The Saskatchewan government is putting up $3.6 million to fund the pilot project. It's to operate until the end of the 2024-25 school year. (980 CJME file photo)

By CJME News Staff

Sask. launching pilot project to address disruptive behaviour in classrooms

Jan 8, 2024 | 11:21 AM

A pilot project is set to launch in eight Saskatchewan school divisions to test methods of managing behavioural incidents in classrooms.

On Monday, the Saskatchewan government announced it’s putting up $3.6 million in funding for specialized support classrooms. The pilot project is to begin in February and run until the end of the 2024-25 school year.

The participating school divisions are Living Sky, Light of Christ Catholic, Prince Albert Catholic, Saskatchewan Rivers Public, Greater Saskatoon Catholic, Saskatoon Public, Regina Catholic and Regina Public. Each division will choose the schools that will participate in the project.

“We have heard from Saskatchewan teachers that they need to spend more of their time teaching rather than managing disruptive behaviour,” Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said in a media release. “This pilot aims to support students to continue their studies uninterrupted but also assists students who need targeted interventions in the short term.”

Class complexity and violence in classrooms are two concerns that teachers have raised during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the province.

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According to the government, the pilot project will “provide a classroom with specialized supports to help students practise self-regulation skills while also addressing the impacts of disruptions in the home classroom.”

A minimum of one teacher and two educational assistants will be in the specialized support classroom, which will have a capacity of 15 students. Other supports like psychologists and counsellors will be available to assist staff.

The government said the pilot would provide “long-term solutions to evaluate targeted intervention methods” and help teachers manage complex classrooms.

“We are excited to be part of the specialized support classroom project and appreciate the additional resources that will be provided to the school division to implement this initiative,” Saskatoon Public Schools board chair Kim Stranden said in the release.

“Our staff is looking forward to working collaboratively with the Ministry of Education to develop a plan that supports our students. We know this project will have a positive impact on teaching and learning in one of our elementary schools.”

The ministry is to work with the school divisions as they develop their individual plans for the classrooms. The schools that are to participate will create procedures to identify the behaviour in question and required interventions, and will inform parents and guardians of students who are to be taught in the specialized support classrooms.

The funding for the pilot project is on top of the $40 million that school divisions received from the government in June.