platform landing page/waiting room
    • Promotion on social media
    • Promotion to our email list
    • Opportunity to include a small item in delegate bag 
    • Opportunity to provide an item for prize draws/raffles
    • Opportunity to be displayed as sponsor during 1 in-session question
    • 1 free ticket to provide equitable access to delegates

    Partner – $3000

    • Logo placement on marketing materials and event platform landing page/waiting room
    • Promotion on social media
    • Promotion to our email list
    • Opportunity to include a small item in delegate bag 
    • Opportunity to provide an item for prize draws/raffles
    • Opportunity to sponsor a session
    • Opportunity to be displayed as sponsor during 1 in-session question
    • 2 free tickets to provide equitable access to delegates

    Champion – $5000

    • Logo placement on marketing materials and event platform landing page/waiting room
    • Promotion on social media
    • Promotion to our email list
    • Opportunity to include a small item in delegate bag 
    • Opportunity to provide an item for prize draws/raffles
    • Opportunity to sponsor a session
    • Opportunity to be displayed as sponsor during 2 in-session questions
    • 5 free tickets to provide equitable access to delegates

    Title Sponsor – $10,000

    • “Organization name presents AdvoCon 2020”
    • Prime logo placement on event platform landing page/waiting room
    • Prominent logo placement on delegate bags, shipped to their residence
    • Promotion on social media
    • Promotion to our email list
    • Opportunity to include a small item in delegate bag 
    • Opportunity to provide an item for prize draws/raffles
    • Opportunity to sponsor a session
    • Opportunity to be displayed as sponsor during 3 in-session questions
    • Opportunity to host a debrief or conversation with small groups of delegates
    • 10 free tickets to provide equitable access to delegates

  • AdvoCon2020 – Seeking Presenters

    #AdvoCon2020 – Call for Presenter Proposals

    The BCEdAccess Society is an organization of parents, guardians and allies who work together to advocate and support the rights of children and youth with disabilities and who are complex learners to help them achieve equitable access to a quality education. 

    Our 6th annual conference will take place from September 17th- 23rd, and will be a virtual, online event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We’re excited about the opportunity to bring together families and allies of students with disabilities from all over the province to further our conversations, and to learn strategies that can help us seek solutions to achieving equitable access to education in British Columbia.  

    We’re making all efforts to ensure this virtual conference is as accessible as possible. 

    CALL FOR PROPOSALS:

    Submit your proposal to speak by July 17th by filling out this form:

    AdvoCon2020 Presenter Proposal Form

    This conference is an opportunity to inspire and educate parents and guardians as leaders in their communities. We aim to help drive progress by sharing resources and practical information, and connecting with advocates and activists striving for equity and inclusion within the educational system. This conference also invites the larger community seeking to advance rights for children and youth. 

    The conference will be a live event that will take place virtually, using an online conference hosting system, and in some cases the online platform Zoom. We will be recording the content to ensure that your message reaches maximum viewing and lives on into the future.  We invite proposals for presentations from self advocates,  parents and guardians and other experts around some of the themes identified by our membership. We would also welcome other ideas fitting to current issues in inclusive education, or our mission as a whole. Priority will be given to speakers who are Indigenous, Black, or other POC, and/or disabled.

    Options for types of presentations:

    • 1 hour workshops with Q&A following
    • Panels (organize a panel or be a panelist)
    • Facilitated open conversations between attendees
    • Collaborative activities with attendees

    Presentations should:

    • Be on the topic of education and students with disabilities
    • Recognize the rights-based focus of our organization
    • Not be specific to any individual disability
    • Use inclusive language
    • Make every attempt possible to address students with disabilities and complex learners within an intersectional context (Indigenous, Black and other POC communities, LGBTQ2S+, etc.)  
    • Not engage in promotion of self, products or services within the presentation itself

    Some topics of interest to attendees past and future include, but are not limited to:

