Department of Education officials will be meeting with the school council and administrators at Jack Hulland Elementary School tomorrow to discuss a review of the allocation of education assistants (EAs) to the school.

Deputy minister Valerie Royle told the Star this morning while she cannot speak to any individual case, a review was initiated about five or six weeks ago in light of concerns coming from a number of parents and others.

The number of paraprofessionals – education assistants and others who provide students with additional supports that may be needed – working with students in schools around the territory has remained the same as last year at 177.75 (compared to 81 in 2001).

However, Jack Hulland’s numbers have gone down by two, from 15.75 to 13.75, as some students needing help have moved to other schools.

Royle noted while the department allocates staffing numbers to each school, it is then up to the individual school to decide how staffing will work at the school.

“We have to leave it to the school,” she said, noting it’s the school that deals with students every day.

In light of concerns coming out of Jack Hulland over the situation, Royle said, a review was initiated.

A meeting with school officials and the school council tomorrow will detail the recommendations coming out of the review and look at how to move forward.

Royle also pointed out that while EAs are a major focus for many in talking about the issue, the department employs numerous other positions aimed at assisting students who need extra supports.

Russ Hobbis is one parent at the school calling for greater supports.

Like most parents, Hobbis said in an interview Monday, he has taught his daughter Molly that if she needs help, to ask an adult.

Now, the nine-year-old Grade 4 student is asking why she isn’t getting the help she needs, and her dad feels like he’s let her down.

Molly has autism, and, as Hobbis describes it, she’s a bright girl but needs extra help in the classroom – which is something she’s no longer getting.

In kindergarten, Molly had a full-time EA to help her out. As she’s moved through Grades 1, 2 and 3. there’s been an EA to help her out, though that help has gradually decreased to a shared EA in Grade 2.

Last year, she didn’t have an EA assigned her, but an EA assigned to other students helped her out as well.

Last June, about a week after Molly’s Grade 3 school year ended, Hobbis met with her school principal at Jack Hulland, where he was told the school wouldn’t be able to provide an EA at all in the coming year for Molly because it didn’t have the staff.

He then made calls that went unreturned to the Department of Education. Only after he contacted the minister’s office did anyone get back to him.

Essentially, he said he was told it’s the school’s problem, an explanation that doesn’t sit well with him, knowing the efforts the school has taken over the years for Molly.

Hobbis went on to make more inquiries, eventually learning that an EA position at the school was moved to another school.

The department told him no EA positions have been cut. However, he pointed out the population of the territory has increased, which raises the question of whether there needs to be more EA positions to accommodate the potential increase in students requiring the additional support.

As Hobbis pointed out though, Molly’s need is clear, with a letter from her pediatric psychiatrist stating her need for additional help especially in Grade 4, which can be a more difficult year for some students.

Three months into the school year, the difference an EA makes for Molly is clear, he noted.

Last year, he recalled, Molly had just one or two “meltdowns,” as he described them. This year, there seem to be one or two every week.

It was during the Remembrance Day assembly at the school that his daughter ended up in the quiet room crying for about an hour and a half, overwhelmed by the thought of those killed or injured in war.

By the time she headed back to class, she was faced with a classroom of students playing recorders, and once again found herself overwhelmed.

As Hobbis describes it, entering the classroom full of students playing recorders for Molly would be like standing in front of a jet engine for others.

EAs, he noted, have helped Molly through these types of situations. They are often able to tell that she’s becoming overwhelmed and cope before a meltdown even happens.

Hobbis has continued doing everything he can to ensure his daughter has the help she needs in the classroom.

However, the “last straw” came when Molly’s applied behavior analysis therapist was in town from Vancouver to work with a number of patients and was not allowed to do the class observation that was scheduled.

“The school visit never ended up happening,” he said.

As Hobbis described it during the classroom observation, the applied behaviour therapist observes how Molly interacts with her peers.

A local social worker then works with Molly on the plan, which is developed and/or updated to help her with social skills.

Hobbis noted his daughter has difficulty reading body language.

She can take it personally, for example, if another child doesn’t want to play with her even if that child is busy already doing something else.

The work of the applied behaviour therapist, including the classroom observation time, helps with that work.

While Royle couldn’t speak to individual cases, she said it’s not uncommon for ABAs to do classroom observations and for Education and Health and Social Services to make sure education plans are in sync with other plans developed for children.

Ultimately, though, it is up to the Department of Education to come up with the education plan for a student.

Essentially, Hobbis said, it seems Molly would have to regress in order to get the support she needs.

While it was argued there just isn’t the budget for the support, Hobbis argues if that’s the case, the budget needs to increase.

An unsuccessful Yukon Party candidate in the 2006 territorial election, Hobbis has called the party to tell them he is no longer a member of the party, which he believes isn’t responding to the needs of the territory.

The situation affects all Yukon students, he argues.

If support needed for students – Molly and others – is not in place, there could be disruptions that make it more difficult for all students in the classroom to learn.

Hobbis pointed out that up until this year, Molly has loved going to school. Now she has trouble sleeping on Sunday nights as she gets anxious about the school week ahead.

He emphasized he fully expects as his daughter grows up, she will go to university and become a contributing member of society.

“She’s more than capable,” he said, noting she needs some help along the way.

NDP Education critic Jim Tredger has raised the issue of education supports in the legislature in the past.

This morning, he said he couldn’t speak to specific cases. In general, he noted, he’s hearing from parents, teachers and school councils that decisions around the management of education planning for special needs students are becoming “more top-down” from the department, and involving the parents and teachers less and less.

He pointed to sections in the Education Act that call for parent, teacher and school involvement in individual education plans developed for students with special needs.

“Parents need to be part of the process,” the former educator said. It’s parents who know the complexity of the issues an individual student faces, he noted.

Similarly, a teacher can speak to what a student needs day-to-day in the classroom.

He also said parents need to be informed of their rights, and pointed out they can bring their case to an education appeal tribunal.

A representative of the Yukon Teachers Association, of which Tredger is a former president, was unavailable for comment.