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How can we learn from stories of adults and their school experience?

EA Professional Learning, St. James-Assiniboia School Division · Friday, November 13, 2026

Rute Mendes, Coordinator of Student Services, SJASD

How Today Works

Friday Movies!

Meet Garret, a high school student with intellectual disability

The rhythm

  • A part of a story, then "think-Pair-Share"
  • At each stop, talk with the person beside you.
  • No right answers at the stops. Better conversations.

Three agreements

  • Real stories
  • This is a reflection exercise
  • Disagreeing is welcome. That's where the learning is.

STAND UP

Stand up if you have ever...

Jordyn's Story

A note before we watch: this film shows restraint, seclusion and exclusion. Some scenes may be hard to watch, especially for those of us who have worked in schools where these practices happened.

Meet Jordyn Zimmerman, a nonspeaking autistic educator and disability advocate. Throughout much of her schooling, adults underestimated her abilities and limited her opportunities to learn and communicate.


Similarities and Differences

1. What were the expectations from her school experience?

2. What were the opportunities she had to communicate her needs?

3. How did school help her to advocate for herself?

Presuming Competence

What assumptions did adults make about Jordyn?

How might those assumptions influence the opportunities we offer students?

HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

  • Think about a typical school day. When are students participating with their peers, and when are they primarily interacting with adults?
  • What can EAs do to increase meaningful peer participation?

The School Records

  • How can we document a student's behaviour accurately without letting that behaviour define who the student is?
  • What information about the environment and the support provided should we include?

Interpretive: "Jordyn refused and was uncooperative."

Objective: "Jordyn pushed the paper away and said no. She completed two questions after the task was broken down into steps."

Which description would help the next adult understand the student and provide effective support?

Regulate - Relate - Reason

Looking Beyond Behaviours: REGULATE

What did the adults do differently when they began understanding Jordyn's needs?

What could we change in our approach when a student becomes dysregulated?

Looking Beyond Behaviours: RELATE

  • How can an EA build a trusting relationship while also supporting a student's independence and relationships with peers?
  • REASON: Once a student feels safe, regulated and connected, what new opportunities for learning, communication or independence become possible?

Looking Beyond Behaviours: REASON

Jordyn is able to voice her story

Jordyn's Legacy: It's not JUST about her


Inclusion & Access

Included

= physically present

Accessing

= able to engage, communicate, learn, and show learning

Not all students INCLUDED are provided ACCESS


Think about a student you support. Talk with your partner:

  • Where are they physically included but not fully accessing learning or participation?
  • What could you change?


Inclusion is not placement. It's programming.

Meet Garrett

This short documentary by Dan Habib (Intelligent Lives transition films) follows Garrett, a high school student with an intellectual disability.

Garrett's job

Garrett wants to earn his diploma and have a house of his own. He has a job, and he takes pride in never being late.

As you watch, pay attention to what the adults around him do, and, just as importantly, what they intentionally choose not to do.

DISCUSS, 2 minutes with the person beside you

  1. What are the similarities and differences with a student you support?
  1. What everyday skills can EAs help students practise now that may support independence, employment and adult life?

His own meeting

Garrett opens his own planning meeting with a presentation about who he is: his strengths, his goals, and what helps him when he feels overwhelmed. He also closes the meeting himself. In his words, "It's my meeting."

By the end of the story, Garrett is mentoring younger students as an intern. His mom reflects on a test score that once defined him through a label and reminds us: "That's not who he is."

Think - Pair - Share

  1. What are you doing with the student that they might eventually be able to do more independently?
  1. How can you support their participation in decisions about their education?

What will you do differently on Monday?

Pick one. Write it down before you leave.

  • Give one student more time to communicate before stepping in.
  • Create one more chance for peer interaction.
  • Let one student complete a task independently, even if it takes longer.
  • Write one objective description instead of an interpretation.
  • Offer one real choice.

Share your pick with your partner. Your case manager and teachers are your partners in this work, so tell them what you are trying.