The St. Clair Catholic District School Board (SCCDSB) is currently implementing its 2025–2026 Mental Health Strategy Implementation Action Plan. This plan focuses on fostering a "Future Ready" environment through leadership, capacity building, and evidence-based mental health programming. The strategy is designed to ensure timely access to support through a coordinated, tiered approach—including Right Time, Right Care—while maintaining alignment with provincial mandates such as PPM 169.

Progress and Successes to Date:

The following highlights represent key achievements and ongoing initiatives from the current school year:

Leadership and System Coordination

• Streamlined access to care by integrating updated consent forms and mental health referral processes into the board's electronic documentation system (EMHware).
• Collaborated with co-terminus school boards and community partners (Child and Youth Mental Health Lead agencies) to create a Memorandum of Understanding and pathways for services through Right Time, Right Care.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

• All principals and vice-principals continue to participate in six small-group learning networks that meet three times per year (October, January, and April). Within these communities of practice, leaders develop school-specific theories of action and collaborative inquiries focused on SEL. These sessions allow leaders to share outcomes, learn from peer successes, and determine evidence-based next steps.
• The Student Support and Wellbeing Team (SSWT) has been co-planning and co-teaching MindUP brain breaks and lessons with classroom teachers to ensure sustainable, daily practice.
• Increased focus on boosting student awareness of school-based mental health supports by diversifying communication channels and launching targeted information campaigns.

Capacity Building

• All staff completed mandatory online training modules focused on suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. [Training Title: Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention ]
• All staff participated in mandatory online training focused on trauma-informed approaches. [Training Title: Crisis to Connection: Building Safe Responses to Big Behaviours ]
• New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) sessions provided new teachers with strategies to support students while maintaining their own mental health and wellbeing.
• SSWT, Indigenous Education members, and Special Education teams received two day (12 hours) training on Navigating Trauma: Empowering Educators, Strengthening Schools .
• All board Social Workers completed specialized training on DBT-Informed Suicide Risk Assessment & Management (2 days; 12 hours).
• All SSWT members completed certification in the Columbia- Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS).

Student and Family Engagement

• Supported the implementation of specific Ministry of Education (MOE) and School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) lesson plans for Grades 6, 7, 8, and the Grade 10 Careers course to increase substance use awareness and literacy.
• Conducted onsite parent and student surveys during the Fall 2025 Elementary Open House, Winter 2026 KinderStart, and Winter 2026 Secondary Grade 8 Open House to increase parent and student engagement.
• Collaborated on the "Mindful Messages" project with Dan Cicchelli and Melissa Tosh (Focus: Come Together – Building Connections).
• Planning is underway for the May 2026 Youth Summit across three locations (North, Central/Wallaceburg, and South), featuring co-facilitation opportunities for secondary students.

Supporting Specific Populations

• Attendance counselors and school teams have implemented tiered intervention strategies, including school-wide awareness campaigns and formal re-engagement plans for students facing chronic absenteeism.
• Provided education on the Egnowenmaad (Indigenous Social Worker) role to highlight the collaborative partnership with Indigenous Education Services.
• SSWT staff, in partnership with Pelumi Akinyemi (Graduation Coach for Black Students), facilitated a mental health workshop for Black, African, and Caribbean students at Ursuline College.
• Proposed a transition pathway for Grade 8 students moving to Grade 9 who require continued mental health support.

School boards are required to prepare and submit to the Ministry of Education the school year calendar to be followed for the subsequent school year. Regular and modified school year calendars are to be submitted to the Ministry for approval on or before March 1, 2026.

The school year calendar must be completed in accordance with the Education Act and Regulation 304, School Year Calendar, Professional Activity Days. The regular school year is the period between September 1 and June 30.

As per Regulation 304 , school boards are required to designate three mandatory PA days per school year. The board is given authority to designate up to an additional four PA days per school year. The requirement for every school year to include a minimum of 194 school days also remains unchanged. As a result, the minimum number of instructional days per school year is 187 and the total maximum number of possible PA days per school year is seven.

