A continuing partnership between the local Catholic school board and Facile Perth is helping high-school students living with disabilities in Huron-Perth access the support they need and plan for their future.
Now in its second year, a partnership between the Huron Perth Catholic District school board and Facile Perth is helping more local secondary students living with disabilities and their families find and access the support services they need so they can achieve their goals.
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Last year, the local Catholic school board received funding through the province’s Removing Barriers for Students with Disabilities program that allowed it to forge a new partnership with Facile Perth, a local non-profit organization serving people living with disabilities and their families through planning and independent consultations to help them create the lives they desire in their communities.
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This year, the school board received even more funding from the province – about $180,000 – that, in part, allowed it to continue its partnership with Facile and expand the number of local high school students receiving support from eight – four each at St. Michael Catholic secondary school in Stratford and St. Anne Catholic secondary school in Clinton – to as many as 17 students and their families.
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“They assist our students with disabilities and their families, which is key, in Perth and Huron counties to plan for their future beyond secondary school,” said school board superintendent of education Tara Boreham. “Sometimes people don’t know where to reach out, what they can apply for, what resources that are out there. Facile knows all of the resources and things they can go and get and receive to help families with students living with disabilities.”
Through independent consultations, Facile Perth staff work with students, their families, teachers and wider support networks to create a plan for the future that’s specific to each student’s dreams, strengths and gifts. Facile also helps families navigate, find and access the right local support programs and services, as well as the direct-funding programs families need to help pay for those services and for the students to live an independent life.
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“They’re connecting students to community services and resources that might benefit them,” Boreham said. “They have the knowledge of what can help families more than our (school board) does. And now, they’ve built capacity with our special education team by providing us with the knowledge of resources and services so we can be a conduit for families to this information. It’s really helped the school system because they’re the experts.”
Along with a number of other initiatives aimed at removing barriers for students with disabilities, including the recent hiring of an inclusivity coach to work with staff at each of the board’s schools and plans for a board-wide inclusivity audit in the near future, Boreham said she hopes the board will continue to receive government funding in future years, so this partnership with Facile Perth can continue to grow and provide support to more students and their families.
For more information on Facile Perth and the services and supports it provides, visit facileperth.ca.
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