Know the Goal, Follow the Plan
EA Professional Learning, St. James-Assiniboia School Division
Friday, October 23, 2026
Everything from today's session in one place: the main ideas, the plans and tools, the scenarios, and the links.
Rute Mendes, Coordinator of Student Services, SJASD
For attendance, please scan the QR code:
IINCLUSION is about HOW we provide ACCESS
Included
= physically present
Accessing
= able to engage, communicate, learn, and show learning
Think of a student who is 'included' but not really 'accessing.'
What does that look like: engagement, communication, assessment, relationships?
Inclusion is not placement. It's programming.
Programming answers:
What will we design so the student can participate and learn?
Educational Assistants' Role
"Under the direction of teachers and with training from other professional staff, educational assistants may help implement plans developed specifically for students by the student support team. (…) Activities may be academic, social, or related to specific student needs and plans. They can take place in a variety of situations and settings, ranging from universal support in the classroom, to targeted support or group work, to, on occasion, working with a student individually."
Government of Manitoba (2024)
Manitoba Framework
Manitoba Programming Pathways
The Addressing Student Diversity visual framework helps educators understand how programming and supports are organized for all students in Manitoba schools. It illustrates how inclusive education operates along a continuum of supports: from universally designed learning environments that meet the needs of all students, to more intensive and individualized programming for a smaller number of students with complex learning needs.
Appropriate Educational Programming (AEP): choose the right pathway
Curriculum with supports
(most students)
Adaptations
(changes to access, not the learning goal)
Modified outcomes (CMP)
when outcomes differ for students who meet eligibility and suitability criteria
Individualized programming (IP)
for students who meet eligibility and suitability criteria
"What's the risk if we confuse 'placement' with 'programming'? What's the risk if we confuse 'support' with 'adaptation'?"
Individualized Programming at Lakewood
Lakewood “Happy Bubble”: predictable routines and clear visuals, paired with meaningful, fun tasks, create regulation and engagement, so our team can support consistently and students can demonstrate learning in differet ways.
For more information on Individualized Programming, click on the link below:
rutemendes.ca
Individualized Programming
Some students require a personalized approach to learning that differs from the regular provincial curriculum. In these cases, educators may implement curriculum modifications or develop individualized programming, which involves modifying or removing specific provincial learning outcomes. These pra
Give the Least Help That Works, Then Less
From the most help to the least:
- Full hand-over-hand help
- Partial physical help
- Showing how
- Telling
- Pointing or gesturing
- The student does it alone
- Start with the least help that lets the student succeed.
- Wait before you add more. Count to 10 in your head.
- Reduce help as the student succeeds.
- Write down the kind of help you gave, so the team can see whether the student needs less over time.
A student who succeeds every time with full help has not met the goal yet. A student who does one step alone has made progress, even if the task took longer.
Track Goals, Not Impressions
A hard day doesn't make a student "bad." Look for patterns: how often, when, and what happened before.
The IEP Tracking Calendar helps staff visually monitor:
- Which goals are being targeted each day
- The student’s Zones of Regulation (engagement and emotional state)
- Patterns in behaviour, attendance, and participation over time
How it works:
✅ Record daily progress for each IEP goals (1–4)
✅ Use symbols to mark the student’s zone of regulation:
!Green – calm & focused
^Blue – low energy/disengaged
ºYellow – anxious/frustrated
●Red – escalated/dysregulated
Why it matters:
- Makes patterns visible (e.g., recurring dysregulation on Mondays)
- Promotes consistency and team communication
- Supports data-informed decisions when adjusting plans or goals
The calendar below illustrates how student data is tracked over time.
Please use the link below to download the current school year’s calendar
Early Years Scenarios
Theo, Grade 1
Theo is autistic and lives with his mom and grandmother, who picks him up most days. He knows every station in his train book, laughs during water play, and follows his visual schedule when an adult points to it. He uses about 15 spoken words, a few signs, and a set of picture cards. When the hallway is loud, he covers his ears and drops to the floor.
IP goals:
(1) Ask for a break or for help with a picture card in 3 of 5 chances.
(2) Complete his arrival routine (hang backpack, change boots, move his photo to "here") with no more than a gesture.
The moment: It is 8:55 and the hallway is full. Theo lies down beside his hook. His EA usually takes off his boots and hangs his backpack so he gets into class before the bell.
