Guest blogger Kirsten Endicott
Where is Schaller School?
Located at Ranch Ehrlo Society’s Pilot Butte campus, about 15 minutes east of Regina, Schaller School operates five classrooms and houses a cultural coordinator, education resource coordinator, kitchen (cooking) shop, an industrial arts shop and administrators.
Schaller School is one of our agency’s stabilization and assessment schools. It is often the first stop for school aged residents who come to Ranch Ehrlo. Once youth appear to be settled emotionally and able to display personal and social management skills that may transfer to a less restrictive educational environment, they may move on to a community school satellite program or the RES Transition Centre in the city.
How do the classrooms work?
There are a number of considerations made when students first come to Schaller School to be registered to attend school. Age, academic skills levels, social and behavioural needs, personal and academic history are all factors that offer different degrees of information. The decisions on where to place new students is usually the responsibility of administrators. These decisions are usually made by the principal and/or vice-principals and with considerations of the recommendations from residential and/or clinical staff.
How do we assess the students?
To determine the abilities and academic skill levels of each new student, we use “tried and true” standardized testing. The teachers conduct these assessments (with my support and input when required). We assess vocabulary, reading comprehension, word reading, spelling, and mathematics abilities and knowledge.
From the initial assessment, we are able to develop an individual educational plan (IEP) or an individual vocational plan (IVP) for each new youth. The IEP is a document that accompanies students to provide plans, objectives and accommodations for which ever program they are attending. It is a working document. This means that program changes or information alterations can be added as the school or work year progresses.