    • Advocacy skills and tools for families
    • Anti-racism
    • Decolonization
    • Future of education
    • Human Rights
    • Inclusion
    • Leadership 
    • Mental Health
    • Self-Advocacy
    • Successful ways of including and supporting students
    • Systemic change

    We will be asking workshop presenters and possibly other types of presenters to pre-record their session and then come to share it live and participate in Q&A. If you have someone who can assist you to facilitate that’s great, and if not we’ll assign a volunteer to work with you. We can help you put together a panel. We’ll also provide tips, instructions and support on how to record your session, and how to present online. If you need support to do any of this, we will do our best to help you find it.

    It will be important that you have a strong internet connection for your live participation.

    Proposal submissions are due by July 17th, 2020.

    We’re excited to see what you come up with and look forward to working with you at #AdvoCon2020!

  • #AdvoCon2019 Press Release

    MEDIA RELEASE

    For Immediate Release

    Keynote speakers include BC People First, Provincial Director of Inclusive Education and Executive Director of Inclusion BC at 5th education advocacy conference

    SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, October 16, 2019 – Self-advocacy organization BC People First, Patricia Kovacs from the Ministry of Education and Karla Verschoor of Inclusion BC will be the keynote speakers on Friday and Saturday, October 18th and 19th at Connecting to Strengthen Advocacy in Education, BCEdAccess’ 5th education advocacy conference held at the Civic Hotel in Surrey this coming weekend.

    “Connecting to Strengthen Advocacy in Education is really about bringing together parents and guardians with self advocates, Education and Advocacy partners to share knowledge and experiences, talk about our common ground and advance equitable access to education for all students,” says BCEdAccess Chair Tracy Humphreys. 

    “Self advocate organizations, government, and organizations like Inclusion BC, Family Support Institute, BCCPAC to name a few, are all working to improve access to education and we’re glad to be able to engage in meaningful dialogue together at this learning event.”

    Just one day prior to the release of their second album, Reasons to Dream, the Mayday Club Youth Choir for Neurodiversity will be performing on Saturday.

    Conference attendees will learn from presentations and workshops by lawyers, support professionals, advocacy organizations, teachers, self-advocates and parents, on topics like human rights law, disability studies, parent professional partnerships, functional assessment, self advocacy, school exclusion, and more.

    Family Support Institute and their Regional Network Coordinators are setting up remote conference experiences where families in other communities are getting together to participate in the conference online. The option also exists to attend at home.

    “Families no longer need to feel isolated and alone. We’re bringing the conversations and practical information to them in Surrey and around the province,” says Humphreys.

    “This conference started to share knowledge and experience and make connections beyond the bounds of our Facebook group. Ultimately parents need to know that their children have a right to education, and as the Ministry of Education’s policy for students with disabilities states: ‘All students should have equitable access to learning, opportunities for achievement and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their educational programs.’”

    Ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bcedaccess-fall-advocacy-conference-connecting-to-strengthen-advocacy-in-education-tickets-61005280436

    Conference FAQ: https://bcedaccess.com/2019/08/27/fall-advocon2019-faqs/

    Contact Information

    Phone: Tracy Humphreys 250-858-5165

    Email:  bcedaccess@gmail.com

    Website:  www.bcedaccess.com

    Twitter, Facebook, Instagram @bcedaccess

    About BCEdAccess

    Founded in 2014 by a small group of parents struggling to get their kids support at school, BCEdAccess has grown to over 2000 parent support group members. They participate in individual and systemic advocacy around the province. Their survey tracking exclusions in BC schools showed over 3600 instances of student exclusions in the 2018/2019 school year. Their Forced Out survey found parents of children with disabilities were feeling forced to pull their kids from public schools. It found 44% of members note they have no access to specialized services, 42% cite inadequate training for educational assistants, and 43% said schools are not following their child’s individual education plan.The reports and recommendations can be found on the website: www.bcedaccess.com

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