Mariel, Grade 3
Mariel has Down syndrome and an intellectual disability. Her family speaks Tagalog and English at home. She greets every adult by name, loves music class, and asks to be the helper. She speaks in two- and three-word phrases.
IP goals:
(1) Count up to 10 objects for a real class job.
(2) Wash her hands following the picture steps at the sink.
(3) Read 15 words she sees every day (her name, washroom, lunch, gym, exit). She also joins her class for music and phys ed with adaptations.
The moment: At snack time, Mariel's job is to put one napkin on each desk at her table of 8. The class is waiting, so the EA counts the napkins into Mariel's hand.
Jordan, Grade 5
Jordan is a First Nations student who is autistic and has ADHD and an intellectual disability. He reads at about a Grade 1 level. He memorizes Jets player stats and draws detailed hockey rinks. When a task has no clear end, he gets loud and paces.
IP goals:
(1) Use his 5-point scale card to name how he feels and choose one strategy from the card.
(2) Buy one item at the school canteen with a $5 bill and check his change with a calculator.
The moment: It is Friday canteen and the line is long. The EA hands the cashier the $5 bill and tells Jordan to hold out his hand for the change.
Middle and Senior Years Scenarios
Harleen, Grade 7
Harleen is autistic and nonspeaking. Her family speaks Punjabi and English at home. She uses a tablet with a communication app and types jokes on it during lunch. Motor planning makes handwriting very slow. She loves animal documentaries.
Goals:
(1) Use her device to make a comment or ask a question, not only a request, at least 3 times during a group activity.
(2) Walk from her homeroom to the resource room using a photo map, with the EA a few steps behind.
(3) Grade 7 art outcomes with adaptations.
The moment: During science group work, a classmate asks the EA, "Does Harleen want to do the poster?" The EA answers for her.
Lucas, Grade 8
Lucas is autistic, has a diagnosis of intellectual disability, and anxiety. His family speaks French at home; he attends the English program. He speaks in full sentences, knows how every appliance in the house works, and is careful and precise with his hands. He avoids the gym and other loud rooms.
IP goals:
1) Use his break pass and return to class within 5 minutes.
(2) Make a cream cheese bagel from a picture recipe in the foods room, including cutting the bagel with a bagel guard.
(3) Send a two-sentence email to his teacher when he will be away.
The moment: In the foods room, the EA slices the bagel herself because she is worried about the knife. Lucas spreads the cream cheese.
Grace, Grade 10
Grace is autistic and has an intellectual disability. Her family is Nigerian-Canadian. She speaks in short phrases and asks the same question several times when she is anxious. She matches colours quickly, loves fashion and music, and is very reliable once she knows a routine.
IP goals:
(1) Shelve returned library books for 20 minutes using colour-coded labels.
(2) Ask an adult other than her EA for help when she is stuck.
The moment: During her library shift, Grace stops at a book she can't place and looks at her EA. The EA shelves it and hands her the next one.
Daniel, Grade 11
Daniel is autistic and has ADHD. His family speaks Cantonese at home, and he cooks dumplings with his dad on weekends. He knows the Winnipeg Transit routes by number.
Goals:
(1) IP: Take the bus from school to Polo Park using the transit app, with an EA nearby.
(2) IP: Plan how to spend $20 for the week and track it on a sheet.
(3) IP: Tell a new staff member two things that help him in class.
(4) Grade 11 culinary arts and phys ed with adaptations.
The moment: At the bus stop, the EA checks the app, taps Daniel's card on the reader and tells the driver where they are going.
Shayla, Grade 12
Shayla is Anishinaabe, autistic, and has an intellectual disability. She uses short sentences and a picture board when she is upset. Her ABC Regulation Plan includes a Plan C. After June she plans to attend an adult day program. She is patient with younger students and likes quiet work with clear steps.
IP goals:
(1) Use her calm-down sequence (headphones, then 5 minutes in the movement room) when she notices her early signs.
(2) Fold and stack towels at her weekly volunteer shift at a personal care home.
(3) Choose two things to share about herself at her transition planning meeting.
The moment: The week before her transition meeting, her EA fills out the "About Me" page for her because Shayla gets frustrated with the questions.
Thank You!
What's one 10% change you can make tomorrow?
Write it down or scan the QR code to share:
Being There Isn't Enough