Special Education

"Our Commitment is to Every Student"

Welcome to the Special Education Department at St. Joan! This is a bustling department full of life and energy as the team of monitoring and resource teachers, educational assistants, child and youth workers, and specialists work to ensure our students are treated equitably.

Two Different Special Education Programs

9d262a67-3fca-4abb-a6bf-b97406768e1f (1).MP4

St. Joan of Arc Catholic Academy has two different Spec Ed programs at St. Joan, each catering to students with different special needs. The ISP (Intensive Support Program) is designed to provide students with multiple exceptionalities with the supports, services, and programming in an ideal student-to-teacher ratio. ISP teachers reinforce literacy and numeracy skills while supporting credit achievement and the acquisition of life skills to help students transition to independent living after high school.

What is the Resource Room?







Fully integrated students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) have access to:

  • subject experts with Special Education qualifications in a Resource Room

  • a monitoring teacher who supports and advocates for the student, tracks progress, and liaises with parents and other educational partners

  • the GLE (Learning Strategies Course), offered to grade 9 students to help with the transition to high school

Meet Ms. Gorejko, Head of Special Education

Ms. Gorejko has been teaching at St. Joan for over 10 years. She is the head of the Special Education department.

Parent Guide to Special Education

ParentGuideForSpecialEducation2019RevOctober2019.pdf

If you have a child with special education needs, please review this document to understand how alternative programming looks in the TCDSB.

Additional key terms are also defined on The Special Services page.

A Place to Belong at St. Joan

The DDME program is always brimming with activity! Students learn basic skills through hands-on crafts, daily living exercises, and varied interaction within the school. Some of our students are partially integrated, taking courses at the Essential level to build workplace skills.

What do we do in the DDME Program?

DDME Video.mov