Special education committee rolls out digital toolkits for parents

As a mother of two sons (now aged 16 and 18) with learning challenges, Rosemarie Federico has long had to navigate the bumpy roads of their respective educational paths. She remembers attending parent teacher conferences at their schools, later leaving with regrets for not having asked specific questions she had originally gone looking for answers to. 

“I navigated blindly,” she said. “Had I known back then what I know now, things would have gone a lot smoother. I would have spared myself a lot of tears and frustrations. I would have understood more and not felt like my child was being attacked or targeted. There are so many emotional roller coasters that a parent goes through when they discover that their child is neurodivergent.”  

Federico, also the chair of the English Montreal School Board’s (EMSB) Advisory Committee on Special Education Services (ACSES), is aiming to make sure today’s parents don’t find themselves in the same situation.  

The committee, which brings together parents, teachers, school administrators and support staff, among others, is building digital toolkits containing tips and templates to help all parents manage various situations and best advocate for their children. Topics being covered include how to enter into a respectful inquiry with your child’s teacher about a bad grade or the overall roles to play in your child’s academic success.  

“It can be very overwhelming for parents,” said Julie Kristof, a parent member of the ACSES committee and governing board chair at John Grant High School. “The goal is to lessen the sense of overwhelm and to make sure that parents and students have the right tools.” 

The toolkits are being compiled in collaboration with the EMSB, the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec (EPCA), la Fédération des comités de parents du Québec, Éducation Québec and Société de formation à distance des centres de services scolaires et des commissions scolaires du Québec. Videos are being rolled out monthly and are available on the EMSB website and EPCA’s Facebook page. 

“All these different organizations are working together for a common goal,” said Federico. “There is a lot of overlap with our members. We like to be pioneers, and we saw this as an opportunity. These issues are not going to go away anytime soon. This project became very necessary for all of us.”