O.M. Irwin School in Swift Current is the first southwest Saskatchewan school to get in on the recent provincial funding for classroom complexity.
They're one of 50 schools to get $325,000 in funding to address classroom complexity, which was a key issue between the province and teachers during recent collective bargaining.
"It was it was chosen due to the complexities in the school," said Chinook School Division Director of Education Mark Benesh "So we've hired some behavioral coaches for the division and the goal of it is to continue the great work that the school's presently doing, but enhance it with more specialization and allow those behavioral coaches and other specialists to get in the building. Support both students and staff and in enhancing their already strong capabilities."
The program will be focused on Irwin school but not exclusive to them.
"These behavioral courses that will focus primarily out of that school," Benesh said. "But one of the things that the board asked for was that no matter what funding we get for a particular school that we utilize it across the school division. The behavioral coaches will focus and support Irwin but will also support all the schools in the division as we work to support the different complexities that they have as well."
They've hired four behavioral coaches. Three of them have backgrounds as an educator and only one was an existing Chinook staff.
The program is done differently throughout the province.
"We're still getting some direction," Benesh said. "But the eight pilots that were across the province all did it differently. Every model actually looked very different. We've reviewed those models and we're still working on our model, but it'll be a Chinook model. We'll take what we like from those other circumstances and kind of build from there and do what we can in Irwin, so that if we are given other opportunities and where other schools can benefit that we learn what we can from Irwin support those kids and staff and then take it to other buildings as well."
Benesh noted they hired the behavioral coaches in anticipation of this funding and have also been in the process of hiring additional youth workers for mental health work.
Chinook is hoping the specialized skills also help their whole staff grow.
"We hope they their skill sets become each of our staff's skill sets through training," Benesh said. "One of the models I think in Regina, they actually team-taught circumstances, so those teachers could see what the behavioral coach would do in all those circumstances. Then they pull out kids and put them back into the class, all working on the various needs and meeting their needs where they are."
Benesh is hoping they will get funding for additional schools to join the program in coming years.