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Goal/Our Commitment
APSEA aims to provide culturally and linguistically responsive, inclusive, equitable, and accessible educational services and supports to learners who are blind or visually impaired and/or Deaf or hard of hearing and their families.
Across the organization, educational support exists in a variety of forms and environments including in the learner’s school, community, and/or virtually.
APSEA is committed to building capacity amongst its staff by providing regular opportunities for professional learning.
Our commitment to Educational Accessibility is to be a leader in developing and designing lived experience lead inclusive education and accessible responsive teaching and learning for all learners.
Policies
Government and APSEA’s policies and plans steer our work, these documents will be used to inform accessibility decision making across APSEA.
- APSEA Strategic Plan 2021-2024
- Nova Scotia - Students First Document - March 2018
- New Brunswick - Policy 322 - September 2013
- Newfoundland and Labrador - Inclusive Education Initiative - June 2017
Achievements
APSEA aims to make accessibility a priority and is continually working towards greater accessibility across the organization. Examples include:
- Creation of lived experience positions that directly support learners including American Sign Language Specialists, Deaf and BVI Mentors, Educational Deaf Interpreters.
- Virtual Learning Opportunities offering online support to learners in all four Atlantic Provinces.
- APSEA Connect offers virtual professional learning opportunities for families/school teams/service providers.
- Professional collaborations with outside agencies
- For learners who are blind or visually impaired, results of the Functional Vision Learning Media Assessment (FVLMA) are used to support classroom visual access.
- Alternate format material is available for learners who are blind or visually impaired.
- Access Technology is available for learners who are blind or visually impaired (following SET3 assessment).
- Remote mic systems are provided as recommended by their audiologist to learners who qualify to receive services from APSEA.
- Interpreting services are provided to learners who use ASL and qualify to receive services from APSEA.
Barriers
Identified limitations for accessibility in the organization:
- Limited opportunities for individuals with lived experience to share their expertise across the organization and in learner’s schools.
- The role of APSEA employees in supporting the tiered system of support in schools requires more support, especially at a Tier 1 level.
- Data from access assessment (i.e., FVLMA) is not documented for all learners.
- No consistent collaboration with outside agencies and potential partnerships.
- No formal process for researching, evaluating, and acquiring information about new accessible technologies.
Actions
Recommended actions to improve accessibility across the organization:
- Develop training modules for disability, accessibility, and inclusion and share with educational partners.
- Continue and enhance collaboration and sharing of resources with school boards, school districts and Regional Centres for Education.
- Continue and enhance collaboration and partnerships with outside agencies and other companies from all four of the Atlantic Provinces
- Continue and enhance online and in-person opportunities for learners to access appropriate areas of APSEA programs and services.
- Establish timelines for learners to receive assessments for access and ensure it is kept current, such as the functional vision learning media and functional listening evaluations supported by APSEA teachers.
- Develop and implement a process for research, evaluation and acquiring new evidenced-informed accessible technologies for populations who are BVI and DHH.
Indicators
Indicators are a measure of accessibility performance that can be tracked over time. These indicators will be gathered and monitored as actions are implemented. Targets can be set once APSEA is aware of an indicator’s current status.
- Learner support is informed by current access assessments.
- Learner support is offered in a variety of methods.
- Training modules are developed regarding accessibility, lived experience, inclusion, disability, and is shared widely within the organization and to external partners.
- Presenters with lived experience are sought out for Professional Learning/Training opportunities.
- A formalized process is used for researching, evaluating and acquiring new evidence-informed accessible technologies for learners who are BVI and DHH.