What is an Individualized Program Plan (IPP)?
An Individualized Program Plan (IPP) is a personalized plan that outlines how the school team will support a student's learning and success. According to Alberta Education, an IPP is a shared commitment between the school, the student, and the family to ensure the student receives the support they need. It is a living document that is reviewed and updated throughout the school year to reflect the student's growth and changing needs.
An IPP:
- Focuses on the student's individual strengths, needs, and areas for growth.
- Is developed collaboratively by the student, parents/guardians, teachers, and other school staff involved in the student's learning. The members of the team may change as the student's needs evolve.
- Provides a plan for supporting learning while monitoring and celebrating progress throughout the year.
- Keeps families, students, and school staff informed about the student's goals, growth, and next steps.
- Identifies personalized learning goals and the strategies that will help the student achieve them.
- Outlines accommodations and supports that enable the student to access learning and demonstrate their understanding.
- Serves as an ongoing record to ensure consistent programming and support from year to year.
- Helps guide planning for important transitions, such as moving between grades, programs, or schools.
What Types of Parental Involvement is there in the IPP Process?
Parents are encouraged to participate in the IPP process by meeting with school staff as we work towards creating an IPP goal that reflects the findings indicated the student’s Psycho-Educational Assessment. This can be achieved by:
- Booking an appointment during regular school hours with school staff.
- Briefly meeting with the IPP Coordinator during our Meet the Teacher or Student Progress Conference evenings.
- Completing the “Understanding my Student” template to provide parent voice.
Reminders to get involved in your child’s IPP are sent home in October, January and June through Knights’ Notes. Copies of IPPs are sent home in October, January and June for parents to review, provide feedback, and sign.
What are Conditions for Success (Accommodations)?
Most students on an IPP require accommodations to advance their learning. Accommodations preserve the learning outcomes of the Program of Studies while addressing the special education learning needs of the student to increase success. The goal of an accommodation is to remove obstacles to learning. It is important to balance the use of accommodations with the teaching and practice of basic skills to ensure students continue to master new skills and become more independent learners.
Alberta Education lists three types of accommodations, they are:
- Classroom/physical accommodations; such as, preferential seating, etc.
- Instructional accommodations; such as, providing copies of notes, etc.
- Evaluation/testing accommodations; such as, extra time, text to speech software, audio versions of exams.
Who is a part of the learning team?
Our Learning Team consists of the student, parents/guardians, classroom teachers, guidance counsellors, resource teachers, and school administrators who collaborate to identify the conditions for success for each student.
What Supports and Services are Offered to Students?
Queen Elizabeth High School has a variety of supports and services that we offer to promote and facilitate student learning. These supports include but are not limited to:
Learning Community Learning Leader (Grade 7-9) support universal and targeted interventions for students in the grade level learning communities.
Guidance Counsellor (Grade 10-12) are available to discuss programming needs, scholarship opportunities, learning concerns, post-secondary entrance requirements, etc.
The Homeroom Teacher is the coordinator of each student’s Individualized Program Plan. The homeroom teacher provides daily instruction in one or more school blocks of the day, which ensures that the IPP coordinator understands the student’s learning strengths and needs. In addition, the homeroom teacher can incorporate direct student voice and monitor student incremental growth on a regular basis.
Resource Learning Leader oversees the implementation of Individual Program Plans (IPP) and facilitate supports needed to advance learning.
English as an Additional Language Learners (EAL) coordinator offers specialized classroom instruction and support.
The school administration team support learning by: monitoring students’ academic progress; meeting with student and parents to discuss strategies that encourage academic success; mentoring students in making appropriate decision that support learning.
A variety of assistive technologies are available, such as: digital textbooks; audio textbooks; Text to speech software (Read and Write Gold, PDF Aloud); Speech to text Software (Dragon Naturally Speaking); Desire to Learn (D2L) support for classroom and homework management; iPads; word processors; smartboards.
Bring your own Device – school’s network is equipped to allow students to bring their own personal electronic devices.
How to Contact Us
If you child has a new or changed assessment/diagnosis, please contact your child’s Assistant Principal and Student Services Advisor. Refer to Our Staff page to ensure you contact the correct Assistant Principal and Student Services Advisor for your child's grade.
For information about your child’s current IPP, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher. You can see who your child’s homeroom teacher is in PowerSchool. Refer to Our Staff page to find the homeroom teacher’s email address.