Sign this petition.
http://www.righttolearn.ca/#
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I wrote this to the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada:
Hey there!
My name is Linda Brown and I attend the Brother T.I Murphy Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland. It is an alternative learning facility for people who want a high school diploma. It offers regular high school courses (academic & general), and Adult Basic Education (academic & general). I am a participant at the Murphy Centre and I have been involved in Action Research with a team of facilitators, participants, and our principle researcher Dr. Morgan Gardner from Memorial University. Recently I have been working on various projects relating to youth advocacy in education, and youth as change makers. Our team has been investigating changes in our facility, and I myself have been involved in a rigorous interview process by which I have individually spoke to several members of the staff in hopes of bringing some new light and ideas to our findings. Throughout my research, it came to my attention that the Murphy Centre is facing a big challenge in regards intake periods. There is a growing number of people that the Murphy Centre has to turn down each intake period because the people coming to them have severe learning or cognitive difficulties. Stories I have heard from staff members include people being in their mid-twenties who are too old to be accepted into a high school, who are being turned away because the Murphy Centre does not have the correct modified program to offer to those who need it. From what I've heard (and experienced in my high school years) in most high schools there is a (I'm not sure if this is still the correct term) Pathway 3 or Pathway 4 learning centre where people with special needs can get the support they need. The Murphy Centre is facing a rising number of people who would benefit greatly from a program like the ones in high schools, except it's in need for adults! Now, I know this sounds absurd and I cannot possibly understand how it can be, but when these people are turned down by the Murphy Centre they then ask, "Well where do I go next?", and the people at the Murphy Centre have to tell them that this is the end of the line- there isn't anywhere else here you can go. Is this really true?! If it is, we need help! The student drop out rate is at an ultimate high in Newfoundland, 500-600 students a year. The Murphy Centre can only accommodate between 80-100 a year! And even if the facility had the space of proper funding to grow, only a percentage of the students would actually benefit from it because, even though we are an alternative facility, we do not have an alternative curriculum!
Help is needed in Newfoundland!
Sincerely,
Linda Brown
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1 comment:
Great letter, Linda. One point to remember is that there actually is a program in the works that would help some of these students. It's a new stream of the ABE program which is supposed to be called Job Readiness or something like that (Ann would know better). If that were developed, organizations like the Murphy Centre and others that offer ABE might be able to serve more of the students with learning disabilities, etc., under that program.
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