$250K for the Kinoomaadziwin Education Body
March 23, 2022NORTH BAY – Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing announced that the Ontario government provided the Kinoomaadziwin Education Body (KEB) with $250,000 in funding for the 2021-22 year to develop special education resources tailored for Indigenous students and parents and guardians of Indigenous children with special education needs to further support learning recovery and well-being post COVID-19. This new investment is part of the Culturally Relevant Special Education Resources Program of the Priorities and Partnerships Funding COVID-19 Equity Supports, which funds various initiatives that help promote a positive and supportive school climate, support healthy relationships, and address bullying and cyberbullying.
“Ontario continues to modernize education funding to deliver a sustainable and world-class system so students here in Nipissing can succeed in school and beyond,” said Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing. “This investment has provided assistance to the students at the KEB to continue to have access to the supports they need to recover from the pandemic disruptions so they can reach their full potential.”
“The Kinoomaadziwin Education Body is pleased to partner with the Ministry of Education as a funding recipient under the Culturally-Relevant Special Education Resources project. This project addresses an existing gap with respect to the availability of culturally-relevant special education resources for Indigenous parents and guardians. Parents and guardians are the primary advocates of Anishinabek students related to special education supports, advocacy, and well-being. Through community engagement, a customized toolkit will be developed for parents and guardians that assists with navigating special education support services through an Indigenous lens. We look forward to sharing the final product of this project with Ministry of Education partners and with parents and families of the Anishinabek Education System.”
Phyllis Anderson, Board of Directors Chairperson, Kinoomaadziwin Education Body.
This Project supports Indigenous students and parents through enhanced accessibility to resources to assist in advocacy, support, and the well-being of their children, which will be achieved through the development of a toolkit for parents/guardians that will address numerous topics within Special Education, including Special Education Funding, Services, Assessments, Human Resource Support, Supporting Structures, Understanding Jordan’s Principle, First Nation Students and Education Service Agreements, Benchmarks and Exceptionalities.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Ontario’s Learning Recovery Action Plan for Students | Ontario Newsroom