PARTICULARS:

The proposed draft school year calendar is included. Highlights are as follows:

• The school year for students would begin on Tuesday, September 8, 2026
• The final day of the school year for students would be June 29, 2027
• The list of holidays, professional activity days, and examination days are as follows:

Wednesday, September 2, 2026	Professional Activity Day (OECTA)
Thursday, September 3, 2026	Professional Activity Day
Friday, September 4, 2026	Professional Activity Day (CUPE)
Monday, September 7, 2026	Labour Day
Tuesday, September 8, 2026	First Day of Classes
Monday, October 12, 2026	Thanksgiving
Friday, November 20, 2026	Professional Activity Day
December 21, 2026 - January 1, 2027	Christmas Break
January 25 - 29, 2027	Secondary Examinations
Monday, February 1, 2027	Professional Activity Day
Monday, February 15, 2027	Family Day
March 15 - 19, 2027	March Break
Friday, March 26, 2027	Good Friday
Monday, March 29, 2027	Easter Monday
Friday, April 30, 2027	Professional Activity Day
Monday, May 24, 2027	Victoria Day
Friday, June 4, 2027	Professional Activity Day
June 23 - 29, 2027	Secondary Examinations
Wednesday, June 30, 2027	Professional Activity Day

This report provides a mid-year update on the progress that is being made at St. Clair Catholic for the 2025-26 school year. It highlights our progress toward our provincial and local priorities. It is a check-in and celebration of our progress to this point in the school year.

We continue to focus and reflect on our work in relation to the four priorities of the strategic plan:

• Learning & Innovation
• Faith & Well Being
• Partnerships
• Catholic Citizenship

We also remain committed to the priorities of the Student Achievement Plan:

• Achievement of Learning Outcomes in Core Academic Skills
• Preparation for Future Success through secondary transitions and graduation pathways
• Student Engagement, Faith and Well-Being as a foundation for academic excellence

By grounding our academic strategies in our Catholic faith and a commitment to the whole child, we remain on track to fulfill our mission for the 2025-2026 school year.

Learning & Innovation Highlights of Progress to Date

• Supporting classroom teachers with Acadience early reading screenings
• Literacy teachers working in literacy priority schools on a rotating basis and PLCs in priority schools
• Implementing Tier 2 and Tier 3 literacy resources
• Creation and implementation of a literacy scope and sequence for intermediate grades and literacy screening for all grade 8 students as they enter grade 9
• Implementing universal literacy screening and extending SRA Corrective Reading interventions to ensure early identification and strong alignment between instruction and student needs for intermediate students
• Math PLCs in all priority schools and 3 additional schools and expanded small group instruction rounds of in-school support
• Implementation of new learning skills course in grade 9 focused on structured literacy and core math instruction to support students in the transition to destreamed courses
• Supporting STEAM kits in all schools and access to robotics and coding at the secondary level
• Continue work with science partnership and revise kits to better align with 2022 science curriculum
• Professional development for teachers on using AI to support differentiated instruction in the classroom from K-12
• Provision of Lexia for all students in grades 1-3, with notable gains made in literacy skills

Faith & Well-Being Highlights of Progress to Date

• Principal Learning Networks with small groups of administrators focused on social emotional learning and creating collaborative cultures in each of their schools
• 2 full day sessions of learning for all first-year permanent new teachers
• 3 days of focused release time for new permanent teachers and 1 full day of release time for first time long-term occasional teachers to observe and work with mentors
• Funding of 1 additional qualification course for all first-year permanent teachers
• Formation of a transition committee to support students making the move from grade 8 to grade 9
• Early transition meetings and supports for students entering kindergarten, in collaboration with Children’s Treatment Centre (Chatham-Kent) and Pathways (Sarnia Lambton)
• Supporting teachers and students in elearning courses by building teacher capacity with inclusive communication strategies, student engagement and Brightspace tools
• Targeted support and mentorship for new principals and vice-principals program with Rob Cicchelli
• Supporting the use of Diversity kits in all schools to foster/ enhance inclusionary practices with students
• Continuing to nurture and support future leaders through the Catholic Leadership Discernment program

