Universal support approaches are ones that are available to all students in classrooms and have strong supporting evidence demonstrating a substantial impact on learning, well-being and belonging. School Support Teams, consisting of school administrators, Learning Support Teachers, School Liaison counselors and school-based therapy services collaborate with classroom teachers to define and implement strong and effective universal approaches to support the majority of learners, resulting in fewer learners requiring differentiated, targeted or individualized support.
The following personnel and structures facilitate the design and delivery of flexible universal learning and wellness supports within each MHCBE schools:
- Staff Collaboration: School personnel collaborate to clearly define, understand and implement common universal learning and wellness supports.
- Learning Support Teachers (LSTs): LSTs work with classroom teachers to develop and understand class profiles and implement universal supports that are responsive to that class profile.
- Individual Support Plan (ISP) to Enhance Universal Practice: Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for most MHCBE students are organized with the Universal Design for Learning guidelines. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities. The ISP serves as a tool to target strategies and supports within these guidelines that create greater learning access for a specific student. MHCBE teachers are encouraged and supported to implement as many of these strategies at an universal, rather than individualized level, resulting in greater support for all students, reduced stigmatization of using supports and the opportunity for students to better understand their personal learning profile through making and evaluating decisions on which strategies and supports work best for them.
- Physical Education and Wellness (PEW) Support Teacher: The PEW Support Teacher travels to elementary schools to support the implementation of the new Physical Education and Wellness curriculum.
- Community Coming Together (CCT) is a mental health capacity-building initiative within MHCBE schools that works to promote positive mental health in children, youth, families, and support individuals in the community who interact with children and youth. CCT Wellness Facilitators work in all MHCBE schools supporting universal wellness practices. Community Coming Together (CCT) Website