Building School Capacity to Support Students with Complex Needs Through the Wellness, Resiliency, and Partnerships (WRaP) Project

Abstract

Schools across the province of Alberta are increasingly diverse in terms of student backgrounds, circumstances, and needs (Alberta Education, 2017). In order to respond to the needs of a diverse student population, many schools are providing supports targeted to children and youth identified as being at risk for poor outcomes. The Wellness, Resiliency, and Partnerships (WRaP) project, initiated in 2009, was born out of recognition for the need to provide individualized, strength-based supports to students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). For eight years, WRaP success coaches aimed to provide innovative, collaborative, strength-based services and supports to promote the success of students with FASD in Alberta schools. The project initially targeted junior and senior high school students with FASD. Over the project’s most recent two years, the project expanded to serve elementary schools, as well as students with complex needs in addition to those that arise due to FASD. The aims of the project were to maximize school engagement, increase academic success, and enhance social, emotional, and physical well-being. In addition, coaches worked to enhance school and family capacity to support students with complex needs, and to build partnerships for youth to access supports at home, at school, and in their communities. Overall, the WRaP project demonstrated significant growth and positive outcomes in terms of building school capacity to support students with complex needs including FASD. We will draw on data from four years of annual interviews and focus groups conducted with WRaP success coaches and school personnel to describe the key processes, successes, and challenges involved in building school capacity through the WRaP project in Alberta schools. Key words: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; community-based participatory research; school capacity building; mentorship; students with complex needs Partout en Alberta, les ecoles servent une population d’eleves dont les antecedents, les circonstances et les besoins sont de plus en plus diversifies (Alberta Education, 2017). Afin de repondre aux besoins d’une population d’eleves diversifiee, plusieurs ecoles fournissent des appuis visant les enfants et les jeunes identifies comme etant a risque de connaitre de mauvais resultats scolaires. Le projet WRaP (Wellness, Resiliency, and Partnerships; c.-a-d., bien-etre, resilience et partenariats), initie en 2009, est ne de la reconnaissance du besoin d’offrir des appuis individualises et axes sur les besoins des eleves atteints du syndrome de l'alcoolisation fœtale (SAF). Pendant huit ans, les entraineurs motivateurs de WRaP ont œuvre pour fournir des services et des appuis innovateurs et collaboratifs qui visaient les besoins des eleves albertains atteints du SAF. Initialement, le projet visait les eleves albertains de la 7e a la 12e annee atteints du SAF, mais au cours des deux dernieres annees, le projet a ete etendu pour inclure les ecoles elementaires ainsi que les eleves ayant des besoins complexes au-dela de ceux qui decoulent du SAF. Les objectifs du projet etaient de maximiser la participation a l’ecole, augmenter la reussite academique et rehausser le bien-etre social, emotionnel et physique. Les entraineurs ont egalement travaille au renforcement de la capacite des ecoles et des familles pour soutenir les eleves ayant des besoins complexes et a la creation de partenariats permettant aux jeunes d’acceder aux appuis a la maison, a l’ecole et dans leurs communautes. Globalement, le projet WRaP a demontre des progres significatifs et des resultats positifs quant au renforcement de la capacite des ecoles pour soutenir les eleves ayant des besoins complexes, y compris le SAF. Puisant dans des donnees provenant de quatre series d’entrevues annuelles et de groupes de discussion formes d’entraineurs motivateurs et de personnel scolaire, nous decrivons les processus cles, les reussites et les defis lies au renforcement de la capacite scolaire par le biais du projet WRaP dans les ecoles en Alberta. Mots cles : syndrome de l'alcoolisation fœtale; recherche participative basee sur la communaute; renforcement de la capacite scolaire; mentorat; eleves ayant des besoins complexes