Partnerships Highlights of Progress to Date

• Bimi Akiiwan meetings to ensure that local partners are updated on the work of the Indigenous Education team and continued planning for future learning and collaborations.
• Enhancing educator capacity through culturally responsive land-based professional learning
• One-on-one meetings with pathways teachers and intermediate students to discuss pathway plans, strengths and next steps as learners
• Continue to connect with community pathways to create meaningful pathways and experiential learning opportunities for students
• Communicating with teachers to ensure comfort and understanding about how to plan, gather evidence, assess and report for new English language learner students
• KinderSTARt events supported by local parishes, Public Health, system support teams and community partners
• Expansion of partnership with the YMCA of SWO, to open a new Project Search site in Chatham
• Collaborations with Settlement Workers in Schools to support newcomer students and their families
• Facilitating the Future Farmers Summit in partnership with community organizations to deepen Grade 9 students’ understanding of sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship
• Engaging students in applied STEM learning through Drone Technology Workshops and robotics clubs to develop coding, problem-solving, and technical competencies
• Developing community partnerships with organizations such as Bluewater Health, the University of Guelph (Ridgetown), the Bluewater Bridge, LIUNA, and Skills Ontario to provide Grade 6–8 students with increased exposure to diverse career pathways and skilled trades opportunities

Catholic Citizenship Highlights of Progress to Date

• Continued development of the Staff HUB Faith platform to ensure that it is a central, accessible resource for all staff
• Synodal Listening Sessions: Facilitated meaningful dialogue between St. Clair Catholic leadership and diocesan partners through synodal listening sessions.
• Creation of a Lenten tool kit for teachers to help bridge the pastoral plan and the liturgical season
• System-wide Faith Day preparations and securing the guest speaker, Danielle Campo-McLeod
• Continuing the good work of CFAC to create pastoral vision to accommodate the needs of all
• Continued implementation and support of Blessed and Beloved, a faith and hope-filled program replacing (eventually all grades) the Fully Alive resource - Now have grades 1, 2 and 3
• Implementation of the Growing in Faith, Growing in Christ resource in grade 9 religion courses
• Monthly school presentations at board meeting aligned with Pastoral plan and Catholic Graduate Expectations

The Math Achievement Action Plan (MAAP) is now mid-way through its third year. This report, the progress report for the MAAP, will be submitted to the Ministry of Education on or before March 27, 2026.

Priority School Report

Building on student achievement gains from 2023-24, student achievement in math priority schools improved last year, evidenced by the 2024-25 EQAO results, with priority schools increasing student achievement in both grades 3 and 6 by 9 percentage points.

School	2023–24	2024–25	Year over year Change	Board Priority School Change
Grade 3
Gregory Hogan	60	71	+11	+9
Holy Trinity	56	65	+9
St. Elizabeth	39	31	-8
St. Matthew	48	47	-1
St. Teresa of Calcutta	56	71	+15
Grade 6
Gregory Hogan	44	44	+0	+9
Holy Family	21	30	+9
Holy Trinity	61	53	-8
St. Anne Blenheim	31	55	+24
St. Matthew	10	22	+12
St. Teresa of Calcutta	33	45	+12

As in the initial report, section A and B, which are the priority school reports, remain unchanged for this year. This data has been updated in Appendix B with Term 1 report card, survey and key performance indicator data. Both math facilitators, Janice Prangley and Rob Harding, continue to work in these schools on a rotating basis. In addition to this, we have been able to have retired occasional teachers, Paul Cogghe, Lori Barbato and Colleen Cogghe, teach small group sessions in two priority schools, as well as one additional former priority school.

The priority schools and their math facilitator are listed below:

Janice Prangley	Rob Harding
Holy Family – Grade 6	Gregory Hogan – Grades 3 & 6
St. Anne – Blenheim – Grade 6	Holy Trinity – Grade 3 & 6
St. Elizabeth – Grade 3	St. Matthew – Grades 3 & 6
St. Teresa of Calcutta – Grades 3 & 6

Priority Actions and Appendices

The priority actions selected as a board to focus on this year are highlighted in Appendix A. Each of these priority actions requires a key performance indicator, as shown in section B of Appendix B. As part of their student achievement plans, every school has chosen one priority action at the school and classroom level to focus on as a school.

It should be noted that achievement and attendance data in the initial and progress report represent different cohorts of students. The initial report is data from last year’s grade 3 and 6 students, whereas the progress report is this years grade 3 and 6 students. Student confidence data for both reports represents this years students surveyed in the fall and in February.

Section C of Appendix B is the all schools report and includes responses to a series of questions listed below:

1. How has your board ensured consistent implementation of the curriculum and the use of high impact instructional and assessment practices, and what evidence demonstrates the impact on student outcomes in all schools?
2. What specific areas of mathematical content knowledge for teaching have been prioritized across your board, and how have you used student data to inform these efforts?
3. How has assessment data informed changes to make interventions and instructional planning more relevant and responsive? What student achievement evidence demonstrates the success of these changes?
4. How have student digital tools been used to understand current student levels and provide responsive instructional support for students?
5. How has the analysis of disproportionality indices in your board’s Student Achievement Plan informed your Math Achievement Action Plan?
6. What strategies are in use in all schools in your board for improving the math achievement of students with special education needs including those with curriculum modifications and what evidence demonstrates the success of these strategies and their impact on student outcomes?

Other Actions for 2025-26
Additional actions we are taking this year to improve student achievement are:

• Math school visits focused on data, student learning and school math priority actions;
• The formation of a grade 6 math working group to identify and create resources that address areas of improvement for grade 6 math students;
• Continuing to support the use KnowledgeHook;
• Continuing to add resources, such as common assessments and additional practice, to the math scope and sequence;
• Math PLCs for all priority schools, as well as 3 additional schools that focus on a common student assessment and student work to guide next steps;
• Providing timely support for new teachers, first-time occasional teachers and teachers new to grade in using board math resources;
• Planning professional development sessions for FDK teams on the new Kindergarten curriculum for September 2026.

The SCCDSB Literacy Plan to support Student Achievement goals, implement PPM 168 mandates and strengthen and scale tiered instruction continues to guide our work. 2024-2026 have focused on ensuring teachers have access to the evidenced based resources. A plan for 24-27 Language Resource Implementation has been developed to ensure needed resources are purchased and distributed to effectively meet literacy needs through a multi-tiered system of support.

Priorities have been set for each term to address the actions to improve student learning:

Term 1 Priorities:

1. Early Reading Screener:
   • Support using Acadience Learning Online (ALO) K-8 for new staff.
   • K-2 coverage for educators to complete mandatory screenings by early October to ensure teachers had reading data to drive conversations on the October PD day.
   • Letters with screening results were shared electronically early in the fall and phone calls were made for students below or well below to open conversations with families well before formal reporting in February.
   
   Beginning of Year Acadience English Data K-2

   Grade		24-25 Data	25-26 Data
   Kindergarten	Benchmark Met	76%	72%
   Grade 1	Benchmark Met	33%	40%
   Grade 2	Benchmark Met	44%	51%

   • 1452 students K-2 were screened as mandated by the Ministry in PPM 168 using the Acadience Reading digital assessment.
   • 681 students will be rescreened by March 2 as directed in the PPM.
   • 4081 students beyond those mandated were screened using Acadience Reading in 3-8 using additional purchased licenses.
   
   Beginning of Year Acadience French Immersion Data K-2

   Grade		24-25 Data	25-26 Data
   Kindergarten	Benchmark Met	45%	51%
   Grade 1	Benchmark Met	19%	40%
   Grade 2	Benchmark Met	23%	47%

   • 463 students K-2 were screened in reading as mandated by the Ministry in PPM 168.
   • 249 students will be rescreened by March 2 as directed in the PPM.
   • Acadience Reading Online became available for Acadience Reading Français in December. Teachers were provided time to input the results into the platform manually on the October PD day. Teachers were recently provided PD to learn to use the digital assessment. Middle of Year assessments will be completed using the digital platform.
2. Tier 1 Instruction:
   • NTIP teachers and teachers new to grade / returning from leave were provided support for implementing structured literacy resources outlined in the scope and sequence.
   • UFLI continues to be the primary resource for foundational skills instruction K-2 in English classrooms. Son-au-Graphe for Kindergarten and I Can Read in French for Grades 1-3 continue to be the primary resources for foundational skills instruction in French Immersion classrooms.
   • Lexia continues to be available for all students in grades 1-3 in English classrooms, in grade 3 in French Immersion classrooms and as needed for students across the system in grades 4-12.
   • Lalilo Premium licenses continue to be available for all Grades 1-3 students in French Immersion to support foundational literacy skills in French.
   • The Rewards reading resource is being used as a tier 1 resource in Grades 4-8 and in the GLE/GLS course in secondary schools this year to support foundational skills instruction and multisyllabic word reading.
   • Licenses for Acadience screening in K-8 (and secondary where needed) are provided to ensure staff have the necessary tools to determine student needs in reading.
   • Acadience data is used to target priority grades / schools as a focus for the 3.4 literacy specialist teachers.
3. Tier 2 and 3 Instruction:
   • Literacy Specialist Teacher Support in priority schools:
     • School support was chosen based mainly on Acadience data.
     
     

     Round 1 Schools November & January	St. Mattdew SK/1, 1, 1/2	St. Teresa 1, 1, 1, 2	Holy Family K/1, 1/2, 2/3	Holy Rosary 1/2, 3/4
     Round 2 Schools December & February	Holy Trinity K/1, 1, 1/2	1/2, 1/2, 2/3	Sacred Heart PL 1/2, 3/4	St. Anne Blenheim K, K, 1, 1/2, 2/3

     • The first three week block of support started with a PLC including the Administrator, Grade 1 teacher(s) and Program Resource Teacher.
     • The focus was on tiered instruction using UFLI and Lexia. After three weeks, the literacy support teacher moved to the second school and repeated the process, returning to the first school for another three week block of support in January/February.
     • The teams shared resources to target needs during small group instruction.
     • Acadience progress monitoring tools were used to measure growth between benchmarks. All students made progress and many moved from below or well below benchmark to meeting in the middle of year screens. All screens will be completed by March 2.
     • All teachers reported that they had an increased skillset and confidence after the support.
   • Kindergarten PLCs in the eight priority schools to support tiered instruction, progress monitoring, and handwriting.

Term 2 Priorities:

1. Tiered Instruction
   • The 2nd round of support offered mid-March/April will include all K-3 English classrooms to build capacity based on learning from the Term 1 priority schools (Tiered Instruction and using Acadience Progress Monitoring to improve student foundational skills in reading).
   • The tentative plan pending Acadience Middle of Year results will include a final round of support May-June with a Kindergarten focus.
   • The SRA Corrective reading intervention resource is being piloted in 4 classrooms (Grade 4/5,5/6 and ENG 1L) to determine the effectiveness with students requiring intense foundational skills instruction.
2. Professional Development
   • PD for the new Kindergarten Curriculum mandated to begin in September will occur April-June for all educators in English and French Immersion classrooms.
   • Grade 1 French Immersion teachers will receive training in May-June for Son-au-Graphe for implementation in September.